The Parliament secretariat will this year aim to increase its public awareness on the work of standing committees.

Acting Secretary General to Parliament, Viniana Namosimalua says standing committees have raised their concern with the low turnout of public submissions.

She adds it’s imperative that Fijians understand how the committees work and also how critical their contributions are.

“Whenever there were issues on say the convention on the rights of a child you know, they would not see a lot of people come to present or make submissions because to them, these things are sort of abstract, so I think from us, that is something that we need to work on in terms of awareness.”

Currently, MPs are attending a weeklong workshop on the workings of committees, learning the A-Z of how they work and how best to report back to Parliament.