[Source: Pacific Islands Development Forum]

The Pacific Islands Development Forum continues to grapple with issues of relevance and purpose within the region.

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, while speaking in parliament today, highlighted that PIDF continues to be branded as a Fijian entity and is negatively denoted to duplicate the existing regional body, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

Rabuka says the current governance structure incurs relatively high maintenance costs, and the original design of the organization did not envision the Secretariat to function as a technical organization.

“The way forward for PIDF, in view of the context that brought PIDF into being, the complexity and multilayered challenges which PIDF faces, and the outcomes government seeks from this entity, it is prudent to have an organization that is in tune and responsive to the needs of Fiji and its people and the other members.”

Rabuka says they are undertaking a review of PIDF with the support of partners to repurpose it into a fit-for-purpose organization that will draw on lessons learned while furthering national and regional interests.

He adds that the PIDF has been plagued by some management issues, which have been corrected through prudent internal controls, oversight, and improved governance and accountability structures.

The Prime Minister says that PIDF is under review and is transitioning towards becoming an integrated entity that focuses on project delivery across sectors and geographical boundaries.