Financial limitations affecting civil servant rewards have emerged as a major challenge for the Ministry of Civil Service, raising concerns over staff motivation and retention.

Permanent Secretary Pita Tagicakirewa highlighted this issue while presenting the Ministry’s 2022–2023 Annual Report to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, revealing that financial incentives for civil servants are currently on hold due to Fiji’s economic situation.

Despite these constraints, Tagicakirewa said the Ministry is exploring alternative forms of recognition to support and motivate public servants.

He noted that a review of the civil service has begun, initially focusing on five pilot ministries to improve systems and performance by the end of the year.

“The functional review is going to look at systems and processes for ministries, starting with the five pilot ministries. Hopefully, the ripple effect will touch other ministries as well. One of the biggest intentions of the functional review is to make the civil service more effective, apart from efficiency.”

Committee member Penioni Ravunawa emphasized that the civil service should maintain high standards to attract young graduates through ethics, efficiency, and training.

“Some of the challenges the Ministry is facing right now are important for this committee. At the end of this presentation, we will make our report to Parliament, including recommendations to assist stakeholders, like in this case the Ministry of Civil Service.”

Tagicakirewa says that through FLIPS and other training, they are building civil servants skills across ministries, continuing this year and next to ensure a capable civil service that delivers expected government outcomes.

The Ministry hopes that through reforms and training, it can build a more capable and resilient civil service, even as financial constraints continue to affect staff incentives.