Illegal Charter Forced Down Public Service Heads

Sai's Comments

• What a waste of effort, resources and focus for the Fiji public service to be forced to implement a Charter that has no democratic mandate! Worse still when you have a political lackey as the head of the public service who is just another lap dog of the illegal regime in Fiji, issuing threats over the heads of ministries and departments. In public policy, the best policies are those that are co-developed by those impacted by the policy and not one that are forced down on citizens, as it merely encourages dissent on those tasked with implementing the policies.

• Seruilagilagi will have no idea when public servants put up resistance and other tactics to frustate the expectations of the illegal regime without him having any clues whatsoever. Public servants are well adept at such tactics and will pretend to go along with the actions without their full and much needed commitment- It is simply a recipe for short term public policy implosion, which will in turn incur additional cost on tax payers, for time, resources, and attention required to fix it again.

• Try factoring such a scenario, into performance managing public servants! Then again, when you have a command-style management approach as in the current Fiji public service, you only assess what you want NOT what is important for Fiji and its people.

PSC boss puts govt heads on notice

www.fijilive.com - October 30, 2009

Fiji’s permanent secretaries will lose their jobs if they do not work hard to achieve the nine pillars of the People’s Charter says the chairman of the National People’s Charter Advisory Council chairman Josefa Serulagilagi.

Serulagilagi told FijiLive that he received a first report from permanent secretaries in June while the next is expected in December.

“This meeting is to review the progress of what has been achieved so far,” he said.

In his speech Serulagilagi said they will not be deterred by the “frivolous occurrences that surround us at this point in Fiji’s history”.

The NCPAC is the first agency to be established as a build-up mechanism to the council.

In the next council meeting Serulagilagi said he will invite the PM Bainimarama too.

Today the council elected Loraine Tevi as its deputy chair and three subcommittee heads were also chosen, namely Ratu Filimoni Ralogaivau, Peni Mua and Diwan Chand Maharaj.

The committee will play a monitoring role in the implementation of the people’s charter, strategic framework for change and the roadmap for democracy and sustainable socio-economic development.

Commodore Bainimarama will be briefed after every meeting, Serulagilagi added.