Peer Reviewer 1:
This is a well-written report, which gives clear examples of types of corruption, and the role the government can play in this. It would have been valuable if the writer had provided a brief analysis of the ways in which the lack of government transparency and accountability has encouraged this. These are not isolated examples, nor is this the only national Vanuatu government to be associated with corruption. This is a systemic issue that needs to be tackled if corruption is to be addressed. To this end, the report would have benefited from a brief history to provide an overview of how different national governments have dealt with allegations of corruption. Some reference to the work of Transparency International Vanuatu and other CSOs would also have been useful.
The report provides an insight into the limitations of the media. It should, however, be noted that the government-funded national public service broadcaster has suffered from government interference for many years. This varies in intensity depending on which government is in power, but it has restricted the ability of the service to be independent. This is an issue because it is the main broadcaster (radio and TV), and there are only a small number of other media outlets.
Finally, given the sensitivities in the region, it would be good to delete the reference to the Indo-Fijian in the second example, and his name. No one else in the report is named. He could be described just as coming from another Pacific Island country. Also, the example, as is now worded, tends to put the blame on the Indo-Fijian, whereas the focus should be on poor government processes. There are, unfortunately, other examples of people from overseas (including Australia) who have been involved in alleged scams in Vanuatu, and some reflection on why this happens would have been useful.
Peer Reviewer 2:
This notebook provides interesting and relevant commentary on corruption cases in Vanuatu in 2007. It dwells on incidences of ministerial wrong-doing, inappropriate payments of compensation to political supporters, fraud and the incapacity of the enforcement branches of the law and justice sector (particularly the Public Prosecutors Office) to effectively combat corruption, bribery and malfeasance. The notebook reveals official tolerance of corrupt practices juxtaposed with public opinion ranging from ambivalence to widespread outrage and even violent retribution towards those alleged to have been involved in fraud (such as counterfeiting 5000 vatu (US$49) bank notes, which involved four members of Parliament and a minister). While this notebook generally provides an insightful and informative overview of governance and corruption in Vanuatu, exposing the demands, paradoxes and contradictions between the wantok (literally one language and giving preference to people on the basis of linguistic affinity) and the big-man (whereby leaders are expected to redistribute wealth to their supporters in order to maintain legitimacy) systems on the one hand and the requirements of rational legal bureaucracy necessary to manage a contemporary state on the other, there are specific ways this notebook could be enhanced:
- It needs grammatical editing for improved clarity of expression. The notebook is generally well-written, but this could be improved with careful editing. In particular, it tends to use a number of metaphors and allegories that may not be familiar to an international audience. Local expressions such as coconut wireless and specific terms such as Big Man need further definition and clarification to provide clarity for an international audience.
- The notebook tends to concentrate on too much detail at the expense of overall political, cultural or environmental analysis. While the cases are informative and relevant, they lack context. The reporter hints at context. For example, on page 2 paragraph 2, the notebook states that In the above-mentioned case, the prime minister, hanging on by a slender majority, cannot afford to discipline the minister of Lands. This indicates that the politics of compromise required to maintain stable coalition governments in Vanuatu result in a political environment which is conducive to corruption. More could be written about this political environment to provide a context for corrupt practices. Other themes that could be expanded upon include the role of the media, culture (particularly the tension between customary expectations of redistribution of wealth and state sanctioned anti-corruption measures) and the discrepancy between anti-corruption legislation and policy and the lack of enforcement of that legislation and policy (most clearly evidenced by the inaction of the Public Prosecutor). Discussing one or two of these themes would provide additional context for the very detailed case studies presented in the report.
- The notebook does not have any coverage of active or supply side corruption (particularly expatriate businesspeople bribing public sector officials.) This is a major problem in Vanuatu, especially in relation to the selling of land leases on the main island of Efate, and to a lesser extent Santo. On Efate, 55 percent of all land has been sold, up from 25 percent in 2002, while 80-90 percent of all coastal land has been sold as leasehold. There is now very little coastal land left for customary subsistence use on Efate. There are allegations that this has involved expatriate real estate speculators bribing officials in the Department of Lands to approve leases, strata titles and development projects. There has been a massive influx of largely Australian capital into real estate speculation, some of dubious origins. Have there been any cases of corruption (especially supply side active corruption) in 2007 as a result of this speculation?
These are the main comments. Now specific comments will be noted page by page, paragraph by paragraph of the notebook:
Page 1, paragraph 1: While Vila is small, the reporter needs to note that the population in the greater Vila region (South Efate) is approximately 50,000. The country is highly dualistic between urban centers and rural livelihoods, with state and business concentrated in Vila and the second town of Luganville. Information about corruption can take a long time to reach the outer islands and rural areas of the country where most of the population lives. However, the impact of corruption is just as damaging in the outer islands, as education, health services and infrastructure in rural areas decline, eroded by the misappropriation of funds.
Page 1, paragraph 3: Can the political party of the minister of Lands be named?
End of page 1, General comment: the specific examples are good, but they need more political, cultural and economic context.
Pages 1-2, last paragraph page 1 carries over to page 2: The Big Man principle needs further explanation for clarity to an international audience. Maybe the reporter could mention that big men are now dealing in state resources.
Page 2, paragraph 2: Coconut Wireless needs further definition discussion.
Page 3, paragraph 6, the sentence that reads The people of Vanuatu were indignant at the theft of their money from a benefit fund which may have brought them future benefits, so they were happy to give chase and block a side street to help the police arrest the escapees. This is interesting but perhaps is too detailed. Consider deleting these detailed passages and replacing with contextual observations.
Despite these comments, the Reporters Notebook for Vanuatu provides an important overview of corruption in the country in 2007. However, it needs both a general edit and it needs to respond to and integrate the specific comments made here to make it publishable.
Peer Reviewer 3:
While it is difficult to establish the veracity of some of the details in this narrative (for example the amount of compensation paid) I have very good sources in Vanuatu, both expat and local, and it would seem that this story is highly subjective and possibly biased. Firstly, at the last census (1999/2000), the population of Port Vila was 34,000 and with the high birth rate and movement of people from the outer islands to Port Vila it will now be in excess of that. Secondly, while there is undoubtedly corruption in Vanuatu, people are not obsessed with it, and those in the outer islands do not have access to the same sources that those in Port Vila and Luganville do.
In the case of the land scandal, evidently the farmer asked for compensation from the government for using his land where the water was. Korman (The minister of Lands) gave him the money even when the land was legally not his. It is therefore true that the farmer had illegally occupied the land. It is questionable that the farmer's house was on tabu (sacrosanct) land.
The writer states that the Ombudsman's efforts are hampered by his culture. While it is sometimes difficult to question wantok, this is by no means unknown, and can and does happen very publicly in the media. The prime minister was hampered by his slim majority in his efforts to discipline the minister of Lands, but he did want to discipline him. With reference to the farmer running for office and whether he will contest the seat of his "patron and mentor," this is unlikely, as they are in this together. With reference to this being an issue at the next general election, it is unlikely that this will happen in the outer lands, but it may be an issue in the two major towns. Contrary to what was stated, at the moment this is not an issue that is being talked about much anymore.
With respect to the second story, the same point about the people in the outer islands holds. They often don't know about these issues being discussed in the media in towns, so it is unlikely they would be outraged, while those who know think it is par for the course. It would seem they are not demanding answers, and NGOs are not organizing demonstrations. It may very well be the media that keep these issues alive.
Peer Reviewer 4:
The report provides good anecdotal evidence of a strong society but weak state. The incidents referred to are consistent with the AusAID-funded independent and hard-hitting analysis entitled Unfinished State: Drivers of Change in Vanuatu, which was released in April 2007.
The report noted that the government is generally weak at formulating and implementing a coherent development policy. According to the report, policy initiatives tend to be inconsistent and short-lived, driven not by advice from the civil service but by an immediate reaction to constituents concerns, which is symptomatic of a patronage-based political system. The report notes that policy-making is at its weakest in setting cross-sectoral priorities and in planning from year to year. Documents, such as the Priorities and Action Agenda, are produced in response to pressure from donors for a comprehensive development strategy but have little impact on the day-to-day operations of government departments.
Ministerial budgets are dominated by wages and salaries and other fixed costs, leaving little discretionary finance for new initiatives. Additional funds for new initiatives have to come from donors, and these requests are approved by the Department of Finance. The report notes that it is at this stage in the policy process that many policy initiatives fail. Intervention by the Department of Finance to stop new initiatives is politically useful, as it allows ministers and senior civil servants to yield to demands coming from donors or other interest groups, without being responsible themselves for ensuring that resources are committed.
This suits Vanuatus style of government, in which leaders are reluctant to provide a direct refusal to their constituencies (including donors). However, it results in a proliferation of unfunded initiatives that can be a source of incoherence within the administration.
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