Nauru’s new-new president

Politics

Adeang, the third president in 20 days, faces the challenge of achieving a basis for political and financial stability in the once phosphate-rich Island state

By David North

Naum had three presidents (really prime ministers) in a period of 20 days.

On November 26, the parliament elect ed Kennan Adeang, MP, a fiscal reformer, to that post by a nine-to-eight margin. He replaced Bernard Dowiyogo, once a long time incumbent in the position, but most recently elected to the presidency on November 7.

On that date, Dowiyogo replaced Lagumot Harris, who had been president for about a year prior to his ousting.

The once-rich Island’s politics consists of one part substantive issues - how to cope with a severe, self-created financial crisis (see “Dowiyogo takes over Naum”

Pacific Islands Monthly December, 1996) and one part intense personal rivalries among the 18 members of this, one of the world’s smallest national parliaments. (Tuvalu’s, with 12 members, is smaller.)

The basic political problem in Nauru is a closely divided

parliament

Observers sense that Adeang, among the current cohort of local politicians, is probably the most careful with his Island’s resources, with Dowiyogo proba bly less so, and Harris somewhere in between.

Adeang, long a member of the parlia ment, had been the de facto leader of the opposition for years while Naum’s ruling faction made a number of bad investment decisions, and was gulled by international conmen.

The basic political problem in Naum is a closely divided parliament. Harris took power, with Adeang in his cabinet, by a nine-to-eight vote in 1995, with the

speaker staying neutral.

Harris was overthrown by Dowiyogo after a series of close votes, with absen tees and abstentions playing a major role in the internal manoeuvering. Adeang and

his close ally. Ruby Dediya, eventually brought down their one-time leader, Harris, by supporting Dowiyogo - if briefly.

Out of this political chaos has emerged one of the highest-ranking women in Pacific insular politics

Then on November 26, the Adeang and Harris factions came together, appar ently out of a joint antipathy for Dowiyogo and his policies, and carried a nine-to-eight vote for the new govern ment. Dowiyogo had never been able to count on more than eight votes during his short, minority government.

The speculation is that Adeang will continue to press forward with a tight budget to try to bring some financial sta bility for the Island.

Further, it is known that many of the Island’s leaders are worried about how the

Island’s public and, equally importantly,

the overseas financial community thinks about the recent lack of political stability.

These two concerns may work to

steady Adeang’s slimmest of possible

majorities.

Meanwhile, out of this political chaos has emerged one of the highest-ranking women in Pacific insular politics.

Ruby Dediya, a nurse by training, was elected to parliament a year ago, and in this past November became finance min ister and minister assisting the president.

Shortly after being chosen president,

Adeang left the Island to attend to press ing financial matters in Melbourne (where Nauru’s investments are managed) and in Honolulu (location of one of Nauru’s more successful real estate ventures).

Dediya became the acting president as

a result and served in that capacity for most of the first two weeks of the Adeang ministry.

This is an unusual distinction for a woman in the Islands. (In Guam,

Lieutenant Governor Madeleine Bordallo serves as acting governor from time to time.) The rest of the new cabinet includes Clinton Benjamin, who had served in the year-long Harris cabinet, and cabinet newcomers Anthony Audoa, Remy Namaduk and Godfrey Thoma .

The other three voting for Adeang were ex-President Harris, ex-Finance Minister Rueben Kun and Nimrod Botelanga. Keeping his group of eight supporters happy will present a continu ing challenge to Adeang.

Under these circumstances there is talk

I Adeang will have to continue to struggle with the need to make ends meet

about the need for an air-clearing election to give Nauru some political stability. At the moment, no election is slated until 1998, and it will be interesting to see if a majority of the currently elected members of the parliament would be willing to risk their seats in exchange for a little more political stability for their country. That’s a tough call for any politician, anywhere in the world.

Meanwhile, Adeang will have to con tinue to struggle with the need to make ends meet, given a future of rapidly

declining phosphate production and a past

of spend-thrift policies.

At last report. Air Nauru, the govern ment’s money-losing airline, continued to operate with only one plane, as opposed to the luxurious two or three of the past; but while the reduction of flights was helpful to the treasury, Nauru, a small Island with 8000 residents, still had two government

supported hospitals.

It is clearly harder to sell or lease a redundant hospital on Nauru than to sell or lease a redundant airplane. Hospitals cannot fly away; even Kennan Adeang cannot manage that feat. ■