Salutations
- Honorable Speaker Sir,
- Honorable Ministers and Assistant Ministers,
- Honorable Leader of Opposition,
- Honorable Members of Parliament, and
- Ladies & Gentlemen
Ni sa bula vina’a and a very good afternoon to you all.
- Mister Speaker Sir, I rise to respond to the question and I thank the Honourable member for this important question.
- The Government’s “3-Tier Development First” approach to the Functional Review of the Civil Service represents a significant national reform initiative aimed at building a modern, responsive, accountable and development-oriented public service that is capable of effectively delivering Government priorities and improving service delivery outcomes for all Fijians.
- This reform is not merely an administrative exercise. It is a strategic transformation agenda intended to ensure that Government institutions, systems, legislation and workforce capabilities are properly aligned with Fiji’s long-term national development priorities, including the Government’s economic objective of lifting long-term growth from 3.5 percent to 6 percent annually, as a critical pathway towards achieving high-income country status by 2050.
- Mister Speaker Sir, this ambition is not achievable through fiscal policy alone. It requires a capable State machinery that is efficient, coordinated and performance-driven.
- The Functional Review therefore plays a central role in ensuring that Ministries and public sector staff are properly structured, resourced and empowered to operationalise the national development plan and deliver the reform agenda required to sustain higher and more inclusive growth over time.
- Mister Speaker Sir, the Functional Review Team is currently providing the technical expertise and institutional support required to advance this important initiative.
- The review itself is guided by a “Development First” framework, which places service delivery, development impact and community outcomes at the centre of public sector reform.
- Under Tier 2, which represents the “Review and Improve” phase, the focus is on examining the functions, operations and mandates of Ministries to ensure that Government structures and services remain fit for purpose, coordinated, efficient and supported by relevant and up-to-date legislation, policy frameworks and operational systems.
- This phase is particularly important in strengthening whole-of-government alignment, ensuring that Ministries are not operating in isolation, but are instead collectively contributing to national growth objectives, productivity improvements and improved service delivery that underpin the 6 percent growth target.
- In this regard, the review is also strengthening institutional accountability and performance management systems across Ministries, ensuring that public sector outputs are directly linked to national development outcomes, including economic transformation, job creation, and improved service delivery efficiency.
- This process will assist in clarifying institutional roles and responsibilities, reducing duplication, improving inter-agency coordination and strengthening strategic alignment across Government.
- Importantly, Tier 2 also focuses on modernising Government systems and business processes, including greater digital transformation of public services, improved ICT integration and strengthened workforce capability development to support higher productivity across Ministries.
- Mister Speaker Sir, these diagnostic and analytical activities are expected to produce evidence-based recommendations to support organisational restructuring, stronger central agency coordination, improved workforce planning, enhanced data governance systems and clearer decision-making and accountability arrangements across all levels of Government.
- These reforms are directly aligned with Government’s broader development priorities, including strengthening public sector performance, improving governance systems, accelerating digital transformation, enhancing service delivery and building resilient institutions capable of supporting sustained long-term economic growth.
- Consistent with the “Development First” emphasis, Tier 2 will also strengthen the integration of key cross-cutting national priorities into Government systems and planning processes. These include gender equality, disability inclusion, social inclusion, youth empowerment, climate resilience and disaster risk management.
- This ensures that the reform agenda is not only focused on efficiency gains, but also on inclusive development outcomes that support equitable participation in Fiji’s growth story.
- Mister Speaker Sir, Tier 3 builds upon the outcomes of Tiers 1 and 2 and focuses specifically on supporting the implementation of a more coordinated, province-based system for rural development planning, coordination and decision-making under the proposed “Rural Development Flagship”.
- This phase is critical in translating institutional reforms into tangible development outcomes at the community level, particularly in rural, maritime and vulnerable communities that must benefit directly from Fiji’s broader economic transformation agenda and growth trajectory towards 6 percent.
- In this regard, the development of a National Rural Development Policy under the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management will provide a strengthened framework for coordinated, efficient and outcome-focused service delivery in rural areas.
- Mister Speaker Sir, Tier 3 will ensure that Ministries and implementing agencies are structurally and operationally aligned to deliver integrated services at the community level, reducing fragmentation and improving responsiveness, accountability and development impact.
- This includes strengthening the operational capacity of Ministries and staff to effectively implement Government’s development priorities in a coordinated manner, ensuring that national plans are translated into measurable results on the ground.
- The initiative therefore reflects Government’s commitment to balanced and inclusive national development, ensuring that no region or community is left behind in Fiji’s economic and social transformation.
- Mister Speaker Sir, the Functional Review, guided by the “3-Tier Development First” approach, is a forward-looking reform programme that strengthens the capability of the State to deliver on Fiji’s long-term development ambitions, including sustained economic growth, improved productivity and enhanced public service delivery.
- I am confident that this process will deliver practical, measurable and long-term improvements across Government systems, institutional performance and service delivery outcomes for the benefit of all Fijians.
- I look forward to continuing to update this Honourable House on the progress and achievements of this important national reform initiative.
- Vinaka Vakalevu
