We Say 2

Laisenia Qarase... raised questions about regional organisations.

Fiji's prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, asked a pertinent question when, in November, he spoke to the Conference of the Pacific Community‹what in more palmy days used to be called the South Pacific Con ference.

We quote him: I suggest there is a need for some co-ordination and rationalisation in another aspect of regional affairs. In the last 20 years, the number of regional organisations has mushroomed.

This is in addition to the many obligations to attend meetings and to prepare and submit reports arising from our countries' membership of various international organisations and treaties. It seems to me this proliferation in regional organisations and engagement raises certain questions.

We need to consider, for instance, whether it represents efficient use of scarce development resources. Our citizens would be justified in asking why more and more of our scarce national budget resources are being diverted to these regional and international bureaucracies.

"The observation has been made previously that they seem to be an industry unto themselves. The never-ending stream of meetings and conferences produced by these organisations consume millions of dollars, but to what purpose? Now obviously some meetings are critical and should be attended. But I suspect a close analysis would reveal that many achieve very little and that the follow-up is minimal." Mr Qarase hoped his remarks would begin "a robust debate" about the value of the conference party round.

As an institution, the meeting he addressed is the debating forum of historically the oldest of Oceania's regional intergovernmental organisations, the South Pacific Commission, created in 1946 and functioning now as the Pacific Community.

The South Pacific Conference is where the region's first government leaders cut their regional teeth. Counts have been made of the number of regional organisations and conferences that function now. 100? 200? There is difficulty about categorising some. They are on the borderline of being Pacific. Mr Qarase is right about the cost burden. But for the loot they extract from regional meetings in fares, accommodation, services and entertainment, some airlines and hotels would be out of business. Mr Qarase puts his questions bravely. No Pacific Islands state makes more from the conference business than Fiji. As prime minister, Mr Qarase has a clear duty to try to keep it that way.

His attitude is, however, nothing very new. Around the region a lot of people harbour guilt about the mounting number and cost of the charades some meetings are apt to be, but then call for another class of expense account‹wine.

The difficulty is to decide which meetings justify the cost of participation in them and where the shutters on some organisations could be drawn down for good.

Costs could be vastly reduced by focusing all meetings and organisations in one location. Logically, geography, transportation and services, makes Fiji that place, to the intense chagrin of all its regional neighbours.

Politically, it is expedient to preserve the regional meetings merry-go-round, for everyone wants a cut of the spend. Some meetings could be held less frequently. And in this age, surely there is scope for more satellite hook-ups.

The regional round of meetings is meanwhile, a runaway riderless horse.