10 years of achievements
pp. 24-25 · Read in the full issue
Highlights of Vanuatu’s 10 years of achievements since independence: • Education • Set up 13 primary, 14 junior secondary and three senior secondary schools. • Abolished primary fees and now about 85 per cent of children aged from 6 to 12 years are enrolled. • 541 ni-Vanuatu students graduated from universities or colleges.
Health and Welfare • Set up 65 dispensaries, 145 aid posts and extended Vila Central
Hospital.
• Trained 139 nurses. • Provided water supplies to 65 per cent of the rural population and to 90 per cent of those in town. • Built 46 National Housing Corporation houses for low-income fami lies.
Custom and Land • Returned land to custom owners and made it possible for them to lease out their land. • Set up six Island Courts to rule on land disputes.
Regional Development
• Set up Vanuatu Commodities Marketing Board. • Helped farmers improve copra and cattle; set up cocoa and coffee plantations and a cattle company. • Set up local supply forestry plantations and an industrial forestry
plantation.
Meriana Kaniana: breaking new grounds for women.
• Set up 190 village fisheries units; arranged for 400 ni-Vanuatu to
crew foreign fishing vessels.
• Build regional commercial centres and organised co-operatives. • Ownership of coastal shipping restricted to ni-Vanuatu.
Infrastructure • Built and upgraded many kilometres of road. • Put airstrips on all main islands and 17 air terminals. • Extending the capital’s airport runway by 600 metres and building a new terminal. • Built wharves for 7 island ports. • Set up Telecom Vanuatu Ltd with a new 4000-line digital exchange as the first stage in a 1.2 billion vatu programme to provide digital micro wave links with other islands, a digital exchange on Santo, and radio links to remote areas.
Commerce and Tourism • The National Provident Fund and the Government jointy hold a 50 per cent stake in the new National Breweries. • Set up the Reserve Bank; introduced the vatu as legal tender; legis lated for a National Commercial and Trading Bank. • Opened a shipping registry in New York with 550 ships now reg istered. • Boosted tourism by buying an aircraft for Air Vanuatu and opening services to Australia and New Zealand.
Government • Funds the total recurrent budget from domestic resources. • Introduced 337 bills to Parliament which are now law. • Set up 11 local government councils and two municipal councils. • Localised about S 5 per cent of public service posts. • Established diplomatic ties with *7O nations; is a member of 29 regional and international organisations. □
No pressure: young men prepare kava at Binihi nakamal