Sitting sixth from left facilitator David Evans, Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Local Government, Housing and Community Development, Premila Kumar, and facilitator Jenny Seeto with the statutory board directors on January 16, 2019. Photo: Lusiana Tuimaisala

17 Jan, 2019

Service delivery, especially in Government and statu­tory authorities, needs to be enhanced, a Government Minis­ter said yesterday.

We also need a greater level of transparency and accountability in our service delivery.

This is by ensuring that we un­derstand our obligations and fidu­ciary duties to our customers, the organisation and Government.

Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Local Government, Housing and Community Devel­opment, Premila Kumar made these comments while opening the 2018 Fiji Directors Course at Suvavou House in Suva.

Speaking to the directors she said there was a need for people with skills who could drive the or­ganisation forward.

Ms Kumar said the course was a unique tailor-made training op­portunity for professionals with its succinct key message and facil­itates healthy discussions on good governance.

“The training is designed to challenge statutory boards to set higher standards particularly in terms of adopting a much more comprehensive approach to risk management, diversity, change and the need to adapt to new tech­nologies.”

She said the course modules would provide in-depth under­standing on effective decision-making, legal aspects of direc­torship, financial literacy and strategy, as well putting the les­sons into practice.

Adding this would of course help them in their own career develop­ment.

The three day training is organ­ised by the Ministry of Indudtry Trade and Tourism, in partner­ship with the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) for the first time.

Ms Kumar said “The specialists from AICD provide exactly the type of targeted training needed by Senior Executives of Statutory Board and Government to realise their obligations (both legal and financial) and broaden their hori­zons.”

Therefore, she said the Ministry with AICD has designed a train­ing programme, which is aligned to deliver the value of good gov­ernance, prudent financial man­agement and effective strategies it take into consideration risk management, in order to achieve the Ministry’s broader vision of a brighter economic future for all.

The programme will broadly cover the areas of Governance, Finance, Strategy and Risk for Di­rectors.

It will introduce the role of a Di­rector and the board in establish­ing the governance of the organi­sation.

“The training course will outline the duties, responsibilities and the rights of directors of private, public and not-for-profit organisa­tions.

It will further examine board composition – having the right mix of skills, knowledge and ex­perience to ensure that a statutory board carries out its activities ef­fectively.”

“For Directors and future Direc­tors, the course will build your understanding of the Companies Act 2015 and how to maintain compliance with the Act – whilst understanding the duties and re­sponsibilities of a Director.

“It will give you a Director-oriented view of governance, fi­nance, strategy and risk in differ­ent organisational structures.”

“As Directors and Senior Of­ficials, you are bestowed with the role of ensuring that proper processes and procedures are fol­lowed within your organisation and Statutory Boards that you represent.

“This is therefore a great learn­ing platform, which provides for interactive discussions and an opportunity to share, explore and discuss concepts and issues relat­ed to good public governance.”

She encouraged the participants to learn as much as they can and share experiences and knowledge to help perform their roles in a more efficient and effective way.

“It is your confidence, commit­ment and your hard work that will steer the fortunes of the organisa­tion you represent and those you serve.”

Ms Kumar thanked the facilita­tors and organisers for providing this training session that will help the participants in performing their roles better.

“I hope that all the Directors, senior officials from Ministry, Statutory Bodies and FRCS follow­ing this training, will assess their processes and procedure and rec­ommend ways to improve it.”

“This training will no doubt en­hance your knowledge and set you on the right path of your career development and aspirations,” Ms Kumar said.

The training is facilitated by Da­vid Evans and Jenny Seeto from the AICD who provides the type of targeted training needed by Sen­ior Executives of Statutory Board and Government to realise their obligations (both legal and finan­cial) and broaden their horizons.

His executive positions with Westpac included Chief Manager Fiji Islands, Chief Credit Officer Western Australia and Senior Manager Indigenous Banking, Western Australia.

Ms Seeto MAICD retired as a partner at PricewaterhouseCoop­ers at the end of 2017.

There are 26 Government and statutory body officials participat­ing in the course.

The training will end tomorrow.

Source: Fiji Sun