11 years with no regrets

By Beryl Cook

IF Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Father Walter Lini, loses his position as leader on August 7, he will do so without misgivings. Father Lini told Pacific Islands Monthly he had no regrets about any of his actions during his 11 years in power.

Referring specifically to the events of the past few months, he said he was unhappy at the way some members of the party had sought to remove him from power at the April congress.

“If they had not proposed an early Congress the Congress would have come at the proper time. Then we would have changed the executive,” he said. “A date had been set for June with a view to changing the executive, but when they decided to call it earlier I was opposed to the idea. When I came back from Japan I opposed it because I did not think it was the right time and because of the cost.”

Lini felt the country had fared well under his leadership. “I think economically we haven’t done

badly, but the most important thing we have achieved is to make sure that our country accepts the rule of law which is not our island style of life. In the last 11 years we have been able to make people respect the constitution, respect the policies and law and order, and we couldn’t have done it if we didn’t have independence.

“We couldn’t have made our people see that they are responsible to make sure this is done. In terms of total satisfaction that is the most important thing to me other achievements are important but that is the most important thing for any country in the

region.”

Looking ahead, Father Lini stressed economic

developmeent and ni-Vanuatu participation.

“If I have my time again, I would really like to see ni-Vanuatu really go ahead in economic terms,” he said. “In the last 11 years we haven’t done it.

We have concentrated on laws and national institutions like the banks, but we haven’t really begun to make those institutions begin to have any ni-Vanuatu.” □