Your Excellency President of the Republic of Vanuatu,
With humility, it is indeed a great honor and a privilege to stand in this august parliamentary chamber today as Prime Minister and Leader of the current Government in this First Ordinary Session of the 14th Legislature and to express the Government’s appreciation for the guiding wisdom in his Excellency’s address.
I acknowledge and give praise to the Almighty God for His continued protection over our country. Through years of challenges and inherent exposure to natural disasters – as a people - we have remained resilient because of the fundamental principles and values that underpin our nation. His Excellency’s statement “Turning back to GOD should be part of our national consciousness” is that compass now and into the future.
First and foremost, I would like to offer my sincere thanks and gratitude to his Excellency, for demonstrating wisdom in his mediating role and assistance to the leaders of all political parties in the 13th Legislature, to seek unity and consensus, which has so far enabled the country to steer away from the uncertainties and instability concerns that have stunted this country’s economic growth and impacted adversely on the welfare of our peoples in the last 30 years.
I give recognition to the customary owners and custodians of the land in which our capital city is located. In the same vein I extend the Government’s gratitude to customary land owners throughout the country who have and are allowing developments and critical infrastructures to take place on their land for the long-term benefits for our nation
I acknowledge and thank the leaders of all political parties, the churches, the chiefs and community leaders in working together to achieve a peaceful transition that enabled last year’s successful referendum, effectively setting into motion new Articles of the Constitution- 17A and 17B which we are now seeing come into force.
When this Government came to power a little over two months ago, we found ourselves having to deal with the aftermath of a major natural disaster never before witnessed in an independent Vanuatu.
But the good thing is we have the collective resolve to rebuild back better and stronger.
As the saying goes, ‘strong seas make good sailors’.
The Government I lead has embarked on an ambitious 100-day plan that for the first time is being monitored live online – allowing citizens, our valued development partners and the general public, to monitor our achievements, progress or otherwise. We hope they appreciate the level of transparency and accountability that we want to cultivate within the public sector.
So far we have delivered over 60% of the plan. By way of an update, the plan is underpinned by 5 broad sectors and I wish to highlight briefly how much we have achieved in less than three months:
- Economic Recovery and Growth– 53%
- Education Sector – 64%
- Foreign Relations and Policy Sector – 57%
- Governance and Reform – 50%
- Recovery and Infrastructure – 73%
As of today the Government has 34 days left to achieve its targets. We are well on the way to achieving most of the 75 policy priorities. They include yesterday’s 9th amendment to the constitution but further political reforms will be required. We must not fear in making the right decisions for the betterment of our country.
These efforts complement and support the NSDP and its Acceleration Plan up to 2030. Moreover, this Government is already thinking ahead towards the country’s Golden Jubilee and preparing for what is to come after the end of the People’s Plan.
On behalf of the Government I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to both sides of the House for demonstrating maturity in their bipartisan support and conscious votes for the changes; all aimed at protecting our sovereignty, values, and restoring credibility to our parliamentary system.
Your Excellency, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of promoting, facilitating and maintaining stability to enable an administration to build and progress national development goals.
Due largely to natural disasters over the years the country has continued to be subjected to catastrophic events which have had and will continue to have a significant negative impact on all our efforts.
Fortunately, we have our very supportive friends and development partners who have stood by us to help us overcome many of these challenges. With a humble and gracious heart, I take this opportunity to express the gratitude of a grateful people and a grateful nation.
His Excellency raised an issue which was inherited from long past administrations with Vanuatu’s international fisheries participations which we now know have deprived this nation of enormous benefits and financial capacities.
This Government has recognized the potential significance of some of this country’s international arrangements in the fisheries, marine and maritime sectors, to the extent that we now have a new Ministry of Fisheries, Maritime & Oceans devoted solely to this sector and which will also provide the framework for the growth of the Blue Economy across our nation.
Attention should also be drawn to the Vanuatu International Shipping Registry which has not fulfilled its national aspirations of generating revenue as expected or create job opportunities for our seafarers –products of the Vanuatu Maritime College, after so many years in commercial existence.
The Government is focused on finalizing and completing maritime boundary negotiations, securing the status of Mathew and Hunter Islands as part of Vanuatu and continuing the work done with our friends in returning some of the financial benefits from Vanuatu’s international fisheries quotas back to the country. We have had to work harder just because of an unjust colonial legacy that refuses to recognize our national sovereignty from north to south, and east to west.
We will, on top of our efforts with the International Court of Justice, continue to emphasize with our partners and neighbors, the importance of acknowledging the severe impacts of climate change and it will continue to be this Government’s position that for Vanuatu and its Pacific partners, climate change is and must always be an important national security and defense agenda priority.
Tourism which has been the backbone of our economy has suffered immensely from recent events including the liquidation and restructuring of Air Vanuatu and the December earthquake, and was set back considerably because of these events.
The introduction of flights by foreign carriers have replaced the national airline services with increased flight capacities happening regularly, however the disastrous impacts of the earthquake on the capital and the central business district and many of our tourism facilities will take time to recover.
We have been encouraged by the test flight of China Southern Airlines into Vanuatu and the Government is now actively engaged in preparing for regular flights. The economic corridor on Santo and the Government’s enduring commitment to the upgrade of Pekoa International Airport are all part of these ambitions in taking Vanuatu’s economic development to the next level.
This government places a high priority on economic development however we are continuing to work around overcoming the impacts of natural disasters, as well as inherited barriers and difficulties in order to facilitate progressive economic growth.
The Government will continue to recognize the private sector as integral to the economy with its many branches in Vanuatu’s commercial and economic diaspora and promote an inclusive, cohesive and progressive working arrangement with this important sector.
As part of this initiative, the Government has held meetings with the private sector, to identify ways forward and for members of the government’s administration to be familiarized with the challenges they face.
It has been identified that Vanuatu has an excessive number of public holidays and it is the intention of this Government to rationalize and unify many of the holidays so that celebrations can be conducted nationally rather than have separate celebrations at different times in different places with the added burdens placed on people in the communities. We are one nation and one people united in our diversity.
Whilst considerable controversy has arisen over this issue, as Prime Minister, I would like to re-emphasize this message: “Vanuatu is a nation of peoples, encompassing 6 provinces and over 80 islands. Vanuatu is not one man, one family, one island, one community or one province”. It will always be embedded in our history those who have valiantly fought for our independence. They will always be remembered.
To think otherwise is to deny the unified nation-wide validation of our independence and promote disunity and neo-colonialist attitudes, which will only weaken Vanuatu as a nation and the national identity. That is why the Government is placing the reforms of the education system as a fundamental priority where in the future we can embrace foreign languages as assets, but not to fragment us as a people.
Vanuatu must move away and extract itself from these disturbing trends which have contributed to the disunity and instability that has affected this nation and delayed its national progress.
The impact of social media as a forum for public debate and public interest must be for the benefit of the country. Abuse of social media and distortion of facts with malicious intentions are not acceptable and will be dealt with under the new laws soon to be passed during this session.
Many have commented on the changes passed yesterday by parliament – a few of which will be taken to the national referendum. We must acknowledge that the world has changed and the country has changed. Therefore, in order for this country to grow and prosper, we the Government and the people must be prepared to evolve and adapt accordingly.
The Constitution of Vanuatu when drafted, signed and brought into effect by our founding fathers was not a sealed document. The founding fathers recognized that as the country grows and changes because of the dynamic global trends, there will be a great need to initiate and implement changes for the better.
The country is getting ready to celebrate its 45th independence anniversary and requires a reset. These transformations are preparing Vanuatu for its onward journey.
As the population grows and the older generations leave us it is important for the people and especially the youth and the generations of tomorrow to understand why Vanuatu became a country in July 30th, 1980.
Thank You!
