New leader, uni saga
Having been confirmed as Presidentelect in Bougainville, Ishmael Toroama has received congratulations on his electoral victory.
The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape, made no use of the term “independence” in his message of congratulations. However, he did commit to meeting with President-elect Mr Toroama in the coming weeks and to convene a meeting of the Joint Supervisory Board to start work on the way forward.
Notable among the congratulations received were those from the Taiwanese representative in Papua New Guinea, Oliver Liao. In his letter to Mr Toroama, Mr Liao made reference to plans to establish an office of the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund in Buka. He identified a number of ways in which Taiwan could support Bougainville, including by offering scholarships to students.
Elections are in progress in Palau. The primary vote for president saw an initial four candidates whittled down to the final two. Palauans will choose their next president in conjunction with the parliamentary elections to be held in November.
It will be a significant change for the people of Palau as this sees the end of the tenure of Tommy Remengesau Jr who has served as President for two terms. Of course, the most immediate challenge facing whoever takes over from him is COVID-19.
Palau remains one of several Pacific island countries that has had no reported cases of the disease. However, given the reliance of the economy on tourism, the closure of the borders has had a massive impact.
The number of women who have been nominated in these elections has fallen significantly from 13 in 2016 to just three this time around. Senator J. Uduch Sengebau-Sr is running for the office of vicepresident as an independent candidate.
The saga that has engulfed the senior levels at the University of the South Pacific continues. The Government of Fiji has informed the university that it is suspending payment of its financial
PICTURE: RNZ contributions with immediate effect. While Fiji makes the largest contribution in financial terms, the university is owned by 12 member states.
The Fiji Government claims that it remains dissatisfied with day-to-day governance of the university’s affairs, reflecting an ongoing concern with the leadership of the vice-chancellor and president, Prof Pal Ahluwalia. However, the council of the university appears to be maintaining its support for the VC. Their concerns are with what they consider to be inappropriate activities on the part of the pro-chancellor Winston Thompson and, Mehmood Khan, who is chair of the university’s risk and audit committee.
The actions of the Fiji Government have been strongly criticised by associations that represent staff members and students at the university
The leaders of Pacific Island governments have addressed the 75th General Assembly of the United Nations. In keeping with the times, they made their addresses via pre-recorded video statements.
Unsurprisingly, many of the region’s leaders used their platforms to restate their position that the greatest threat they face is that arising from the impacts of climate change. While they recognised the huge impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy, they remained steadfast in calling for greater international cooperation and ambition to make recovery, one that is low-carbon and focused on sustainability for all.
The prime minister of Vanuatu drew attention to the region’s concerns about alleged human rights abuses in West Papua. Indonesia who used their right of reply to refer to Vanuatu as an “ignorant” country with an “unhealthy obsession” about what they maintain is an assault on their sovereignty.
■ TESS NEWTON CAIN is a former lecturer in Law at the University of the South Pacific and has more than 20 years of experience working in the Pacific. She is the principal of TNC Pacific Consulting and her clients have included the Office of the President of Vanuatu, the government of Vanuatu, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the UN, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, as well as the governments of Australia and New Zealand.