The Skilled Professionals Bill has been introduced in parliament to fast track the registration of expatriates coming to work in Fiji on a short term basis.
Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says there are various professional councils for medical experts, lawyers and other tertiary bodies which have onerous and time consuming requirements for registration.
Sayed-Khaiyum gave the example of Ba Vision and NGO which provides free cataract surgery and has been trying unsuccessfully to bring in eye surgeons from overseas.
“This is to facilitate the bringing in of professionals who otherwise would not have been able to practice simply because they have been put on some very onerous provisions. This of course is not to say that we will being in quacks. These need to be highly trained professional people but some of the impediment being put by local councils is stopping them.”
The Skilled Professionals Bill once enacted, will be administered by the Prime Minister’s Office.
A committee made up of certain Permanent Secretaries will vet all applications from foreign nationals – without the need for an endorsement by any Council of professionals.
The Bill will be debated tomorrow.
