A researcher in the area of public sector reform in Fiji says there has been a significant loss of experience and talent from the public service since the lowering of the retirement age.
The comment follows an announcement by the Public Service Commission that it's conducting performance audits in all government ministries, following a decree in April to drop the country's official retirement age from 60 to 55.
Dr Desmond Uelese Amosa of the University of the South Pacific says there has been no dramatic change in the quality of the civil service, which has shed more than 2-thousand employees in the past four months.
But he says in the long-term it could cost the country millions of dollars.
"There is certainly a significant loss of experience and talent following the implementation of the policy, and for a small country like Fiji it can have very adverse effects on efficiency and effectiveness of public service delivery."
Dr Desmond Amosa of the University of the South Pacific.
