16 Jul 2008

Senior Fiji civil servant resigns

9:49 am on 16 July 2008

Top Fiji civil service and former Forum Secretariat senior economic advisor, Pramesh Chand, has resigned as Permanent Secretary in the Prime Ministers Office

In his resignation letter to Public Service Commission chairman Rishi Ram, Mr Chand said he was resigning "due to certain circumstances".

Our correspondent in Suva says Mr Chand's resignation on the eve of the Forum Ministerial Group tour was met with disbelief from various quarters of the community, most of whom refer to him as an outstanding, experienced and intelligent civil servant whose resignation would, amongst other things, mean a significant loss of credibility for the interim government.

Rishi Ram says the Commission will appoint someone within the ministry to act before they begin recruitment processes proper for a replacement.

He said the new appointment would have to be someone who had extensive experience in the civil service and was well-qualified.