Unbelievable! This is how Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga described the final years of Vishnu Mohan’s tenure as Public Service Commission (PSC) chairman.
Mr Mohan, who tendered his resignation last week, was appointed to the role in 2015, and held the position while residing in Canada.
Mr Turaga said the resignation letter had been forwarded to the President, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere.
He also confirmed that a new chair would be appointed soon. “Of course we need the PSC chair to be appointed so the machinery of the Government service can be facilitated by the new Government,” he said.
“It’s so critical that the PSC must sit so that the machinery of the public service can be administered smoothly in line with the new policies of the coalition Government.”
He also assured all workers in the public service that everything would operate as normal. When asked if Government will look into the salary and working conditions of Mr Mohan, he replied “yes”.
“Certainly. “It’s unbelievable. “When we asked the officers, they could not recall the last time when he was physically in Fiji and called in a meeting.
“So it’s unimaginable that a commission can deliberate on matters regarding the administration of public service when its chairman is chairing the meeting outside Fiji.
“Just give us time, we’re just trying to get the machinery to function and we’ll update you accordingly, on all those things.
“We promised you an audit of how the public service functioned, audit as how people were contracted, how contracts were given to certain companies, and of course, audit of the Fiji Elections Office. “That’s the priority list for the coalition Government.”
