[Source: Parliament of the Republic of Fiji/Facebook]

The National Council for Persons with Disabilities has unveiled a business continuity plan designed to safeguard essential services during staff turnover and natural disasters.

The plan features centralized cloud storage for financial documents, role-based access to key files, and real-time data sharing across its Suva, Lautoka, and Labasa offices.

Acting Director Jone Robanakadavu highlighted these upgrades while appearing before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, during deliberations on the 2021–2022 Audit Report on Statutory Authorities, Independent Bodies, and Commissions.

He said the council’s digital reforms are aimed at boosting resilience and ensuring operations remain uninterrupted during disruptions.

“But in terms of data collection, you know very well that in the disability sector, when you walk into a disaster, data is a priority. This is the only way we can communicate to the agencies and mostly to the government what we need for persons with disabilities. So we have a common toolkit as well to map this.”

Committee member Naisa Tuinaceva raised concerns over past performance issues, including poor handover processes and unclear operational guidelines.

“Now that you have that and you have a young team, one of the challenges from my experience, and from those who came before you in various bodies and ministries, was the handover process. Those leaving and those taking over. How do you plan to address that?”

Robanakadavu responded that the continuity framework is part of broader reforms initiated in 2018, following recommendations from the Auditor-General.

The reforms also include new compliance policies and digital tools aimed at strengthening governance, transparency, and data management across Fiji’s disability sector.

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