Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Claim the Kiribati Government ignores manifesto commitments
Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific Senior Journalist
An opposition MP in Kiribati, Sir Ieremia Tabai, said the Budget, presented late last year, did not include any funding for the commitments made in President Taneti Maamau's manifesto.
The previous government, also headed by Maamau, changed electoral rules to make politicians accountable for their election promises.
The manifesto, published just ahead of the election last October, included 148 specific commitments, the implementation of which, according to the constitution, will be monitored by the Electoral Office.
Maamau's manifesto included tax cuts, better infrastructure throughout the country, and improvements in the welfare and prosperity of the people.
Tabai, who was the first president of Kiribati, said he asked in parliament why there was no allocation for the various commitments.
"My question was, when they made that [commitment] during the campaign, did they know how much it was going to cost them," he said.
"And he [Maamau] said the promise is expressed in terms of KV20 - KV20 is Kiribati Vision 20. So he says those promises are going to be implemented within the 20-year period."
Changes to select committees
Tabai said all members of Maamau's government are either in cabinet or sitting on select committees.
He said this is the way Maamau is maintaining support, with the MPs receiving substantial daily payments.
Tabai said three select committees were set up late last year and they only include government MPs.
He said the last parliament changed standing orders to allow committees to include only government MPs.
Tabai said the MPs get AU$100 dollars a day and their spouses get AU$50 a day, every day; saying that over the course of the year this gives a huge income, not only by Kiribati standards but for many other countries.
Requests to the Kiribati Government for a response to these stories were not answered.
The Court of Appeal
In late 2022 the Kiribati Government suspended the country's Court of Appeal after it quashed deportation orders imposed on High Court judge, David Lambourne.
The move garnered international approbrium from organisations as diverse as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and the New Zealand Law Society.
A tribunal was required to be set up to investigate claims made against the judges (all retired New Zealand High Court judges) by President Maamau, but that has never happened.
Meanwhile a new Court of Appeal has been sitting and its first case was to hear an appeal by Judge Lambourne against his removal (and his eventual deportation from the country in May last year).
That decision, heard in December, has not yet been made public.
What the IMF recommends.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is advising the Kiribati Government to rethink Budget changes that have allowed greater access to the earnings from the country's sovereign wealth fund.
Kiribati's Revenue Equalisation Reserve Fund, typically called the RERF, was set up with funds from phosphate mining, starting nearly 70 years ago.
It can help the government with budget shortfalls but the RERF earnings had to exceed five percent in real returns before any money could be taken out.
Now, the Kiribati Government can take profits when returns are a nominal two percent on the investment.
The IMF said this raises 'serious concerns about fiscal discipline and significatly elevates the risk of a gradual depletion of the RERF'.
The IMF, with the World Bank, is also calling on Kiribati to ensure the money from the sovereign fund goes towards high-quality development funding and not to support the copra subsidy, unemployment benefits or leave grants for the private sector, which it says should all be covered by recurrent spending.
RNZ
New Zealand's public broadcaster, providing comprehensive NZ news and current affairs, specialist audio features and documentaries.
Radio New Zealand is a Crown entity established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. Radio New Zealand News are vital elements in our programming, providing impartial news and information to New Zealanders every day. Radio New Zealand (RNZ) provides listeners with exciting and independent radio programmes in accordance with the Radio New Zealand Charter.
University of Auckland: Child Abuse - Research To Help End Redress Failures Begins
Sony World Photography Awards: Student & Youth Competitions - Shortlists Announced
OHCHR: Ecuador And Nicaragua - Forced Pregnancy And Motherhood Violated Rights Of Girl Victims Of Rape
Richard D. Wolff, IMI: United States In 2025 - Social Problems Denied Via Rhetorics Of Refusal
UN News: Relentless Crisis In Haiti - One In Eight Children Internally Displaced
John Schofield, Human Bridges: How Archaeologists Can Solve The Earth’s ‘Wicked Problems’