Getting rid of ‘who you know’ syndrome will lift standard of civil service

There was a time when you can get a job in the civil service through someone you know. It’s no longer the case now. The system is more transparent now and those responsible are being held accountable.

It’s all part of the continuing reforms in the civil service.

The mindset has to change as processes are set in place to remove the mentality that one could circumvent the procedures.

The message that has come out clear is that getting accepted into the civil service will be based on merit. That means the Public Service Commission will recruit workers on the basis of their qualifications, skills and experience. It leaves no room for nepotism. The ‘who you know’practice is vanishing as the public service moves towards a merit-based system. There was also a time when a perception existed that the civil service was the safest place to work. Once you got in and as long as you did not do anything wrong you were set for life. You could not be sacked. Productivity became the casualty of this old culture and people suffered in silence due to the poor service.

The Government’s job evaluation exercise is long overdue. It will right the wrongs of the past and reset the future of the public service on a more stable and robust platform. It will lead to a public service more responsive to the needs of the people. A public service that understands its role and performs to expectations even under extreme conditions and financial constraints.

The current review will find that some officers should have been replaced a long time ago but are still there. They have survived in a system that encourages mediocrity.

On the other hand, there are officers who should have leapfrogged others and been promoted because of their qualification and performance, but are held back by an unfair system. They have to wait until the others above them have resigned or retired from their positions.

In other words some officers are sitting on their positions and waiting for retirement.

That attitude will change with the regular job appraisal to see whether the officers are keeping up with their job description.

The merit system is based on performance. Results will show whether an officer is performing. Accountability will be a key factor in the job evaluation. One’s ethnicity, religion, social status or gender, will not matter.

It has been stressed that the salary review is all about getting the base right and having the continuous evaluation or assessment based on the employment market.

Hopefully, when everything all comes together we will have a structure and a system that will provide top service to the people of Fiji.