I only wish that this opening greeting was being made to a unified Vanuatu….but it’s not.

Leadership – I agree that it’s a commodity sadly lacking within both the political and civil service spheres – with a couple of notable RARE exceptions. The majority of Vanuatu’s so-called “Leaders” do have a great track record in leading….the way to personal power and financial gratification, that is!

One could be forgiven for thinking that the Leadership Code must have been written in sand – below the high water mark. It has been sickening to those who respect decency, integrity, transparency, accountability and general honesty to watch the blatant fraud, rorting, cronyism and nepotism of our political and bureaucratic leaders over the past 20 years or so.

ON THE UPSIDE, however, we do have an emerging voice from the country’s youth and pleasingly, it is coming from those who are both well-educated and those who aren’t (but who themselves understand the difference between right and wrong). There are more young politicians gaining seats in the halls of power than ever before and therefore – influence. Sweet!……because Vanuatu’s future lays in their hands rather than the pockets of the miscreants who comprise the majority of our elected Representatives and Public Servants (the latter term used tongue-in-cheek because Public SERVICE is generally a misnomer here).

My hope and I am certain the hopes of others are that we shall see a change for the betterment of Vanuatu in the months and years to come – financially, socially, culturally and politically. It will take a lot of dedicated work on the part of many of us to effect the changes needed, however, the rewards of our success will be worth it. We need LEADERS; they are out there; let’s all work together for the future of all generations, present and future.

Long live Vanuatu!