Axe Falls On Stats Chief

Fiji Bureau of Statistics chief executive officer, Kemueli Naiqama’s contract, was terminated yesterday, for failure to comply with Section 5 of the Statistics Act 1961.

The Ministry of Economy, through the Acting Permanent Secretary, Shiri Gounder, terminated the contract.

In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, the Ministry of Economy said it was an unfortunate blow to the bureau’s credibility that Mr Naiqama endorsed the publication of unverifiable information in the Housing Income and Expenditure Survey 2019-2020 relating to ethnicity and religion –– data that was revealed to be extrapolated from erroneous sources and which exceeded the established scope of the survey’s data collection.

“The Fiji Bureau of Statistics is charged with the collection of statistics relating to any of the matters set out in Schedule 1 of the Statistics Act 1961 as subject to the approval and direction of the Minister for Economy. By exceeding the scope of data collection and ignoring fact-based methodology, Mr Naiqama breached the terms of his contract with the ministry,” the statement said.

Mr Naiqama will be paid all salary and accrued entitlements for the period up to September 15, 2021 as per his contract.

Statistics Act

[STA5]

With the approval and on the direction of the minister, the Government Statistician shall collect in Fiji or any part thereof, statistics relating to any matters set out in Schedule 1.

FIRST SCHEDULE

(Section 5)

• Population and housing.
• Vital occurrences and morbidity.
• Immigration and emigration.
• Internal and external trade.
• Primary and secondary production.
• Agriculture, including dairying, horticulture, pastoral, and allied industries.
• Forestry and fishing.
• Factories, mines, and productive industries generally.
• Employment and unemployment.
• Salaries, wages bonuses, fees, allowances and any other payments and honoraria for services rendered.
• Income, earnings, profits, and interest.
• Social, educational, labour, and industrial matters, including associations of employers, employees, and other persons generally.
• Industrial disturbances and disputes.
• Banking and finance generally.
• Commercial and professional undertakings.
• Distributive trades.
• Health.
• Transport and communication in all forms by land, water, or air.
• Wholesale and retail prices of commodities, rents, and cost of living.
• Injuries, accidents, and compensation.