We shall

Nauru

We shall overcome

After 22 weeks in power in 1977, Bernard Dowiyogo returned to be Nauru’s President three months ago. In February he celebrated Nauru’s 22nd year as an independent nation by outlining some of the major issues facing his phosphate-rich country.

44 lAM not going to speak to you ■on how our country is prosper- Jing, how much phosphate we have produced, how happy we all are, how much we trust our Government, and what beautiful prospects lie ahead. I wish mainly to inform you all generally of current events and address you the main issues facing our Nation.

One of the most important Government organisation is the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust. In recent years the Trust has embarked on an extensive programme of property investments.

Nauru House in Melbourne which, although 13 years old, is still one of the most important office towers in that city with a very high rate of tenant occupancy. The Trust also owns, in Melbourne, a smaller office building known as Prime House, the Islanders Place, and the Savoy Plaza Hotel which is undergoing an extensive refurbishment with anticipated completion later this year.

The Trust has a number of property investments outside Australia and earlier this month I joined the Trust in an inspection of property investments in the United States of America. The Trust has invested in Portland, Oregon, in a residential land development project involving 601 acres. The project will be developed in seven phases over a period

of 11 years and each phase is to be sold in its development sequence. The Minis ter assisting the President and the Speak er with other local dignitaries partici pated in the formal opening of the pro ject last September, and since then there have been excellent sales of both build ing lots and houses built by the Trust.

Phase one is nearing completion and plans are well in hand for Phase two.

Because of the meticulous care and con cern taken by the Trust in regard to the natural environment of the land this project has been very much welcomed by the people of Portland.

In Washington DC the Trust owns Pacific House, a seven-floor building in a prestigious area near the centre of the

capital city.

In Houston, Texas, I participated in a Signing Ceremony for the Trust’s latest investment in the purchase of 668 acres of land for a residential community cen tre development project similar to Port land. The Trust also owns another build ing in Houston known as The Singer Building. This building contains six floors and is fully leased and occupied by the CAE-Link Corporation that assembles in the building many of the airline flight simulators that are used throughout the world. The Link Cor poration has asked the Trust to consider

increasing the size of the building and this will be examined by the Trust.

In Honolulu we inspected progress on the Trust’s Nauru Tower project which is a five-stage project comprising in its first stage a 44-floor condominium tower located in a prime area next to Waikiki Bach. This Tower contains more than 300 units and virtually all those made available to the public have been sold even though it will be 18 months before the building is completed. The Trust has retained 26 units for sale to our people.

The piling works are completed and the construction of the tower itself will soon be visible. This is the largest project ever undertaken by the Trust.

The Pacific Star Hotel owned by the Trust is the premier hotel in Guam. It has been a most successful investment for the Trust, and for our people.

The Trust has other property invest ments in other countries as well. The Trust owns the Pacific Star Building in Manila and it is fully leased. In Suva, Fiji, the Trust owns the Grand Pacific Hotel and is currently investigating the complete renovation and extension of this hotel into a Five Star status.

In London, the Trust owns a small office building in an attractive part of

the city.

In New Zealand the Trust owns two

high quality hotels (Sheraton Auckland and Sheraton Rotorua) which are man aged by the Sheraton Group.

These projects are very high quality and are so regarded by the communities in which they are located. Quite apart from generating financial benefit they also help make Nauru very favourably known to many people who know very little about us.

Rising Cost Of Living

However, I am not here to speak to you on how our country is prospering.

On the contrary there is real doubt if our people are prospering. This Govern ment feels there has been a certain fun damental change of circumstances in that while the Nauruan people have en joyed a higher standard of living after Independence, the real cost of living on the island has now increased drastically more than, say, Australia. The pressure of population has made its impact felt in important areas such as housing, educa tion, medical services, and social be haviour. The important duty of provid ing housing for Nauruans, which was until recently a Governmental responsi bility, has since been given over to indi vidual Nauruan to privately finance the full cost of his house.

Many of the Phosphate lands which

were yielding cash royalty have ceased to do so upon completion of primary min ing, and the royalty income of many families, on which they had depended in the past, has now dried up. Income

through employment is either insignifi

cant or insufficient, and non existent for many of these families. As a result of such circumstances there are families who find it difficult to make both ends meet. Compounded to these problems, things we need on the island are con tinually in short supply. All these cir cumstances are real and manifestly enough for this Government to under take a serious re-examination of the rationale behind the Ronwan being kept untouched until 1995.

In view of the changed circumstances our Government would be failing in its duty to the Nauruan community to deny the landowners what is rightfully theirs.

In our humble view it must be the land owner himself who decides when he needs his money the most. There are many Nauruans who are in less fortun ate financial circumstances, except for the Ronwan printout which show they are considerably well off. The Govern ment is currently engaged in the colla tion of necessary records as well as the study of the various legal and financial impediments involved, in order that it

will be in a position, as soon as possible, to introduce suitable legislation to amend the Trust Ordinance to enable orderly emancipation of the Ronwan Fund.

Public Service Reform

The Public Service of Nauru is the most important sector in the Republic.

During last year there were 1138 officers and employees employed in the service of whom 917 were Nauruans and 221 employees recruited overseas whose con tribution towards our welfare is mostly appreciated. However the great potential of our Nation is not being used to its fullest.

Your Government intend to reform and reorganise certain aspects of the Public Service to improve the quality of services and to put a stop to becoming accustomed to saying one thing and thinking another, to put a stop to having learnt not to believe in anything, not to care about one another and above all, to put a stop to looking after oneself only.

The problem of absenteeism and in efficiency must be stopped and the members of the Public Servi.ce must face their responsibility in this respect and realise that each one of them counts for the effective contribution of the Public Service as a whole to the fulfilment of the tasks of administration. Unpreten

The Nauru empire: saving up for the rainy days.

tious, simplicity, moderation and disci pline as well as a spirit of sacrifice, must become a part of every working day life, lest all suffer the negative consequences of the careless habits of a few. I believe that, to lead is to serve. Your Parliament, your Government, and other Social In stitutions in the Republic have but one common goal the welfare of the Nau ruans. This is no less expected from the Nauru Public Service. It is for this goal that we are all here to serve to the best of our ability. Our people have a right to expect this consideration from all those in authority or in control of their wel fare.

Your Government will endeavour in turn to promote the benefits of our Pub lic Servants and in this respect your Gov ernment has approved the Nauru Super

annuanon Board to investigate and re port on possible re duction in the con tribution rates by members and to make a special actua rial investigation with a view to achieve in creases in rates of pensions and other benefits. It is ex pected that the Com mission of Inquiry, issued last Septem ber, to review the structure and classi fication of designa tions of the Public Service would be in a position to submit its recommendations shortly. This will assist in upgrading

and strengthening

the Public Service and rationalising its structure and salary system. Training of

Public Servants in their relevant jobs to improve their standard and experience will always be made available.

Seeking Better Education

The future of our Nation lies in the proper education of our young people, but truancy continues to be a most serious problem besetting our education system, I need not go into details about the level of truancy which has been afflicting our schools, but I must say that parents, and guardians also should take more active interest in a positive way in the education of their children.

With the resources and finance being provided by your Government, with the approval of your Parliament, Nauru’s education system should be second to none, but in view of the problem of

truancy how can we be proud of our education system? I strongly urge all pa rents to help their children’s education positively with their regular attendance and in their school lessons. I also call on all teachers to leave no stones unturned in their efforts to teach our young peo ple. Your Government, I assure you, will stand behind all your good efforts.

Health Problems

Nauru like other countries, is not with out health problems. With our seemingly abundant affluence we should have the best health system. Unfortunately this is not. The quality of our health service leaves much to be desired. The medical staff tries their best, but unless the na tion increasingly share the responsibility

for the promotion of Health programmes the quality will not improve. Continuous short supply of necessary medical supplies and general materials we need on the island has not helped. In this re spect your Govern ment is committed to take urgent measures and what may be drastic steps to some, to reorganise the establishment and standard of our medical services and

to improve supplies.

Government real ises that it spends ev ery year quite a sub stantial fund for medical treatment ( overseas. Our society will find no solution to this problem un less it takes a serious

look at its lifestyle, We have given in to instant gratification and consumerism while mostly remain ing indifferent to the damage which these cause to our life. We should recog nisf °“ r own responsibility and obll S at T “ contribute to the tm- P rovement of a bealth V Nation,

The War Of Rehabilitation

The Matter of Rehabilitation of the island is an important issue. On 19th May 1989, Nauru filed an application before the International Court of Justice against Australia requesting the Court to enter a finding on the International Leg al responsibility of Australia for the Re habilitation of certain Phosphate Lands mined under Australian Administration

before Nauruan Independence in 1968.

This step was taken following the recom mendations of an Independent Commis sion of Inquiry which had submitted its 10 volume Report on 19th November 1988.

Nauru took this step most reluctantly and only after repeated efforts and re quests, dating back to 1968, aimed at

achieving diplomatic settlement of

Nauru’s claims, had failed. Despite this, Nauru has assured Australia repeatedly that it will be open to consider any reasonable request for further negotia tions on the question. My Government reiterates this position. It is our earnest hope that Australia and the other for mer partner governments will re examine their respective positions in ful filment of their legal and moral respon

sibility.

The International Court has directed Nauru to present its pleadings before 20th April 1990, and Australia before 21st January 1991.

Hope For Success

I will be failing in my task if I do not say we have problems. The task ahead is great, and great are the responsibilities that lay ahead. The task of building our Nation towards the common goal of bet terment of our people with equality of opportunities calls for co-operation be tween your Government and our people in the years ahead.

But let me not sound too unduly de spairing. We have solved our problems in the past. We will be able to succeed again with your goodwill and support.

We are happy to see Air Nauru flying again across the blue skies of the Pacific.

We have made world news and sporting history in New Zealand at the Common wealth Games in winning our first ever gold medal by our only participant. Such a victory and determination on the eve of our 22nd Independence Day Anniversary is truly another historic achievement for the small nation of the Republic of Nauru.

Our disabled people had also shown credit and great courage in travelling beyond the normal comfort of their homes to participate in an overseas sports meeting for the disabled, for the honour of representing their nation and their people. As our leaders overcame the problems of the past to achieve inde pendence for their people, so shall we overcome our current problems • • for the betterment of our people.

Grand Pacific Hotel: renovation and extension to Five Star.