National Archives underfunded, Parliament told

Fiji’s National Archives is struggling to preserve the country’s records, with Parliament told the department is not adequately funded and has no regular source of revenue.

Assistant Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister and chairperson of the Standing Committee on Social Affairs Sakiusa Tubuna presented the committee’s review of the 2023–2024 Department of Information and National Archives Annual Report in Parliament today.

Mr Tubuna said the committee found that the department “does not have regular sources of revenue” and was “not adequately funded”.

The committee also raised concerns over delays in upgrading the National Archives’ IT servers.

“Delays were further affecting the digitisation of records,” he said.

The concerns come as the Department of Information continued its work of providing government information to the public, covering 1,003 events during the 2023–2024 financial year.

The events covered included major Government announcements, national events, international visits and public programmes through social media, websites, photography, radio, and iTaukei and Hindi print publications.

Mr Tubuna said the committee’s review found that the National Archives was facing “financial and technological challenges”.

He further stated that the Archives was a “service provider to the people of Fiji”, highlighting the need for resources to support its work.

“IT server upgrade is particularly important as the department works to digitise records and make them easier to preserve and access.”

The committee’s findings put the spotlight on the resources available to protect Fiji’s historical and official records.

Mr Tubuna tabled the report in Parliament and moved that debate on its contents be initiated at a future sitting. The motion was agreed to without opposition.