Fiji to send more civil servants for training in China

Fiji will send more civil servants to the China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong (CELAP) to undergo short-term training, the Fijian government announced Saturday. Parmesh Chand, permanent secretary of Fiji's Public Service Commission (PSC), made this announcement after 20 senior officials from across government agencies and statutory bodies returned from China following their own training from CELAP, according to the Ministry of Information. The 20 officials met with Chand and staff of the commission and shared their experiences. "PSC's role is to identify officers for the training and we are looking at the possibility of sending more officers in the future, " Chand said. "The government had requested for three hundred more officials to undergo training and that has been approved so we will be sending batches of 25 officers for the next five years." he added. Commending the leadership development training, the Ministry of Education's deputy secretary Kelera Taloga said that the concept of governance in China is an eye opener for her. "The ministries in China focus on one plan, whatever is implemented at the ground level is an implementation of the master plan," Taloga said. "One of the key factors that I learned in China that I can transfer to my own ministry is the need to work together in realizing our own vision." Similarly, Rusiate Tudravu, assistant commissioner of Fiji Police, said one of the main features of the training focused on reforms. "The will of the leaders to implement changes and to be people- focused is very important," Tudravu said. "It is very clear that China's intent to develop the country focusing on the needs of the citizens and from the Fiji Police point of view this includes the significant role that national security plays." Officially opened on March 18, 2005, the China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong is a Shanghai-based national institution funded by the central government of China and supervised by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. The training it provides is for senior leaders from the government and top executives from the business community.