WEDNESDAY 26th February, 2025 – United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has written to congratulate Prime Minister Jotham Napat on his election as prime minister of the country.

In his congratulatory note of 21^st February, Mr. Rubio says he looks “forward to working closely with the new Government to advance the two country’s shared commitment to security, stability and prosperity.

“The ties between our nations continue to grow and we are eager to strengthen our partnership – both bilaterally and in regional and global forums – building on the progress we’ve made since opening our Embassy in July 2024,” says Mr. Rubio.

He adds, “As Vanuatu continues to recover from last year’s tragic earthquake, please know that the United States stands with you. I send my best wishes to you and the people of Vanuatu for continued strength, resilience and success in the years ahead.”

Prime Minister Jotham Napat is meeting the medical staff and all directorates of the Ministry of Health on Friday in an effort to better understand the state of Vanuatu’s health system. The meeting is a follow-up from last week where he met medical staff of the Vila Central Hospital before unveiling the country’s first ever CT Scanning machine at the VCH.

He was clearly taken aback by the enormity of the challenges and the current state of affairs within health, particularly in relation to the country’s national human resource development where it was revealed well over 60% of the entire health workforce was yet to be filled.

“Why are we still getting these figures? Could we have phased the training of our medical personnel over the years so that we are not left languishing so far behind? I say this because the country’s population continues to grow. If we cannot keep up, the challenge will be even greater in future.

“I want to know what is the problem? Is it budget, lack of planning? What is it,” he enquired of the VCH team. JICA officials as well as the head of the Vanuatu Public Service Commission Martin Mahe was also there.

Prime Minister Napat intervened midway through the presentation because he felt it would not do justice to the issues being raised as his Government prioritises health under its 100-days plan.

And in light of the commissioning of the new CT-Scan, where the entire country has just one qualified radiographer, there is a dire need to dramatically improve Vanuatu’s health system so that it continues to serve the people effectively.

TUESDAY 18th February, 2025 – In an effort to improve accessibility to Government services, Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Jotham Napat has directed all civil servants to keep all public offices opened throughout lunch hours so that the public can still access government services as needed.

What that means is for civil servants to better organize themselves so that the offices are still being manned, while others find lunch.

The instructions directly address a concern from many who have had an experience trying to access government offices and services only to be told they could not because, either people were unavailable, or were out running some private errands, which go beyond lunch breaks.

He urged civil servants to put themselves in the shoes of ordinary citizens, some of whom must travel long distances just to make a simple enquiry, place a request or access a government service.

“Remember, you will one day leave your office and become just an ordinary citizen. You want to cultivate the right culture now in the public service so that when you decide to move on or retire, you know you can expect better.

“I have experienced it myself, even in my capacity as a member of parliament,” he told everyone today after morning devotion at the Prime Minister’s Office.

“You are called civil servants. Remember that. We are here to serve our people,” Prime Minister Napat stressed.

In addition, the Prime Minister is also putting a total ban on Government retreats. All these are part of his Government’s efforts to breakdown what may have become the norm for departments to go on lavish retreats that could be organized in-house to save cost, amidst rising costs and economic hardships.

He has already announced a blanket ban on all overseas travels unless justified. He says there are other measures that the Government could and would consider to ensure Vanuatu begins to live within its means, in light of the current challenges facing the nation.