With right-sizing and refocusing the civil service at the top of the government’s agenda, Minister for Civil Service and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says that if they are employing too many people, then there is possibility of downsizing certain ministries.

Rabuka, in an interview with FBC News, says each of the ministries will need to do a stocktake on personnel before coming back with a report on whether manpower is sufficient to serve the objectives of the ministry.

The Prime Minister says they will depend on the updates provided by relevant ministries before making any decisions.

“We are still looking at those, and the ministers are going to come back to say that the establishment is sufficient to serve the objectives of the ministry. And if we are employing too many people, then we need to get rid of some.”

Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Civil Service Parmesh Chand says discussions with stakeholders, including unions, will all come into play.

Chand says they have not formed any opinions at the moment.

“Once all that comes to the table, there will be a series of papers developed for consideration by the cabinet, and then deliberations and decisions thereon will all be part of the program. We are cutting down on the wastage, trying to improve the systems and processes for better service delivery.”

The PS says they are continuously working on improving the civil service for better management and governance.

The World Bank’s Fiji Public Expenditure Report 2023 says that managing the civil service wage bill is becoming a massive challenge for Fiji.

The report also states that assessing pay and employment practices will be critical to making informed decisions on these issues and will also require better data collection mechanisms and systems.