Fiji’s civil service is well organised and has stood the test of times on numerous occasions.
Parmesh Chand, Permanent Secretary for Civil Service noted this in a government social media post in reply to a report on FBC news quoting Jenny Seeto in her capacity as Chairperson, Investment Fiji, criticizing civil servants laid back attitude and goes on further to say that culture in civil service needs drastic changes in terms of service delivery.
Mr Chand said this is an extremely generalized statement.
He said one would appreciate it better if one looks at how the civil service responds in times of emergencies like natural disaster and pandemic such as COVID-19.
“They work under strenuous conditions and reach out to thousands of families seeking assistance,” Mr Chand said.
“Our teachers, nurses and discipline forces are amongst the best and they are sought after internationally,” he said.
“Yes, there are agencies in government which scrutinize proposals and applications for permits.
“They have been sanctioned the responsibility to ensure safety compliance, adherence to environmental and health standards, protection of waterways and natural habitats, safeguarding the weak and vulnerable and generally ensuring there is fair play.
“It may take time to ensure there is full spectrum of information to hand or for that matter an assessment to be made taking into account the interests of those they are expected to address as part of respective legislations and regulations.
“There are no shortcuts as we will end up risking lives and our fragile environment.”
Mr Chand agrees that there is, however, always room for improvements.
“If Ms Seeto as Chairperson of Investment Fiji has issues with those Agencies processing certain permits, she needs to bring those up through the established channels for consideration of the line Ministry or Permanent Secretary for that matter. This ought to be an ongoing process as we are there all doing our jobs by way of the respective legislations and regulations. In this age of easy accessibility through smartphones etc., we are all reachable. I am not trying to be defensive, but we need to be specific and objective,” Mr Chand said.
He said the civil service is a diverse institution existing to service the machinery of Government, Ministers, visitors to our shores and ordinary members of the public alike.
“We are always responsive to quest for better services delivery and are continuously making changes to respond accordingly.
“We are always prepared to take on board constructive suggestions for improvements.
“There are a number of initiatives announced in the 2023/2024 National Budget, which will address further streamlining and improvements in service delivery of those Agencies involved in investment and permits approvals processes.
“We look forward to engaging with the private sector and relevant industry organisations to better understand the issues and to accordingly make changes to bring about those much needed improvements.”
He also clarified that there are more than 35,000 civil servants spread across 31 ministries, more than 50 government departments and agencies and located in excess of 300 different locations across Fiji.
