Archive - 2011

Richard Matanik, acting chairman of the Roi Mata Domain, listed the great successes of the Lelepa and Mangaliliu people recently at the annual ‘nasautonga’.

This time the ceremony was held on Lelepa, rather than at Mangaliliu on mainland Efate, and saw the presentation of custom gifts to the chiefs of the area involved as an indication of the ongoing loyalty and unity of the people of the two areas.

They hope that their unity will lead to an area council for the length and breadth of their custom holding from Samoa Point to Tuktuk.

The Vanuatu Police Force and Department of Correctional Services have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to ensure that security, law and order will prevail in the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The MOA simply not only assures everyone to celebrate with ease but the mere presence of Police also sends a message to hard core detainees in jail that the authorities are on alert to deal with any negligent behavior.

CEO of Ole Siosiomaga Society As Samoa heads off to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial next week to have its accession package rubber-stamped by the Ministerial Council, it has emerged that a better deal for Least Developed Countries (LDC) is being considered.

The WTO is itself acknowledging that the demands on LDCs to join are too much and should resemble that of current members. If Samoa gets Ministerial Council approval next week, it will be following Vanuatu and paying a higher price than even the WTO is recognising should be paid.

The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization [ WIPO]and former Head of Australian IP Bureau Francis Gurry officially welcomed the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism, Ham Lini into the WIPO Head-Quarters in Geneva, and officially welcomed the Republic of Vanuatu as the 185th member into the WIPO membership last week.

Australia’s delegation to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial has reportedly announced that Vanuatu has ratified its accession package. The announcement was then published by the WTO on its official ‘Twitter’ account raising questions over whether or not the ratification was official.
Accessions to the World Trade Organization have played a central part of the Ministerial with many Countries seeing the addition of new members as a vote of confidence in the body and the work that it does.

A Senior UNCTAD Official has described Vanuatu’s eventual graduation from the LDC Status in 2012 as a result of exemplary political leadership, strong democracy and effective governance.

Despite his hectic programs of meetings and consultations in Geneva last week, the Deputy Prime Minister Ham Lini took time to meet the UN Chief, Special Programs for the LDCs at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Secretariat to follow up on the work and progress relating to the next UN LDC Triennial Review which is scheduled for early 2012 in New York.

Before I take you through the final part of these two part series of finding and choosing the best accommodation in Australia, I wish to take this moment to salute a colleague of mine with whom we came together early this year who graduated last Monday.

Dear Editor,
I am writing this letter to express my concerns at how Transparency Vanuatu (TIV) is managed. I joined the organisation as an ordinary member in February 2011 was provided with a membership welcome pack. I have also sent five letters requesting
1. Constitution of TIV
2. Nomination forms
3. Details of the AGM
4. Details of Board Members of the TIV
None of which have been provided to me for over 9 months.

On 21 November 2011 i had some heated discussion with Marie-Noelle Patterson who informed me by email:

The GEF Vanuatu country Coordinator Mrs Leah Nimoho made a six-day visit to the island of Malekula on the 25th to 30th of November 2011. Global Environment Facility Small Grant Programme (GEF SGP) is a program which advocates for the good use and sustainability of Environment and is housed under the Vanuatu Association of Non-Government Organisations (VANGO) with the aim of improving the understanding of the rural population and Community Based Organisation on issues related to the environment. Mrs. Nimoho was accompanied with VANGO Administrative Officer, Mrs.

Seven Ifira custom landowners of four areas along the coast of mainland Efate namely Tebakoro (known as Tebakor), Matnalu, Kawenu (known for Kawenu Teacher’s College and Kawenu Cove) and Lukuwi have appointed Barak Sope Maautamate to represent them in the Supreme Court to seek an injunction to protect their ancestral right against the Government, investors and members of parliament who they claimed “have stolen their land by legal means”.