What does a culture of corruption actually look like? Vanuatu.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s often difficult to see exactly where the rot sets in. The pressure of corruption is often quiet and always insidious. It impacts on public institutions, on their ability to manage themselves, to plan and to perform useful work.<\/p>\n
Corruption creates a culture of impunity. Bad deeds go unpunished; good deeds and hard work go unrewarded. Each is as dangerous as the other.<\/p>\n
2015 will almost certainly go down in the history books as Vanuatu\u2019s annus horribilis<\/em>, a year so bad we hope it will never be repeated. Between the cyclone, the drought, the collapse of government and the failure of critical infrastructure, it\u2019s hard to see even a glimmer of light.<\/p>\n But we need to understand that it was a long time coming. Arguably, it all began in the days immediately after Walter Lini\u2019s ouster, when the deposed leader and his confreres stripped the government offices bare before their departure.<\/p>\n Over the years, Vanuatu\u2019s leaders have developed and defined a style of government that may have worked on the village and family level, but has condemned the country to failure.<\/p>\n Many\u2014if not most\u2014of Vanuatu\u2019s power and political arrangements are personality-driven. Whether through charisma, force of will, or outright bullying and intimidation, most of the people who have risen to power over the years have done so not because they were team builders but because of their individual control and influence over others.<\/p>\n Witness the effect. Serge Vohor famously said that in Vanuatu you don\u2019t have a Prime Minister and 13 advisors; you have one Big PM and 13 Little PMs.<\/p>\n Policy development, programme planning, inter-departmental cooperation\u2026 all the things that comprise the lifeblood of a functioning government have been sacrificed at the altar of personality.<\/p>\n Five consecutive governments put together five conflicting plans to deal with the Bauerfield runway. None of them worked. We\u2019ve had a decade to get our financial house in order and to take steps to curb money laundering. In ten years\u2014ten years\u2014we\u2019ve managed to fully comply with only one out of forty recommendations.<\/p>\n Ministers and MPs need to understand their role: They are not managers. They are not chiefs. They are not responsible for service delivery. Their job is to determine the nation\u2019s priorities, to coordinate with their colleagues, to accept the guidance of the Prime Minister, and to set the course for their individual departments.<\/p>\n Mostly, this means they need to get out of the way. Many\u2014if not most\u2014of the problems plaguing government departments today can be laid at the feet of politicians who meddled too much in departmental affairs.<\/p>\n Over the years, the Daily Post has recorded a litany of such sins. Land leases handed out like candy. Dodgy public works contracts. Unconscionable laxness in the licensing and certification of local shipping. Massive overspending on scholarships awarded under questionable criteria. Mismanagement at the wharf. NISCOL. AVL. Air Vanuatu. VTO.<\/p>\n The list is painfully long.<\/p>\n In every case, the problem is people working alone, uncoordinated, in the dark. Every action is ad hoc, in reaction to an irritant or emoluent.<\/p>\n This has to change. We need to find a way to collaborate, but more than that, we need to learn to stand together. The main reason cheekiness and bullying behaviour thrives among our so-called Big Men is because\u2014time and again\u2014we fail to stand up for each other.<\/p>\n It starts at the top. Enough with the Little PMs. It doesn\u2019t matter who you are; the nation\u2019s needs are greater than yours. A leader is nothing if he can\u2019t also serve.<\/p>\n Coordination. Support. Integrity. Consequences for misdeeds and rewards for good works. If we can manage that, the rest will come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What does a culture of corruption actually look like? Vanuatu. It\u2019s often difficult to see exactly where the rot sets in. The pressure of corruption is often quiet and always insidious. It impacts on public institutions, on their ability to manage themselves, to plan and to perform useful work. Corruption creates a culture of impunity. 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