Nabilah Safira
TechInPacific – The Fiji Bureau of Statistics has appointed 30-year veteran Ms. Maria Talei Divuyaliyali Musudroka as its new first female-led CEO.
Musudroka’s in-depth background in statistics is hoped to bring out the best of policies for the country with clear and accurate statistical information across fields.
Her expertise includes statistical compilation, analysis & reporting, strategic management, and public administration. Familiar with the bureau, she has been working there for the last 10 years. Among her works are the execution of the National Census, Household Income and Expenditure Survey, Employment and Unemployment Survey, and various economic and social statistics data compilation and reports.
Musudroka has completed her Master of Arts in Development Studies, Post Graduate Diploma in Development Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts (Management & Public Administration), and Demography – Population Studies. Her prior 20 years post-studies were dedicated to both the private and public sectors.
Kemuli Naiqama, who previously ran the role, was outed due to his breach of Section 5 of the Statistics Act 1961, using data with many errors for the Housing Income and Expenditure Survey 2019-2020 relating to ethnicity and religion.
The Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says that fair implementation policies for subsidized water and electricity, social pension scheme, disability allowance (more) rely on accountable statistical information.
He believes that Musudroka will carry the weight of expectations well with her decades of expertise in leading the compilation and publication of ‘soundly-derived statistical information’ as a basis of well-formulated policies in supporting national development.
“We look forward to working closely with Bureau under her leadership, particularly through our national effort to improve the socio-economic standing of all Fijians.”
