Corruption and Development in Vanuatu

This assignment analyzes the growing issue of corruption in Vanuatu and its detrimental effects on the nation's development. Drawing upon a documentary featuring a concerned foreign reporter, the paper explores how widespread fraud undermines essential services and erodes public trust. The analysis delves into the complacency of various stakeholders, including politicians, bureaucrats, and businesspeople, who prioritize personal gain over national interests. It argues that the spirit of independence that once fueled Vanuatu's struggle against colonialism has been replaced by a focus on self-interest.

Running head: CORRUPTED HOSPITALITY, VANUATU
CORRUPTED HOSPITALITY, VANUATU
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive summary
The goal of this report is to investigate the growing issues of corruption and the resultant
retrogression of ethics and behavior as well as economy. The purpose of this report is to identify
the interrupting factors and analyze them in order to apply ethical standards to diverse situations
surfacing in the Hospitality and Tourism sector.

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Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Discussion:.......................................................................................................................................2
Political and ethical issues:..........................................................................................................3
Unethical cruise line:...................................................................................................................5
Responsible issues:......................................................................................................................5
Government’s interference:.........................................................................................................6
Recommendations:......................................................................................................................6
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................7
References:......................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction:
The analysis aims to discuss the problematic situation aroused in hospitality and tourism
industry in the Republic of Vanuatu.
This discussion is based on a report ‘Vanuatu’s Broken Dreams’ by Peter George. He
inspects the issues of corruption and resultant deprivation of the poor villagers and islanders in
the islands of Wala as well as Pentecost of Vanuatu. George examines the various problems
faced by the islanders and tried to investigate the responsible issues for corruption.
The analysis identifies and discusses the chief governing and moral issues regarding the
tourism ministry of Vanuatu. It evaluates the responsibility of cruises to the islands. The report
identifies the responsible persons for the development of the island and few recommendations
that the authority as well as the government need to follow to end the corruption and deprivation.
Discussion:
Vanuatu has been one of the most celebrated islands of tourist attraction in the South
Pacific Ocean. This archipelago nation consists of 83 islands providing popular recreations like
sea fishing, marine sightseeing, beach combing and sailing (Pratt and Harrison 2015). Tourism in
Vanuatu brings in required foreign exchange. The country is widely popular as one of the
celebrated vacation destinations providing opportunities to the scuba divers to explore the South
Pacific coral reefs. The scuba divers are also attracted to the wreck of the US ocean liner, which
was sunk during World War II on Espiritu Santo Island. It is the only accessible largest
shipwrecks in the world to which the authority gives permission for recreational diving
(Wikitravel.org. 2017). Tourism has increased from 17% after 2002, when the government

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initiated efforts to boost tourism. Tourism has been promoted through reality TV shows also.
Now, the tourism industry contributes almost 45% of the country’s GDP and 38% of total
employment (François 2015). The tourists can opt for both boat and airlines to reach Vanuatu. The
main ports are Port-Vila and Luganville. International cruise lines P&O operates regularly in
Vanuatu’s waters (SAVERIMUTTU and VARUA 2016). The tourists may take photographs, spend
time relaxing and land diving in different islands but they are much expensive. The local market
sells handicrafts and local fruits and vegetables. Drink from Kava root is the most popular local
drink produced by the islanders. Kava drinking is a tradition in Vanuatu but the Australian
government has banned Kava selling in Australia (Tabani 2017). The islands have great resorts,
banks, ATMs, postal services, restaurants, internet connections and good transportation system.
Over all, the islands are safe and provide all kinds of comfort as well as relaxations to their
guests.
Apparently, above facts may be true and believable from a tourist’s or government’s
point of view but the reality is quite different. The tourism and hospitality sector of the country
has successfully concealed the sordid truths and the insurgence of the local problems can disturb
the happy image of Vanuatu tourism.
Political and ethical issues:
Reporter Peter George has produced a documentary named ‘Vanuatu’s Broken Dreams’
that focuses on the difficulties of the residents of the island paradise. As the name suggests, the
dreams of a perfect balance between poor and wealthy not only in terms of dollars, but also all
the comforts that the rich tourists visiting the islands enjoy, are shattered (François 2015). The
reporter has elaborate discussions with the local island leader of Wala who says the basic
facilities are not provided to the residents. The Wala islanders are expected to get a large portion

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of the profits made from souvenirs, trinkets, locale handicrafts and above all the most reputed
kava drink. Beside these, they are supposed to get the aids from Australian government. The
government has built all necessary as well as luxurious buildings only for the tourists. The
villagers do not have proper septic system, running water, fuel for cooking, electricity and not
even a public toilet for the community. Therefore, public health has become a controversial issue
for the villagers. They harvest rainwater and get by some cheap and portable solar lights. As the
island serves to be one of the most reputed tourist attractions, the villagers are supposed to get a
lion’s share of the profit. They hope for the economic and social improvements but are deprived
from the basic needs. Several committees have been found to examine the loophole where the
money is drained to but the members of the committee have no clue about the people engaged in
this fraud (Laws, Monitor and Outlook 2012). The main problems of this investigation are that
these members have never left their own islands and possess a vague knowledge about the
intermediaries working both in islands and in the capital Port-villa. The members are also not
willing to name anyone for some unknown reason. The recently elected Prime Minister Moana
Carcasses is also aware of this out and out corruption and promises to take steps against this. The
tourism dollars have deeper impact on the ethical and moral values of the islanders. An implicit
division has been driven among the communities and a feeling of duplicity and deception has
started to flow. Therefore, the cultural integrity of the Vanuatuans is also warping. To find the
supposed place where the tourist money has gone, Peter George has visited the first minister of
Land, Sethy Regenvanu. Here also he finds the same broken dreams in the eyes of Regenvanu.
He is aware of the exploitation and fraudulence when the former minister issued prime
waterfront leases to his favorite members at rock-bottom prices without thinking about the

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villagers living around those prime sites. Beside the internal nepotism, the outside exploitation
for personal interests also has broken the backbone of these islands’ economy.
Dreamer like Barnabas Tabi now wants to strengthen this backbone and is ready to accept
any challenge for Vanuatu’s cultural- social and economic upliftment. In Pentecost, Barnabas has
aimed to build an independent business centre without any help from the capital Port Vila. In
order to encourage small independent business, Barnabas has launched country’s first micro-
finance cooperative and invested loans to the Kava planters. Unlike Barnabas, the islanders of
Wala have decided to take such independent steps so that the tourism profits are not looted
(Cheer, Reeves and Laing 2013).
Unethical cruise line:
P&O Cruises Australia is the country’s biggest and longest-serving cruise operator. It is
Australasia's favorite cruise line and only home brand. Pentecost and Wala are the islands where
outsiders can visit only by P&O Cruises (Cruising.org.au. 2017). The expense of the cruise
amounts large but this money does not help in local development rather leads to treachery. The
cruise authority is also aware of this perfidy but does not reveal anything to the government.
There might be a scope for islanders as well as the government of Vanuatu to begin an
independent ferry system like P&O Cruises and stop unethical monopoly.
Responsible issues:
On the first hand, the previous government officials as well as politicians are completely
responsible for the corruption. Even the Prime Minister is informed with the corruption of the
civil servants. In the local level, the money that the island authority received as aid or profit was
not used properly. Beside these, external manipulation for business interest has affected the

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economy (Trau 2012). Moreover, the people of these islands are also responsible. They no longer
pursue national interest thus have made Vanuatu a marketplace for highest bidders.
Government’s interference:
The government has not published the financial reports from 2004 so the new committee
members have no knowledge about the total business and expenses. The new government must
publish such reports in order to work transparently (Heath-Brown 2015). As Regenvanu
experiences there was discrepancy in the issues of giving lease at lowest prices and maximization
of personal benefits, the government must investigate the matter. The government is also
accountable for enlisting the responsible officers and conducting the transaction method
transparently. The government should pass more strict laws and the new Prime Minister has
promised that his government will punish the law-breaker. The report of the United Nations
reveals the rural areas of Vanuatu experiences highest levels of exploitation and deprivation. The
islanders are deprived of food, shelter, health services and proper sanitation (Herzfeld 2014). The
children of Wala have no access to education so cross the waters to get the elementary education.
The government should solve these problems and help these small backward islanders to be self-
dependent. To monitor Kava Quality, the government regulatory bodies should work hand in
hand with non-profit NGOs to produce reports, warn customers and certify vendors for selling
proper Kava (Cheer 2016).
Recommendations:
The youth of Vanuatu archipelago should be critical to fight against corruption like the
youth of Fiji and need to create close relationship with United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) and Unite Nations Development Program (UNDP). As Barnabas Tabi has
taken initiatives to encourage indigenous trade development in Pentecost and established

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cooperative bank for the islanders, the other island authorities should follow his path. For his
enterprise, Tabi has been recognized by the Carcasses government. The report is based on a
documentary of a foreign reporter who is concerned about the growing corruption eroding
Vanuatu’s development. The Vanuatu media should be more aware and present the current
situation to the public in order to eliminate the deeply seated duplicity.
Conclusion:
Therefore, from the above analysis it may be concluded that the politicians, the previous
government, bureaucrats and the businesspersons have information about the constant fraud in
the islands but nobody is concern about the villagers and their basic needs. The ideology that
once inspired people fight for independence against the French and British colonialism has lost
its context. Therefore, everyone is concerned about personal benefits instead of national interest.
The residents of Vanuatu must leave the habit of criticizing the government and wait for
government’s action but must change their fate themselves.

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References:
Cheer, J.M., Cruise Tourism in a Remote Small Island–High Yield and Low Impact? In Dowling, R. &
Weeden, C.(Eds.)(2016). Handbook of Cruise Ship Tourism. Oxfordshire: CABI.
Cheer, J.M., Reeves, K.J. and Laing, J.H., 2013. Tourism and traditional culture: Land diving in
Vanuatu. Annals of Tourism Research, 43, pp.435-455.
Cruising.org.au. (2017). Cruise Lines International Association CLIA. [online] Available at:
https://www.cruising.org.au/Home [Accessed 4 Oct. 2017].
François, A., Franjieh, M., Lacrampe, S. and Schnell, S., 2015. The exceptional linguistic density
of Vanuatu.
Heath-Brown, N., 2015. Vanuatu. The Statesman’s Yearbook 2016: The Politics, Cultures and
Economies of the World, pp.1452-1454.
Herzfeld, M., 2014, July. The fate of rural hell: Asceticism and desire in Buddhist Thailand, by
Benedict Anderson. In Anthropological Forum (Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 311-313). Routledge.
Laws, R., Monitor, F. and Outlook, R.E., 2012. Straight Talk: Stolen Dreams: Our ability to set
the world economy straight will decide the fate of today’s young people. Finance &
Development.
Pratt, S. and Harrison, D. eds., 2015. Tourism in Pacific Islands: Current Issues and Future
Challenges (Vol. 48). Routledge.

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SAVERIMUTTU, V. and VARUA, M., 2016. Seasonal tropical cyclone activity and its significance for
developmental activities in Vanuatu. Environmental & Economic Impact on Sustainable
Development, p.8.
Tabani, M., 2017. Development, Tourism and Commodification of Cultures in Vanuatu. Tides of
Innovation in Oceania: Value, materiality and place, p.225.
Trau, A.M., 2012. Beyond pro-poor tourism:(re) interpreting tourism-based approaches to
poverty alleviation in Vanuatu. Tourism Planning & Development, 9(2), pp.149-164.
Wikitravel.org. (2017). Vanuatu- Wikitravel. [online] Available at:
https://wikitravel.org/en/Vanuatu [Accessed 4 Oct. 2017].