Job applicants not told how they scored, says PS

Fijians applying for government jobs are not informed of how they performed in interviews or the scores they received.

This was revealed during a parliamentary committee hearing yesterday, which drew sharp questions from MPs.

Ministry of Civil Service permanent secretary Pita Tagicakirewa confirmed the practice before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, which was reviewing the Ministry’s 2022–2023 Annual Report.

“They are advised of the outcome of the process, but no, they are not informed of the particulars,” Mr Tagicakirewa said.

Opposition MP Virendra Lal queried the Open Merit Recruitment and Selection process of the ministry.

Mr Tagicakirewa explained that the standard framework to hire civil servants ensures there is no bias or favouritism. Interview panellists are required to declare conflicts of interest before every process.

Committee Deputy chairperson Rinesh Sharma raised a wider concern that many Fijians believe government appointments are made along ethnic lines or through personal connections.

“It’s important that ‘whom you know’ means who you know knows the job,” Mr Sharma said.

The ministry said applicants who believe proper process was not followed can apply for a procedural review through the Public Service Commission, which can direct a ministry to redo the process if rules were not observed.

In 2022–2023, the civil service had around 22,000 filled positions and more than 2,400 vacancies — a 10 per cent vacancy rate — as government rebuilds staffing levels after the COVID-19 Budget cuts froze hundreds of posts.