The Assistant Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and National Disaster Management, Hon. Joeli Cawaki told senior officials of the Ministry this week that more needed to be done to raise the standard of living for all Fijians in rural and remote communities.
Hon. Cawaki made the statement in his address at the opening of the ministry’s Mid-Term Review exercise.
He said the half-yearly review was an important exercise for the senior management to reflect on the past achievements of the Ministry and also to map the way forward in addressing the challenges for the future.
“This is important as well as taking into account the consultation that is happening around the country on the formulation of the National Development Plan for the country. We need to take account of the past, encourage our people to be resilient and map the future of the ministry,” Hon. Cawaki emphasized.
Hon. Cawaki encouraged the forum to come up with new ways of meeting the ministry’s targets.
Acting permanent secretary, Setareki Tale further stated that the forum is to allow their staff in divisional areas to share their experiences on the challenges and difficulties they faced while delivering services to rural Fijians.
“This is good for us as it gives us the opportunity to review our achievements in the first half of the year and to map a way forward to do things better in the future,” Mr Tale said.
The mid-term review exercise coincides with the ministry’s Sports Day which is being held at the Furnivall Park in Toorak.