Acting Supervisor of Elections, Ana Mataiciwa says ever since taking up position, she has made it a point to make positive changes in the organisation and people might have witnessed this in the past couple of months.
While opening the training on Managing Change Effectively for the Fijian Elections Office staff in Suva, Mataiciwa says some of the staff have been with FEO since its establishment in 2014 and some of have joined thereafter and they might have observed certain things that they wished they could have had an opportunity to change.
Mataiciwa says staff members employed by the FEO are not only staff of the organisation, but gatekeepers of democracy in Fiji.
She has reminded the staff that they have been called for such a time as this not only for this organisation but for the nation.
The Acting Supervisor of Elections says they are the gatekeepers of democracy in Fiji and the opportunity has presented itself for them to make changes.
Mataiciwa also says Election Management Bodies are responsible for organising and conducting elections, ensuring that they are free, fair, and transparent and as the electoral landscape evolves, Election Management Bodies need to adapt to new technologies, legal frameworks, and societal expectations. She says managing change at the FEO would mean that they are able to identify problems before they become big enough issues that disrupt workflow or cause anything but the least amount of drama.
Mataiciwa says this is also important because it ensures that change is well-explained to all the staff, so they know what is going on and how it will affect them and their performance.
The Acting Supervisor of Elections says she truly believe that when people feel that they are being heard, their morale tends to increase and when their morale is high, they will be more productive.
