New hopes of stability in Vanuatu

Politics

By Patrick Decloitre

As Vanuatu’s new prime minister, Donald Kalpokas, came to power, on March 30, new hopes were nourished here, espe cially in the business community, which has suffered from a perennial instability for the past two years and, more recently, from the adverse effects of social upsurge.

In his first speech after his election, Kalpokas pledged to put back Vanuatu on a healthy economic path as a matter of “first priority”. His new government’s pri ority was a “better economic basis to restore the confidence”.

“There’s been a lot of economic mis management”, he said. Kalpokas announced tough economic measures “to steer Vanuatu away from an economic catastrophe and put it back on the path of recovery”. The new government also

urgently passed a bill to authorise further spendings to pay civil servants, since no 1998 budget had yet been voted.

One day after he came to power, on April 1, Kalpokas’s government found itself confronted with a legal padlock on the country’s cash box. An earlier presi dential order warranting payments for an extra 1.6 billion vatu (12.8 million US dol lars) in the first quarter of 1998 had lapsed, and his government could not legally pay its bills.

The 1998 budget has not yet been passed, a delay the former government explained by new budgeting guidelines imposed by an Asian Development Bank coordinated comprehensive reform pro gram initiated last year.

Finance minister Sela Molisa told par liament the authorised expenditures were based on last year’s budget, totalling some 6.6 billion vatu (53 million US dollars) and could be estimated to another 1.6 billion

vatu until end of June.

But the opposition said the 14-day notice calling for this legislature’s first extraordinary session had not been respected.

They also raised concern that the 1998 budget, when it is finally passed later this year during an ordinary session, could duplicate the sums already spent.

“It is unfortunate (my) government must bear the responsibility for this situa tion. But the interest of the nation must come first. There are regulations to follow, but it’s up to every individual to challenge the decision if they don’t like it. We must make sure the government can function”, Kalpokas told the 52-seat House.

“If this is not done, the government cannot resume payments of bills, salaries to the public servants and MPs. This is already the situation since April 1”, deputy prime minister Walter Lini said. Under the ADB reform programme, a “rightsizing”

of the public service, including sackings

and payment of redundancy allowances, is also to be included in the 1998 budget.

The bill, which was supported by 33 MPs, authorises the finance minister to “make funds available” to allow the government services to function for three months after March 31 or until the 98 budget is voted, “whichever of these events comes first”.

To top off, two cyclones, Yali and

Zuman, destructively accompanied the

change of government in Vanuatu, on both sides of the island state : Yali struck southern Tanna, Erromango and Anatom islands on March 22 with winds gusting to 70 knots (125 kilometres per hour).

A Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion reconnaissance flight later found these islands could face serious food shortage in the coming months. One week later, Zuman went for Vanuatu’ northern Santo and caused crop and structural damage to the east side of the island, Vanuatu’s biggest.

There, it is the copra industry, a major revenue earner, that could be seriously affected in future: hundreds of coconut trees were blown down. ■