Regional Development – Evening Report

Asia Pacific – Celebrating Vanuatu’s path to sustainable development

Evening Report — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 08:08:52 +0000

Opinion by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana – Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

The Pacific Island Developing State of Vanuatu has emerged as one of the region’s great success stories. Vanuatu has joined the ranks of Samoa and the Maldives as one of only six countries to graduate from being a least developed country, since the category was introduced by the United Nations in 1971.

This historic achievement is the result of major development gains and strategic planning. It shows that the country has successfully raised levels of income and improved social development indicators, with marked declines in mortality rates and significant progress in education. All of these are among the factors the UN regards as critical in determining whether a country is considered as a least developed country or not.

Yet despite these development successes, accelerated actions are urgently needed to ensure Vanuatu can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Upon graduation, Vanuatu will no longer be eligible for international support measures granted to least developed countries. Unilateral and non-reciprocal trade preferences under Duty-Free Quota-Free schemes from various developed and developing trading partners will be off the table.

Fortunately, based on current trading patterns, the overall impact of losing preferential market access will be minimal, as more than half of Vanuatu’s main exports are being traded under negotiated duty-free market access arrangements, rather than afforded under least developed country concessional measures. Vanuatu will also remain eligible for financing on concessional terms under the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) as it is afforded a special status as a ‘small island economy’.

Importantly, Vanuatu will benefit from an improved country-image after graduation, which may attract larger flows of foreign direct investment as several other graduated countries have experienced.

Graduation is however taking place at a time of significant risks to the global economic situation. Unexpected shocks such as the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic are posing grave challenges to development.

Despite acting swiftly when confronted with the rapid spread of COVID-19, taking steps such as banning travel among islands, closing international borders and imposing curfews on businesses – the impact on Vanuatu has been severe. The resulting collapse of tourism has had widespread repercussions on the economy, with arrivals declining by 65 per cent in the year to July compared to the previous year. This contributed to an estimated 70 per cent job or income loss in the first six weeks after borders were closed and is an important factor in the decline in output of 8.3 per cent expected in Vanuatu for this year. The country also recorded its first official case of COVID-19 in November, having successfully warded off the virus for many months.

As a developing country, Vanuatu still remains vulnerable to other external shocks. The threats of climate change are very real. The first category 5 tropical cyclone of 2020, Tropical Cyclone Harold, demonstrated this as it passed over Espiritu Santo, Pentecost Island and Ambrym earlier this year, displacing an estimated 80,000 Ni-Vanuatu people, equivalent to over 27 percent of the nation’s population. This was the second strongest cyclone to affect Vanuatu, following Tropical Cyclone Pam of 2015, which suggests such storms are becoming more frequent as our climate changes.

The UN family has supported Vanuatu in its independence since 1980. Its regional development arm, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), has been providing development assistance to Vanuatu since it became a member in 1984. More recently, this support has included identifying avenues to mobilize financial resources domestically in recognition that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will require significant resources, especially in such a vulnerable environment.

Dedicated technical support has been provided since 2017 to assist Vanuatu produce its smooth transition strategy (STS), built upon Vanuatu 2030 The Peoples Plan – the National Sustainable Development Plan for 2016 to 2030 – that reflects the unique identity of the Ni-Vanuatu people. At the same time, ESCAP has provided advisory services to the National Coordinating Committee on Least Developing Countries Graduation, which oversaw the formulation of the STS and decided on its associated follow-up actions.

As we focus on building back better in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, ESCAP stands ready, along with the UN family, to continue supporting Vanuatu in its development aspirations and in implementing the STS. This includes support to link the STS with budgets, offering specialized technical assistance to strengthen capacities in trade negotiations and developing productive capacities in Vanuatu, thereby enabling better structural transformation and diversification of the economy.

This year, Vanuatu celebrates 40 years since its independence. By working together, we can build resilience to external shocks in the Pacific region to ensure the next stage in Vanuatu’s development journey will continue to be a success story in the decades to come.

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Populist Shane Jones Vs Corporate Air NZ

Bryce Edwards — Mon, 26 Mar 2018 02:48:32 +0000

Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Populist Shane Jones Vs Corporate Air NZ

[caption id="attachment_13635" align="alignright" width="150"] Dr Bryce Edwards.[/caption] Shane Jones is just what New Zealand First needs at the moment – a polarising campaigner who can show his party is in touch with those parts of New Zealand not well served by corporates such as Air New Zealand. His campaign against the national carrier is straight out of the “populist playbook”, in which you identify an issue on which the public is hurting, a target for blame, and you colourfully go full blast on the issue, with little regard to propriety or political etiquette. [caption id="attachment_14813" align="alignleft" width="220"] Hon. Shane Jones – New Zealand First MP and Cabinet Minister.[/caption] Audrey Young writes that Jones “is fast becoming the primary branding agent for New Zealand First”, and in “a single day he probably got the party back to 5 per cent and lifted his brand as a champion for the regions” – see: Air NZ attack scores bullseye for brand Jones. She says Jones has learned from mentor Winston Peters that it’s best to personalise your complaint: “it is not enough to condemn institutions for their decisions but to imbue them with a malign intent or neglect, or venal individuals, or to paint them as elites who care not one jot for ordinary folk.” The popular success of the campaign is also discussed by Tracy Watkins, who says Jones appears to be immune to the usual “bureaucratic capture” which neuters new ministers – see: Barack Obama’s NZ trip may have backfired for airline Pause. Jones’ populist campaign was timed perfectly, given that Barack Obama was being hosted by the airline in an extravagant corporate visit: “The contrast between the glossy publicity shots and the airline’s cutbacks in regional New Zealand – ironically, including Northland, where Obama was flown by helicopter for his golf round – was stark. Jones’ assault on the airline for corporate arrogance and abandoning the ‘real’ New Zealand couldn’t have been timed better.” The result has been a storm of publicity, and a chorus of support too big to be ignored. Perhaps the most surprising backing came from libertarian rightwing columnist Damien Grant, who wrote yesterday that “Jones’ chastising the current board for failing to meet the implicit obligation of servicing the economic needs of the wider economy is historically and economically sound. The person who is out of step is Tony Carter, the current chair” – see: Shane Jones right to clip wings of Air NZ board. Grant, who is an expert in company law, argues that the idea of Air New Zealand as an independent company that has “an arm’s length shareholder dispassionately waiting for its dividend cheque” is nonsense. Instead, he points out that the whole existence of the airline is based on the state’s continued protection of it, and that it therefore “exists to help build the local economy.” He advises Jones to ignore the conservative critics. The Dominion Post published an equally enthusiastic editorial, which also points out the airline’s debt to New Zealand for its bailout in 2001: “Jones is right to highlight that cutbacks in flights and services run counter to regional development – his job – and represent a sorry trend. He’s right to suggest, albeit forcefully, that Air NZ should consider its role and impact in all of New Zealand, not just the most accessible and profitable bits. And also the weight of any possible ‘debt’ owed to a nation that bailed the company out of trouble and still owns a majority shareholding. He’s right to be a voice and an advocate for a large part of the country that often struggles for traction inside the Beltway” – see: Jones doing his job – advocating for regions. For the Dominion Post, it doesn’t matter so much that Jones is technically in the wrong in attempting to push around an independent company that is only part-owned by the state. The newspaper salutes him for tackling an issue that other politicians ignore: “Jones has again inspired worthy debate, and debate inspires and invigorates a robust democracy.” Jones’ message will resonate strongly in the provinces, and many in the regions will be cheering him on. Some mayors are already expressing their support – see, for example, RNZ’s Regional mayors support Shane Jones’ Air NZ callout. Former Northland mayor Wayne Brown points out that rural New Zealanders “coughed up” their share of taxes in 2001 to help bailout the airline: “Those people all get called on to tip their tax in when Air New Zealand gets into trouble, which they do occasionally and will do again… If they’re going to be backed up by the New Zealand public they have an obligation to serve the New Zealand public” – see Grant Bradley’s Message from the Far North to Air NZ: ‘You’ve got the bloody money to fly to Kaitaia’. Despite getting a small telling off from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, as well as a rather technocratic putdown from Finance Minister Grant Robertson, Jones’ stance is also gaining some support from within his former party. After all, Jones is playing a role of being something of “Labour’s conscience” – standing up for those being neglected at the margins. Therefore, it wasn’t surprising to see Labour politicians eventually start backing him up. According to Peter Wilson, “It now appears to have dawned on Labour, somewhat belatedly, that Jones is getting traction and probably votes as well. Transport Minister Phil Twyford, a Cabinet heavyweight, decided on Friday it was time he got in on the act” – see: Shane Jones’ plain-speaking a play for the regions. Twyford is quoted: “Shane was expressing a view that was entirely consistent with what our government stands for – the regions cannot put up with the constant retrenchment and cutting back of infrastructure and services”, and that Air New Zealand has “an obligation to listen to the views of the major shareholder and take those views into account.” National also saw the light, with Richard Harman explaining on Thursday that “National’s first reaction to Jones’ comments was to criticise him. But by yesterday morning some of their MPs were starting to get calls from provincial members of the party advising them to back off” – see: Tensions at the top. National MP Nathan Guy has been campaigning on the issue, in terms of Air New Zealand’s withdrawal from his own electorate on the Kapiti Coast. And a former provincial National MP wrote wholeheartedly in support of Jones, saying “Shane Jones is only letting the shareholders’ views get through to the board, and he is quite right to do so. That is what representation is all about” – see Chester Borrows’ Air NZ can’t complain about Shane Jones’ withering criticism. Like others, Borrows points out that “politics kept Air New Zealand alive when they were about to breathe their last gasp. They can’t complain now politics wants payback.” Writing in the latest Listener, even Jane Clifton, who might normally be inclined to mock Jones’ campaign, shows some sympathy: “this has the makings of a classic big business versus the little people fight. In this economy, Air NZ is more an unavoidable public utility, like power and water services, than a mere player in a competitive market. Since the global financial crisis, it hasn’t seemed quite so Pollyannaish for politicians to demand social responsibility from businesses.” Of course, not all commentators have been championing Jones. And plenty of experts have pointed out the impropriety of a minister campaigning in ways they regard as contrary to Cabinet rules and commercial logic. In terms of the latter, the must-read is Martin van Beynen’s Shane Jones is the hot air beneath our wings. Finally, for parody, see Andrew Gunn’s Welcome to your Air New Zealand flight Mr Jones, and my blog post, Cartoons about Shane Jones vs Air New Zealand.]]>