Bravo, SPC

Opinion

T H E S P C

\Debbie

Isingh

It was a proud moment for the manage ment and staff of the South -Pacific Commission (SPC) when the organi sation received an unexpected, but very welcome, accolade in the December 1996 issue of Islands Business magazine.

Following a tradition which began in 1992, the magazine saluted the organisa tion’s three executives and named them its “People of the Year” - its praise also embracing the Commission’s staff of around 170 people. In a message to the staff, the SPC executive said; “What a wonderful way for the entire staff of the SPC to begin this New Year having been named by Islands Business magazine as the 1996 Team of the Year.

Congratulations to each and every one of you for a job well done. The work of this valuable organisation continues to receive the praise and support of people through out the region, and it is largely due to the dedication, professionalism and commit ment of all the staff of the SPC.”

The salute couldn’t have been timed more appropriately, as the grand lady pre pares to turn 50 this month and who, not long ago, was portrayed as a sinking ship.

Massive administrative and financial renovations have taken place at the SPC since its team of Director-General Dr Bob Dun and his two deputies, Lourdes Pangelinan and Dr Jimmie Rodgers, took office a year ago, and changes have been swift and efficient. And at the risk of being accused of having a biased opinion, the team at the SPC’s helm has truly done much to turn an almost sinking ship around. As the IB tribute put it: “Only a year later, the transformation looks mirac ulous. It is actually the product of a great deal of hard work and imagination led by a spectacularly successful team - Dun, Pangelinan and Rodgers. It was only a

The South Pacific Commission enjoys the glory of a job well done’

year ago that they were appointed. What remarkably fine choices they were.”

True, the battle for the director-gener alship was one fought with intensity, with Australia being accused of wanting to put an Australian into a post traditionally held by Islanders and many Islanders, includ ing former Director-General Ati George Sokomanu, calling the move a “backward step” for the SPC.

But Dun, the organisation and the team whom he describes as “two fine, young professionals” have succeeded in winning somewhat grudging praise from many of those who opposed the Australian nomina tion and subsequent appointment, saying: “We are endeavouring to present a friend ly image in all directions. I guess you call it public relations.”

Perhaps one of the more significant achievements of the new team was the major organisational review which the SPC underwent in 1996. The 33 recom mendations of the three-member team were tabled at the organisation’s annual conference in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), in late 1996. At the end of the conference and after what Dun described as an earlier “ambush” of sorts, the 33 recommenda tions won an eventual hard-earned victory.

“There was a preparedness for change that was very impressive,” Dun said. “It may also have helped when- I lifted the ante by declaring that the evaluation of my own performance for 1996 would be judged by the fate of the review recom mendations - even though such an out come wasn’t fully under my control.

“The long-term forward-looking future

of the SPC was in their hands. But what ever the psychology of the meeting, we got there,” Dun said. “The commission is now a completely open organisation. It is

swimming in communication and change, but not happily yet. Change is uncomfort able, people have to accept that discomfort and loss of privilege is part of the game.”

On February 6, 1997, the SPC will cel ebrate its golden jubilee and 50 years of service to Pacific Island countries and ter ritories. The organisation, with the concur rence of its annual conference in 1997, will also change its name in its 51st year.

The new title, Pacific Islands Development Commission, is designed to embrace countries in both the Northern and Southern Pacific.

This year’s annual conference will be held in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, where the agreement establish ing the Commission was signed in 1947.

The SPC has undergone many changes since this time and, through these, its role in the development of the region has remained constant, its heart being its inte grated work programme focusing on tech nical assistance and training; with agricul ture and fishing constituting the Commission’s largest programmes.

There will not be a public holiday to mark the SPC’s anniversary celebrations this year. Instead, the organisation will hold an “open house” to enable pro grammes to exhibit their work. The SPC’s anniversary committee has been working hard since June 1996 to organise a day New Caledonia and SPC member coun tries will remember - maybe not for the next 50 years, but hopefully for the next five at least. Over the half century this regional canoe has battled many a storm and has surfaced. Its holes are being patched up and it looks forward to taking on another half century with added vigour, resources, the strength of its staff and col laboration with its member governments and administrations. ■