- FIJIAN PRESIDENT OPENS INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL – His Excellency the President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau today opened the inaugural Food Festival at the Fiji National University (FNU) Namaka Campus.
- PUBLIC INVITED TO VIEW HISTORICAL MATERIAL AT EXHIBITION DISPLAY -Government has invited the public especially students and researchers to view a display of historical and archival material at the Government service Centre in Suva.
- “OCEAN CONFERENCE TIMELY FOR THE REGION” : FIJIAN PRESIDENT – The inaugural International Conference on Oceans and Rivers (ICOR) is a timely meet for Pacific Islands as it faces the threat of climate change says Fijian President His Excellency Ratu Epeli Nailatikau.
- KIRIBATI PRESIDENT TO FEATURE AT 2014 S.E.A AWARDS – The President of Kiribati, His Excellency Anote Tong will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Service Excellence Award night.
- FIJI EXPORTS SHEEP TO POLYNESIAN NEIGHBORS – Fiji’s Agriculture ministry organised the first shipment of Fiji-bred sheep to its Pacific neighbors, Samoa and Tonga.
1 FIJIAN PRESIDENT OPENS INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL
His Excellency the President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau today opened the inaugural Food Festival at the Fiji National University (FNU) Namaka Campus.
The International Food Festival will see food from more than 30 countries prepared and showcased for educational and commercial purposes.
“I am informed that food tastes from more than 30 countries will be displayed at the week-long food festival,” His Excellency told guests at the formal opening ceremony of the festival.
“This represents a rather scintillating opportunity for all of us to enjoy food from all over the world, as well as see demonstrations on how these are prepared.”
The Fijian Head of State also indicated that while Fijian foods have become world class, its tradition and preparation must never be forgotten.
“I understand there will be a few master chefs who will prepare signature dishes at each of the evening, accompanied by cultural entertainment,” he said.
“The issue of healthy eating will also be emphasized during the course of this event. This is important for all of us, especially to those of us who are from the Pacific, and who love to eat.”
“Remember, we have to strive and re-educate ourselves to live a balanced life with eating healthy and also living a healthy lifestyle.”
Tourism Fiji’s Acting chief executive officer Ken Freer said Fiji’s long history with food was something that has continued to marvel tourists.
“The lovo that we prepare continue to get wonderful responses and together with Kokoda which now has become a world class meal. But we should not stop here as we continue to attract visitors to our shores not only for the sun sand and the sea but also for our delicious food,” Mr Freer said.
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2 PUBLIC INVITED TO VIEW HISTORICAL MATERIAL AT EXHIBITION DISPLAY
Government has invited the public especially students and researchers to view a display of historical and archival material at the Government service Centre in Suva.
The Department of Information and National Archives of Fiji today began its display of services and resources to the public at the site of the former Fiji Visitors Bureau office. The display, which reinforces Government’s commitment to bring its services closer to the public, features various products and services offered by both departments.
The Department of Information is showcasing television programs that are produced in-house and broadcasted on television stations across the country. This includes the Nations Business and Back in Time TV program which features recently restored historical footages inFiji.
The public is also invited to look at the work carried out by the Department of the National Archives of Fiji – including its research facilities offered.
Students are also encouraged to visit the display which runs till the 17th of October (Friday).
The display is part of Government’s commitment to reach out to members of the public in enabling them to betterunderstand the various roles and responsibilities of ministries and departments.
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3 “OCEAN CONFERENCE TIMELY FOR THE REGION” : FIJIAN PRESIDENT
The inaugural International Conference on Oceans and Rivers (ICOR) is a timely meet for Pacific Islands as it faces the threat of climate change says Fijian President His Excellency Ratu Epeli Nailatikau.
The Fijian President made the comments while opening the first ever International Conference on Oceans and Rivers at the Fiji National University’s Namaka Campus in Nadi today.
“We, in the Pacific, have been dependent on oceans and rivers for centuries and given that so much has been happening over the past millennium with global warming, which is not only having an impact on food resources and causing an increase in natural disasters such as flooding which in turn cause huge economic losses, but it is also forcing people to relocate their homes and very soon – God forbid – even to vacate their countries, which they have called their home for centuries,” he said.
“The threat of climate change is being felt through drastic changes in weather patterns; prolonged droughts and great variability in the rainfall regime have made us rethink about protecting our freshwater resources.”
The Head of State added that while strict rules and regulations could be imposed against those who breach the law, there must be enough awareness provided to change attitudes. He added that a conference like the one today was a start in deterring offences.
“The people of Fiji have always been environmentally conscious but we must introduce added safeguards. Marine protected Areas (MPA) have been established in different areas by the village elders to ensure the protection and sustainability of our reefs and marine life.
“Nadi is a good example of a town which time and again has been battered by constant floods and this has been happening in recent years,” His Excellency said.
“I hope that with the presence of many experts in this field, Nadi can be viewed as a case study dealing with natural resources and we can all learn from this case study to better prepare ourselves for future disasters.”
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4 KIRIBATI PRESIDENT TO FEATURE AT 2014 S.E.A AWARDS
The President of Kiribati, His Excellency Anote Tong will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Service Excellence Award night.
The award night, which is culmination of months of preparations in ensuring that government agencies benchmark their services against international standards and practices, highlight’s Government’s commitment to improve service delivery in the Public Service.
This year’s award theme is closely linked to Climate Change; an area that has seen the Public Service closely aligning service delivery towards mitigating theeffects of climate change. The Night is an opportunity for all participating agencies be formally recognised on the implementation of the SEA Framework,which involves the streamlining of organizational systems and processes.
Public Service permanent secretary Mr Parmesh Chand, said that there has been a heightened recognition and embracing of the principles of the framework and achieve improvements in work flows and efficiency in service delivery in respectiveAgencies
“We now have an increasing number of Agencies participating and they all come with examples where they have made improvements in their processes and systems.”
“The vying, this year, for the Prime Minister’s Award by several participating agencies has exhibited the high potential for all government and statutory agencies to be recognized as world class organizations. It is very encouraging to witness the strengthened commitment and drive of all agencies towards organizational excellence as part of our combined efforts to improve service delivery.”
In 2013, six (6) out of the thirty one (31) agencies that participated in the programme were recognised at the Prize Level, sixteen (16) at Achievement level and seven (7) agencies at Commitment Level. Only two agencies were unsuccessful at receiving any level of recognition.
This year, in its ninth year of implementation, there are 33 participating agencies, of which eight (8) agencies have applied for the highest level of recognition at the Prime Ministers Award, eighteen (18) have applied for Prize level and six (6) at Achievement level.
The Public Service Commission administers this Civil Service Reform programme as a component of the Fijian Government’s Public Sector Reforms. The Minister for Public Service, Hon. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has also called for further streamlining and modernization of the Civil Service.
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5 FIJI EXPORTS SHEEP TO POLYNESIAN NEIGHBORS
Fiji’s Agriculture ministry organised the first shipment of Fiji-bred sheep to its Pacific neighbors, Samoa and Tonga.
Bred at a multiplication sheep centre owned by Mr Tiko Eastgate in Vanua Levu, this latest sheep development demonstrates years of attempt by Government to get this project running. The Ministry of Agriculture’s director for Animal Health and Production, Mr Tomasi Tunabuna said this is the first of its kind to export 100 breeding female sheep from the Private Multiplication Centre ever since its set-up six yearsago. He said another 10 male sheep were also exported but from the Ministry’s Nawaicoba Research Station.
In the past the Ministry had also exported Sheep to Samoa and to the Kingdom of Tonga, from the Ministry’s breeding research station.
“In 2004, we managed to export 40 breeding ewes (female sheep) and four rams (male sheep) to Samoa while in 2005 we were able to ship four breeding rams and 40 breeding ewes to the Kingdom of Tonga,” Mr Tunabuna said.
For this new shipment a total of 110 sheep were sent on the request from the Government of Samoa to the Government of Fiji.
Mr Tunabuna said that the sheep were carefully quarantined before departing for Samoa.
“The sheep were carefully looked after which included being fed with medicated feed and continuously monitored by local Veteran for diseases.
“The Eastgate farm was selected by the Government because he has proper recording, drenching normal internal and external parasites control, good pasture program and good nutrition strategy for the flock,” he said.
He added that working with Mr Eastgate is part of the Ministry’s public and private partnership and that his Multiplication Centre meets the requirements and the Ministry’s expectations.
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