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Niumataiwalu and Domolailai co-chair People’s Charter Working Group TWO experts from the private sector were nominated to head a Working Group on the Development of Resource-Based Sectors. George Niumataiwalu of Kontiki Capital and Aca Domolailai of Agro Marketing will co-chair Working Group 6 which addresses the country’s resource based sectors and their performance in relation to the economy. National Council Member, Ratu Josateki Nawalowalo, who is also serving as a member of Working Group 6, said the appointment of the two, reflected inclusiveness through a broader representation from all key stakeholders outside the Government and the National Council for Building a Better Fiji (NCBBF). “The two are very capable and experts in their respective field and their leadership and contribution to the working group and the Charter initiative in general, will be of great value,” Ratu Josateki said. The 18-member group which comprises members from both the private and public sectors, acknowledged that Fiji’s resource-based sectors have been ‘underperforming’ in the past decade. With the exception of mineral water, other sectors including fisheries, agriculture, mining and forestry have been on a downward trend. Some crucial issues identified by the group as reasons for the poor performance of these sectors include: difficulty to access credit from financial institutions, Fiji Development Bank’s performance, , inherent lack of applied research in resource-based industries, increasing impact of economic activities on environment, and inefficiencies in public entities engaged in natural resource sectors. The Working Group concluded that Fiji’s resource-based sectors have great potential, and with restructuring and reform, they will have more positive impact on the economy, in creating jobs and eradicating poverty. Kaiming Qiu, a farmer from Navua; Alec Chang, chief executive officer, Tropik Wood Industries Limited in Drasa, Lautoka and Fiji Fish chief, Graham Southwick are also part of the group.
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