Thirty per cent of new appointments to Public Enterprise boards are women.
Permanent secretary of Public Service and Public Enterprises Ministry Parmesh Chand highlighted this in the Corporate Governance Workshop at the Novotel Suva Lami Bay on Tuesday.
“The area of corporate governance is growing both in significance and professional interest locally,” he said.
“Only in January, with the coming into office of the new government, we advertised for expressions of interest from people willing to serve on government appointed boards.
“We received over 1200 applications from Fijians both locally and some living overseas willing to serve on such boards.
“For the past few months, Ministry of Public Enterprises with the assistance of respective line ministries, has been working tirelessly to identify, screen and facilitate the appointment of directors for more than 20 government boards.
“You’ll be pleased to note that of the 71 new appointments for Public Enterprise boards, women make up 30 per cent of new appointees – a significant statistic in our target to promote the representation of women at decision-making levels.”
Mr Chand said the Ministry of Public Enterprises was committed to facilitating learning and development opportunities for board directors to equip board directors with the tools they need to contribute effectively towards state-owned enterprises.
“With an increasing focus on corporate governance in recent years, the role of the board directors has become extremely critical in ensuring that companies operate in a responsible and effective manner, and that it is delivering value to its shareholders and other stakeholders.”
