The Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) has a new chief executive officer. He is Australian, Barry Omundson.

Mr Omundson succeeds Opetaia Ravai, who left in 2017.

At a press conference yesterday, Mr Omundson said the authority was embarking on a billion-dollar worth of capital projects in the next number of years that should address water issues in the country.

Mr Omundson said those projects would be funded by different agencies working with the authority.

“Water issues are not going away in a short term, however will go away eventually,” Mr Omundson said.

“It will take some time and a great deal of effort from the Fijian Government, our funding partners and also the Water Authority.”

He said service delivery and customer satisfaction would be priorities for him.

“One of my immediate focus will be developing a culture of world-class service delivery,” he adds.

WAF Board chair, Bhavesh Kumar highlighted the rigorous merit-based selection process for Mr Omundson.

“Barry has an extensive water-related background and has spent numerous years at executive management level…with the full confidence and the backing of the board to take WAF to the next level,” Mr Kumar said.

Mr Omundson officially starts in his new role this Friday.

Edited by Ivamere Nataro

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