Ministries Restructure Could Negatively Impact Key Reforms

The Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS) expresses serious concerns regarding the recent restructuring of key government ministries.

FCOSS cautions that these changes could adversely affect ongoing reforms that hold significant promise for people-centred development and evidence-based policymaking in Fiji.

The decision to separate the Ministry of Finance from Strategic Planning and National Development is particularly worrying, given the critical reforms currently underway within these areas.

FCOSS has been a long-standing advocate for key reforms in the public finance management (PFM) system, covering the entire cycle from planning and implementation to monitoring and evaluation. Our focus has also been on ensuring that Fiji’s PFM framework is responsive to the challenges posed by disasters and crises.

The organisation notes with appreciation that the former Ministry of Finance had begun working immediately to respond to the evidence and advocacy provided by FCOSS to carry out these much-needed reforms, from enhancing transparency in annual budget cycles to addressing implementation bottlenecks.

The importance of recent achievements in national planning cannot be overstated. The new national development plan is a significant achievement that was followed up with a robust implementation plan and, most recently, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) training for government agencies. FCOSS welcomed this progress and contributed actively and free of charge as a non-governmental organisation to support these efforts.

As an NGO with an extensive community based organisations network, we understand that coordinated, complimentary interagency approaches to development actually work and can deliver tangible results for the citizens of this country.

In addition to these planning efforts, the Ministry had begun important work on Disaster Risk Financing, while the Fiji Bureau of Statistics has recently been consulting on the draft National Population Policy—an initiative FCOSS believes would help plug a critical gap in national planning efforts.

With all due respect, FCOSS questions the rationale for assigning some of these critical responsibilities to the Office of the Prime Minister.

The Office of the Prime Minister's performance has been marked by instances of confusing announcements, turnover of permanent secretaries, and recent accusations of biased appointments. Consolidating these key portfolios under an agency with such a performance record will not benefit the public.

In this context, using "streamlining and efficiency" as a justification for the reshuffle of portfolios appears illogical. Instead, this signals a potential decision based on political convenience and a disconnect from the principle that the civil service is fundamentally supposed to serve the people.

I conclude by urging the government to reconsider the restructuring's impact on the momentum of people-centred reforms and to ensure that the civil service remains focused on serving the needs of the people.

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