Fiji’s economy continues to get better as the years go by says President Major-General (Ret’d) Joji Konrote.

He was speaking at the 2017 Fiji Business Excellence Awards held at the Sheraton Fiji Resort’s Denarau Island Convention Centre in Nadi last night.

“We have all heard of the naysayers who believe that Fiji will not be on par with the most productive nations in the world,” President Konrote said.

“We should not subscribe to that belief. Instead, we should all believe in ourselves that we can, as a nation, be on par with the highly productive and economically advanced nations of the world.”

The awards recognises business excellence and hard work.

“Excellence means different things to different people.

“As Fijians, we know that we can make the “Fijian Made” brand just as good as the best in the world.

“But, this requires commitment, forbearance, perseverance and a major change in mindset.

“Unless we have the right attitude, courage and conviction, we will lose the race even before it starts.

“Excellence is also about ordinary people doing extraordinary things; and this is where everyone plays a role in this journey towards excellence.”

This year’s theme for the awards is ‘Raising Productivity for Sustainability’ and President Konrote said it was the opportune time to start recognising this.

“Productivity has always been recognised and accepted as the underlying factor for competitiveness and the driver of economic growth.

“It is more than just the measure of how effectively resources are used to produce outputs; it is about working smarter, not harder.

“On one side of the coin, Productivity is the activity of using less to create more – however in reality; Productivity can be perceived and considered a mindset – that continuously aspires to better ways of accomplishing tasks and conducting business.”

President Konrote said that to eradicate things like poverty, many partners and stakeholders would have to work hand in hand to help this become a reality.

“Fiji’s per-Worker Labour Productivity Growth stands at 1.1 per cent over the last 10 years,” he said.

“It is imperative that we make it our collective goal to develop policies that will stimulate higher productivity through greater innovation.

“We cannot talk about poverty eradication, employment creation and economic growth in the absence of innovation. Fiji depends on the ability of our local organisations to be creative in order for our economy to continue to prosper.”

Look after employees

President Konrote also urged employers to look after those who worked under them.

“This ladies and gentleman is not rocket science. If you look after your people, they will in turn look after your customers thus creating more business and dividends for your stakeholders.

“As an employer, we can no longer expect the employee to simply “hang their worries at the gate”.

“While a machinelike approach may seem like a solution, the reality is that today’s generation of workers are not robots and therefore, they must be psychologically prepared to be productive.

“The onus therefore rests with the leaders/employers to increase the productivity levels by not only focusing on the technical aspects but by also considering any emotional challenges an employee may face.

“The emotional wellbeing of employees is critical to the productivity within the workplace.”

For list of winners and more pictures read in tomorrow’s edition.

Edited by Ranoba Baoa

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