Commentary

All over the world as developing nations struggle to show positive growth in their fragile economies, they face corruption as the chief impediment to growth. What is true worldwide is very much the reality in the Pacific region, writes Kalafi Moala.

Until people in island communities begin to view good governance as a priority, many islands will likely continue muddling along the paths they are on, despite of reasonably high levels of locally-generated resources and donor aid, writes Giff Johnson.

Internet access is improving in Vanuatu, but we’re still falling behind. Donors will have to decide just how important it is to them to see Vanuatu keep abreast of a rising internet tide that, right now, is driving us backwards, no matter how we sail the ship, writes Dan McGarry.

Pacific islands need to do their homework — in the form of studies and surveys — so government decision makers have relevant information on which to base decisions, particularly as the cost of emergency responses rises, writes Giff Johnson.

The critical issue facing Tonga is that while King George I gave the nobles he appointed large estates to be redistributed to the people, the nobles are leasing out large quantities of their land for millions of dollars, while a lot of their people are without land, writes Kalafi Moala.

A state owned enterprise in the Marshall Islands, the government’s national utility company, offers an example of how a government agency can improve performance, offering a roadmap for other SOEs and government policymakers, writes Giff Johnson.