Two women – one a prominent accountant and the other an accomplished lawyer – were yesterday named on a new look Fiji National Provident (FNPF) board.

It is amongst continuous transformative reforms in the 52-year-old fund.

Pursuant to the Fiji National Provident Fund Decree 2011, the Attorney-General and Minister for Finance, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, has appointed Directors of the FNPF Board.

Ajith Kodagoda has been retained as Chairman of the Board and Tevita Kuruvakadua will also serve a second term.

The new Board members are Makereta Konrote, Sanjay Kaba and Bhavna Narayan.

Their appointment is effective from January 23, 2016, for a period of four years.

The Fund also acknowledged the enormous contributions of outgoing directors Tom Rickets, Sashi Singh and Taito Waqa.

During their tenure, these members displayed and upheld crucial trustee roles that covered the critical period of FNPF reforms to ensure the sustainability of members’ hard earned retirement savings..

A brief on the FNPF Directors are as follows:

Ajith Kodagoda – is the Group Chief Finance Officer and Finance Director of CJ Patel Co Ltd. He has extensive experience in finance, accounting and investment. He also serves as Board Director and Chairman of a number of corporate entities. He holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Post Graduate Institute of Management at the University of Sri Jayawardenapura. Mr Kodagoda is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Fiji Institute of Accountants. He is also an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. Mr Kodagoda has over 24 years of working experience in Fiji.

Tevita Kuruvakadua – is the General Manager of the iTaukei Land Trust Board. Mr Kuruvakadua has extensive knowledge and experience in Finance and Accounting, Auditing, Corporate Governance and Risk Management. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting and Financial Management from the University of the South Pacific. He is also a member and Chairman of a number of companies. He is a member of the Fiji Institute of Internal Auditors, Fiji Institute of Accountants and member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Makereta Konrote – is currently the Acting Permanent Secretary Finance. Ms Konrote has worked in Government at a senior level for many years and as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director at the World Bank. She has extensive experience and knowledge in economic policy formulation, Financial Management and public sector reforms. Ms Konrote is a member of a number of Boards and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She holds a Master of Environmental and Resource Economics qualification from the Australian National University, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and Public Administration from the University of the South Pacific.

Sanjay Kaba – is currently Managing Director, principal Structural Engineer and Projects Director at the Houng Lee Jacob Kaba Limited. He has worked as project and Design Engineer in Oil and Engineering firm. Mr Kaba has extensive experience in as Project Development Manager, Project Management and Planning, Structural Engineering. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Engineers and Member of Fiji Institute of Engineers. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) degree from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

Bhavna Narayan – is currently a Partner in the Lateef & Lateef Law firm. Ms Narayan holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of the South Pacific and Diploma in Legal Practice from USP’s Institute of Justice & Applied Legal Studies. She has extensive experience in general/commercial litigation and advice including debt recovery.