MSG boss shuffling
After months of uncertainties, the sub-regional bloc of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) may be moving to announce its new Director General early in the New Year, more than a year after the office was vacated when incumbent Ambassador Amena Yauvoli resigned to rejoin the Fijian diplomatic service. It is Vanuatu’s turn to provide a new DG, however plans to fill the office were interrupted when frontrunner Ambassador Roy Mickey Joy fell seriously ill and was medivaced to New Caledonia for urgent treatment in mid-2021. The whisper from Port Vila is that Joy is now out of the race and Vanuatu’s ambassador to the United Nations, former governor of the Vanuatu Central Bank Ambassador Odo Tevi’s name will be announced soon as MSG new boss. His candidature has reportedly been endorsed by the MSG senior officials meeting after another Vanuatu candidate, former Assistant SG of the ACP Secretariat in Brussels, Ambassador Georges Maniuri dropped out.
Speed dial for whom?
Who exactly is benefitting from the Fijian Government’s practice of ‘speed dialing’ its bills through parliament by activating Standing Order rule 52 is the question doing the rounds of Suva. Under this provision, MPs are given just 48 hours to study and debate bills before they are taken to a vote, much to the annoyance of opposition members who complain of lack of time to scrutinise the many proposed changes to current legislation. One particular change which was speed dialed in this way was a bill seeking to retrospectively legislate the waiver of capital gains tax (CGT) for sale of shares before 2011, and the rumour mills are in full swing as to which company benefitted from the changes, and why, and who may have (erroneously) advised them as to their CGT commitments prior to the legal change.
To defect or not to – postscript!
Well it turns out that not one, but two cabinet ministers of Tuvalu were among passengers that flew in a chartered Chinese aircraft from Funafuti to mainland China last October. Minister for Health Isaia Taape and his wife were also on the flight, as Funafuti remains tightlipped as to whether it is contemplating a switch of diplomatic allegiance to China, instead of Taiwan. While Tuvalu remains loyal to Taiwan for now, the contract for its US$52 million Asian Development Bank-funded outer island harbour development went to a construction company from mainland China.
Aussie luxury jet use questioned
The hiring of private jets to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations and return citizens to Tuvalu this year is coming under scrutiny in Australia. The Australian federal government reportedly hired two luxury jets belonging to Crown Melbourne at a cost of almost $600,000 (US$428,000). One flight also delivered a medical response team to Fiji. Independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie has told Australian media: “Frankly, the use of Crown’s private jets for this government work stinks in my opinion…The size of those bills seems completely unjustifiable. The government should review any payments it has made to Crown and ask Crown to justify what they have charged. A DFAT spokesperson said that in both instances, the most appropriate aircraft options to support the Tuvalu and Fiji tasks were provided through Defence’s Air Transport Standing Offer Panel.
Keeping the family together
Well-respected Marshall Island diplomat Albon Ishoda has left Fiji, and is reportedly headed for Korea. Ambassador Ishoda has been an important figure in Micronesian discussions over the bloc’s future with the Pacific Islands Forum. PIF leaders are due to meet in Suva, Fiji in February next year, which is when the ‘deadline’ for their departure from the Forum (a protest against the failure of their candidate to be appointed as Forum Secretary General) will be up. Yet the strength of regional action has been clearly displayed in recent months. In the leadup to and during COP26 some of the most powerful interventions on behalf of the Pacific emanated from Micronesian nations. Similarly Marshall Islands has been working with Solomon Islands and others to push the green shipping agenda at the World Maritime Organisation. Many will be hoping that there is still a way to keep Micronesia in the Forum family and allow for faces to be saved on all sides. It’s why, despite Omicron, a face to face meeting is scheduled.
Walesi worries
The Fiji government’s moves to require all television stations to start broadcasting from the Walesi digital platform is causing concern in a country already sensitive to restrictions on the media, especially in an election year. TV broadcasts in heavily populated areas have now switched to the platform and have shut down their analogue transmitters, with viewers needing to have a Walesi set-top box for their TV, or a Walesi app on their smart devices to receive services. The government says it will ensure better quality services, and Walesi Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Maharaj says the company has 21 digital transmitter sites across the country, with plans to expand further. Broadcasters will need to pay for the Walesi service from the second quarter of next year, but at the time of print, they said they were still waiting to learn how much. However the National Federation Party is concerned about the cost of the recommended 43-element UHF antenna and installation, and the potential for government-owned Walesi to control television stations, and by extension the content they broadcast. People’s Alliance leader Sitiveni Rabuka has called for a public inquiry into the matter, particularly given audited accounts for the government-owned Walesi have not been publicly released. In this year’s budget the Minister for Economy announced government’s intention to see Walesi look after all broadcasting transmission, television and FM services, although there is no announcement yet as to when radio stations may be required to shift.
PNG sovereignty in Solomons
Thanks but no thanks. That was the message from the Papua New Guinea Police Force contingent deployed to Solomon Islands when asked to operate under Australian command recently. PNG High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, Moses Kaul told media “When the proposal came from the Solomon Islands government, for ‘PNG Police Force to submit to Australia, when the operation orders are given for the deployment on the ground, basically we rejected the idea.
“I’m not going to speak for Australia, I’m not going to speak for Fiji and of course New Zealand but this is PNG perspective.
“We come at the invitation of Solomon Islands Government, we want to operate under the commoner of RSIPF and that’s the position of PNG Government.
UN’s Samoa quandary
The UN’s Resident Co-ordinator in Samoa, Simona Marinescu remains out of the country following allegations she interfered in domestic politics during the election earlier this year. The new Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) government has accused Marinescu of breaching UN principles of neutrality in pushing to increase women MPs in Samoa at the time when the women’s quote issue was central to the contested election result. FAST insiders considered her interventions arrogant and poorly-timed. It follows ongoing corruption allegations against the UN-funded Vaisigano River Catchment Project. That project has now stalled. Meanwhile, Samoa’s PM has called for a United Nations better coordination from the UN. “We caution against a heavy regional approach that does not respond to national needs and priorities,” Fiame Naomi Mata’afa told the UN General Assembly in its most recent session.
EFL secrecy
Why did the Fiji government seek to have Electricity Fiji Limited exempted from being audited by the Office of the Auditor General? A gazette to this effect was published recently, but the opposition wants to know why. EFL is 51% owned by government, and 44% by Japanese consortium Pacific Pte Ltd, which is owned by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Chugoku Electric Power Company (CEPCO). 5% of its shares are owned by Fiji account holders.
COVID cost
Air Niugini CEO Bruce Albaster has given the world a stark reminder of the human cost of COVID in Papua New Guinea. He says before the pandemic, the industry transported around three coffins a day, taking citizens on their final journey to be buried in their villages. “We are now transporting 20 coffins every day,” he says. “This is unprecedented. Each coffin represents a single person who is lost forever as a friend, mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter, uncle, aunt, bubu, wife or husband.” Earlier this month, the National Capital District arranged a mass burial of 50 bodies, people who had died of COVID and other causes and whose remains had been unclaimed by relatives.
Duplication or evolution
Eyebrows are raised over the expansion of TVET Pasifika courses at the Fiji National University. Observers are asking if they are in direct competition with the Australia Pacific Training Coalition’s program, or a move to ensure vocational training continues at the University after APTC winds up. The Fiji government is backing the TVET courses through scholarship places and funding of industry internships. Still at FNU, Vice Chancellor Toby Wilkinson’s contract has been extended until March next year. Wilkinson is now based in the UK.
FSM Consultant charged with trafficking
An economic consultant to Federated States of Micronesia’s President has been suspended after he was charged with sex trafficking. Rob Solomon has arrested over allegations they forced three teenage girls into prostitution. “Mr Solomon is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” a press release from the FSM government said. “However, the national government’s executive branch, in its respect of the gravity of the charges and allegations, has immediately and indefinitely suspended [him].” He and a second man have been charged with solicitation, sexual abuse, human trafficking, prostitution and kidnapping.
