Politics
More and More Bad News for Nauru
Chief secretary resigns, conditions worsened
The awful conditions of the affairs of the Republic of Nauru have worsened. Late in February, Nauru's top bureaucrat, chief secretary Matthew Batsiua, a man credited with keeping the day-to-day government machinery from breaking down, resigned in disgust. Batsiua spoke of lack of economic plan and cabinet professionalism, of denigrating activities by cabinet ministers, the breakdown of communications between himself as chief secretary and the cabinet, and the cabinet's lack of support for him. Retired chief secretary, Willie Starr, replaced him.
David Adeang, who last year in a by-election reached Parliament as the first MP representative of Naoero Amo (Nauru First), a new party of young agitating reformists, had his suspension as a presidential counsel lifted by Batsiua. It was re-imposed on the cabinet's order.
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Another critic, director of medical services, Dr Ludwig Keke, got a month¹s notice of dismissal.
By the end of March, as the appalling state of Nauru's finances deteriorated daily, a move to dump the bumbling government of President Rene Harris was under way.
Using a constitutional provision, seven MPs, including some former presidents, had signed a petition asking Parliament's Speaker, Ludwig Scotty, within 14 days of getting the request, to hold a meeting of the 20-member Parliament to discuss matters of "grave national interest".
The petitioners included Adeang, Bernard Dowiyogo, Derog Gioura, Kinza Clodumar, Nimes Ekwona, Vassal Gadoengin and Vinson Detenamo. Three MPs travelling overseas were asked to support the petition.
Pressure from the government delayed the meeting until the Speaker set April 4 for it. The government asked for a postponement until April 11, citing President Harris's poor health as an excuse. But the April 4 meeting went ahead, opening a way for the government's opponents to press for an early dissolution of parliament. The next election is due to be held by April-June 2003. The opposition, supported by Naoero Amo, wants Nauruans to be allowed to vote for a replacement government as early as possible.
Naoero Amo disclosures last year, drawn from public records and leaks from civil servants who share the former chief secretary's disgust, showed that a succession of rotten governments had squandered about A$2100 million of the wealth built up from exports of the now nearly exhausted phosphate reserves.
The government additionally had foreign debts in the region of A$400 million and had mortgaged most of Nauru's few remaining foreign assets for a loan to pay interest on other loans. Since the new loans couldn't be serviced, Naoero Amo said, Nauru's 7000 citizens were on the verge of losing everything invested as an economic cushion to fall back on when phosphate mining ended - in probably about five or six years.
The government is now existing on a A$30 million payoff from Australia for agreeing to detain illegal would-be migrants, mainly Muslims, the Australians don't want to admit, in a camp on a sports field in the middle of the island.
It is scraping every cent it can from such sources of revenue as petrol pump sales and minor licence fees.
In its latest edition, The Visionary, Naoero Amo's political publication, says that while civil servants, phosphate mineworkers and expatriate employers have not been paid for weeks or months, along with phosphate royalty payments to landowners, government ministers have been collecting up to A$20,000 or more as per diem allowances for many unnecessary overseas trips. One minister is said to have taken more than A$100,000 in cash with him on one trip. The wives of two other ministers took more than A$100,000 in one case and A$34,000 in another, later topped up by another A$40,000 telegraphed to her, for a trip to Melbourne.
The government-owned Bank of Nauru, which technically is insolvent, meanwhile, restricted savings bank account withdrawals to A$150 when it opened for a day for depositors who had run out of cash.
President Harris, sick with diabetes, has been hospitalised in Melbourne with leg infection and blood circulation conditions, and had been confirmed to be in need of dialysis. The Visionary said the acting president, Remy Namaduk, appeared to be more interested in personally supervising the importation of second hand cars than attending to national affairs.
Justifications given in the petition for an emergency meeting of Parliament and the latest revelations published in The Visionary are an incredible litany of government failures, misdoings and wrongs.
Just some items from the publication are:
