MINISTRY OF INFORMATION FIJI NEWS SUMMARY 11:00AM 10/08/13

 

1.     LEARNING PLAN FOR SENIOR OFFICERS – The Public Service Commission (PSC) will finalise a Learning and Development Plan for 2014 for Senior Executive Services (SES) officers to strengthen the delivery of services and resources by Government agencies.

 

2.     ENVOYS PRAISE COMMITMENT BY PACIFIC LEADERS TO PIDF – The recent show of commitment by Pacific leaders and senior officials towards the inaugural Pacific Islands Development Forum was commended by two observer countries that participated at the meet.

 

3.     NEW EQUIPMENTS TO BOOST HEALTH CARE AT SUVA HOSPITAL – One of the oldest hospitals in the country, the Colonial War Memorial Hospital received a major boost this week following the donation of medical equipment worth $39,000.

 

4.     NEW APPOINTMENTS IN CIVIL SERVICE – The Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC), Mr Josefa Serulagilagi today announced new appointments of civil servants at Senior Executives’ Services level.

 

5.     WOMEN ACQUIRE SKILLS ON SEWING MACHINE MAINTENANCE – In an effort to provide a comprehensive sewing program, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation is not only distributing sewing machines but also providing sewing machine maintenance trainings to the women’s groups in Fiji.

 

 

LEARNING PLAN FOR SENIOR OFFICERS

 

The Public Service Commission (PSC) will finalise a Learning and Development Plan for 2014 for Senior Executive Services (SES) officers to strengthen the delivery of services and resources by Government agencies.

 

This plan will include the coordination of relevant programs with external stakeholders and relevant institutions.

 

The Commission’s permanent secretary Mr Parmesh Chand said performance gaps identified for all SES Officers would be the basis of training for next year.

 

“It is the responsibility of all Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments to evaluate the performance of SES Officers within the cadre under his/her jurisdiction and identify performance gaps.

 

“These gaps will then have to be submitted to PSC through their Training Needs Analysis (TNA),” he said.

 

Mr Chand said the Training for SES Officers is part of Government’s initiative to ensure that officers continuously attain the highest quality of leadership and that they are able to effectively manage people and achieve high performance within an environment of change.

 

The SES officers in Government which would normally be Directors and Deputy Secretaries will be trained based on the Competency Framework introduced in 2011. The Framework seeks to establish a shared understanding of the critical success factors for performance and identifies the six core criteria for high performance. Each of the criteria heads a group of interrelated behaviors. The framework does not describe the functions or responsibilities of particular senior executive roles but rather embodies the Fiji Public Service Values in particular leadership.

 

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ENVOYS PRAISE COMMITMENT BY PACIFIC LEADERS TO PIDF

 

The recent show of commitment by Pacific leaders and senior officials towards the inaugural Pacific Islands Development Forum was commended by two observer countries that participated at the meet.

 

The non-resident Ambassador for Kuwait and High Commissioner for Sri Lanka to Fiji pointed out that the issues discussed and the collective agreements made were an encouraging sign for the future of the region.

 

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Fiji Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe said whilst the non – attendance of some countries is regrettable, unity among Pacific states was paramount.

 

“I believe that the Pacific should always meet and discuss issues as the Pacific,” he said.

 

“You cannot be in the Pacific and not want to have a say in a development forum especially like the PIDF where other States are present to discuss regional initiatives and solutions to its developmental woes; and especially at a forum hosted by one of the most important players in the region”, High Commissioner Samarasinghe said.

 

The State of Kuwait’s Ambassador to Fiji His Excellency Khaled Al Shaihani also praised the initiative by Fiji to bring all parties to the table saying it would bring more unity to the Pacific to discuss issues relating to collective development of the Pacific Islands.

 

“We in Qatar do not know the challenges faced here in the Pacific but we are grateful to have been invited as observers and we are happy to learn how the pacific has given a pacific solution to its developmental problems,” Al Shaihani said.

 

While announcing the establishment of the PIDF secretariat in Nadi this week, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama commended the participation of countries and organisations that attended the inaugural meeting.

 

“We have forged an unbeatable partnership in which governments, civil society groups and businesses can work together for the common good of our people”.

 

“Our people look to us to work cooperatively and effectively to try to resolve our gravest crisis – the increasing threat to our environment, the health of our ocean and the health of our land. And at this conference, I believe that we have risen to the challenge. We have not let them down”.

 

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NEW EQUIPMENTS TO BOOST HEALTH CARE AT SUVA HOSPITAL

 

One of the oldest hospitals in the country, the Colonial War Memorial Hospital received a major boost this week following the donation of medical equipment worth $39,000.

 

The Minister for Health Dr Neil Sharma this week received these new machines from the Hibiscus Events Group and the Fiji Heart Foundation. This is expected to boost services currently provided at the hospital especially at the Accidents and Emergency Units at the hospital.

 

“The accidents and emergency units are currently undergoing refurbishment work and we are hoping to complete these new renovations within three months,” Dr Sharma said.

 

“This new machines will be added asset to the medical team at the ANE units, we are currently training doctors in this specialised field and we are hoping to better provide adequate services to the people,” Dr Sharma said.

 

“With the financial donations received, the hospital purchased ECGs (electrocardiography machines) and heart rate monitors and with the balance they are hoping to purchase more equipment later in the year,” Dr Sharma said.

 

Meanwhile, Doctor Anne Creaton assistant professor for emergency medicine at the Fiji National University said the machines come at a time when non communicable diseases continue rise in the country including patients suffering from cardiac arrest.

 

“These machines have made a huge difference in patient care it has also allowed us to monitor serious cases of cardiac patients and upgrade of the standards of emergency medicine,” Dr Creaton said.

 

With the new doctors expected to join the ANE unit, Dr Creaton is adamant that better services will be delivered to the patients.

 

This week the Health Minister announced that the hospital would undergo a $10million renovation phase as part of its commitment to improving service delivery.

 

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NEW APPOINTMENTS IN CIVIL SERVICE

 

The Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC), Mr Josefa Serulagilagi today announced new appointments of civil servants at Senior Executives’ Services level.

 

The two new appointments are Ajay Singh as Director for the Training and Scholarships Division at PSC and Alumeci Tuisawau as Director for the Curriculum Advisory Services/Technical Vocational Educational Training or CAS/TVET division in the Ministry of Education.

 

Mr Serulagilagi congratulated the two officers and said that they were both chosen on merit as well as on their number of years of working for civil service.

 

Mr Singh began his career in 1990 in the administration cadre. He has since served for 16 years at junior and middle management level.

 

He obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in 2009 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Management and Public Administration in 2011 from the University of the South Pacific (USP).

 

Mrs Tuisawau on the other hand began her career in the Ministry of Agriculture and later on the Ministry of Education. She has taught in various schools around the country since 1987. She obtained a Master’s of Science degree in 1998 at the Tokyo University and a Bachelor degree in Agriculture in 1991 at the USP.

 

Both Directors were acting on these respective positions before being shortlisted, interviewed and confirmed as substantive holders of the posts.

 

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WOMEN ACQUIRE SKILLS ON SEWING MACHINE MAINTENANCE

 

In an effort to provide a comprehensive sewing program, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation is not only distributing sewing machines but also providing sewing machine maintenance trainings to the women’s groups in Fiji.

 

The sewing machine maintenance training along with tailoring program is facilitated by the Fiji Women’s Federation in partnership with the Courts Fiji Limited.

 

The Minister for Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation Dr Jiko Luveni said that the training enables women to acquire different patterns of tailoring and also learn the skills on repairing their sewing machines.

 

“Since the beginning of the sewing machine maintenance and tailoring program last year, the Ministry and Courts Fiji Limited through a joint effort, have conducted 33 workshops and trained more than 942 women in the eastern, western and northern division. The distribution of the sewing machines goes along with the trainings that complement their sewing program as a means of income generating and tailoring skills development,” Dr Luveni said.

 

This week the Ministry organized 2 days sewing machine maintenance training for the women groups in Vanuakula, Nabuna and Tavualevu village in Tavua. The Ministry also handed over two sewing machines to Nabuna women’s group.

 

While participating in the sewing machine maintenance training, Mrs Elenani Nasaugaugau, president of Nabuna Women’s Group said the training is a good opportunity for women to learn the skills of repairing their own machines without having to spend any money for it.

 

“We are indeed grateful to the Ministry of Women for providing us with 2 sewing machines, it will help is to sew school uniforms for the children. These machines are an asset for our women’s group and this training is useful as it enables us learn the skills of sewing machine maintenance and also on different patterns of sewing, it’s very interesting and beneficial” she said.

 

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