Permanent Secretary for Civil Service, Parmesh Chand says Investment Fiji Chair, Jenny Seeto’s criticism about civil servants laid back attitude and drastic changes needed in service delivery, is an extremely generalized statement.
Chand says if 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.
He says this ought to be an ongoing process as they are there all doing their jobs by way of the respective legislations and regulations.
The Permanent Secretary says in this age of easy accessibility through smartphones etc., they are all reachable.
Chand says he is not trying to be defensive, but we need to be specific and objective.
He further says 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.
Chand says Fiji’s Civil Service is well organised and has stood the test of times on numerous occasions.
He says one would appreciate it better if one looks at how the civil service responds in times of emergencies like the natural disasters and a pandemic such as COVID-19.
Chand says they work under strenuous conditions and reach out to thousands of families seeking assistance.
He says our teachers, nurses and disciplined forces are amongst the best and they are sought after internationally.
Chand says yes, there are agencies in Government which scrutinize proposals and applications for permits.
He says 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.
He adds 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.
Chand says there are no shortcuts as they will end up risking lives and the fragile environment.
However he agrees that there is always room for improvements.
He says 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.
They 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.
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations
