There is still a culture of fear amongst civil servants, but it does not mean civil servants will lose their jobs if they raise questions in a public consultation or seminar.
This assurance has been given by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad while responding to a question from a civil servant during a dialogue and panel discussion on the National Development Plan 2025-2029 held at the University of the South Pacific.
He says they want to make sure that the civil service becomes a neutral executive arm of the government.
Prof. Prasad says they have a civil service agenda in the NDP, which ensures that civil servants are empowered more, not just to look at compliance but also be enablers with their auditions. He says they have taken away the contractual employment policy, and civil servants are all on permanent contracts now.
The Deputy Prime Minister says civil servants feel more empowered because they have job security.
Opposition MP Jone Usamate says there are conditions of service that civil servants are also bound by and they have to go through this channel. He also told civil servants that they can raise their concerns or queries to Members of Parliament, who can take it up to Parliament.
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