Cover Story
The Region's 10 Most Powerful People
1)
John Howard Since first coming to office nine years ago, John Howard has changed from a man seeming ill at ease (when he actually showed up) at gatherings of Pacific leaders, to one who is often calling the shots in the region. Australia has increased Overseas Development Aid (ODA) to A$436 million (US$432 million) for Papua New Guinea, A$202 million (US$158 million) for Solomon Islands and A$383 million (US$301 million) for other Pacific Islands and projects. So while Howard's influence and leadership style in the region still causes disquiet among some, his regional counterparts are not going to bite the hand that feeds them.
In a recent speech to the Australian research body, the Lowy Institute, Howard said when he first took office, "I believed that this nation was defining its place in the world too narrowly." This is evident in the way he has put great energy into reinforcing traditional ties with the U.S. and Britain while cultivating new ones in Asia. Under Howard's leadership Australia has also reasserted its dominance in many parts of the Pacific Islands region. Among the clearest examples continues to be Solomon Islands, where the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has largely restored law and order. Howard's influence on this issue also saw other nations participate in RAMSI: Fiji, New Zealand, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Vanuatu and Nauru. The new front of Australian engagement-some say intervention-is in Papua New Guinea where the "Enhanced Cooperation Programme" (ECP) is focusing on law and order, corruption, economic and public sector reform and border management. Some 210 Australian police and 64 Australian officials are taking up line positions within the PNG police force and public service as part of the ECP. Howard himself has said in respect to this program, "Australia is engaged for the long term, and at the highest level." He will be in Port Moresby for the Pacific Islands Forum meeting later this year. And we've seen a tremendous level of influence on an issue of great importance to Australia and Howard personally-that of regional security and policing. Australians are now running the police forces of Fiji, Solomon Islands and Nauru, the Australian Federal Police boss Mick Keelty has established strong relations with his other island counterparts, and Australia is funding and running a wide range of training and planning exercises across the region. In the Lowy address Howard also signaled his future intentions, saying "we should start by reaffirming the power of globalization to lift the dead hand of poverty around the world. Our development debate must recognize that trade barriers in the developed world cost poor countries more than twice the amount of official aid they receive." This, and his stated intention to help get the Doha round of World Trade Organization talks back on track, will be of interest to Pacific Island WTO members such as Fiji, which is going to battle with Australia over garment export access. Howard seems resolved to serve out his current term in office, despite suggestions over the last couple of years that he might be ready to retire. We expect him to figure prominently on this list for years to come. 2) Helen Clark "New Zealand is a reliable friend which knows the Pacific well" is a stated part of New Zealand's Pacific policy. And is an apt way of describing how Prime Minister Helen Clark sees her relationship to the region.
Clark's jurisdiction includes Auckland, the biggest Polynesian city in the world. Her country's economic links with the region are significant, NZ$856 million (US$697 million) in exports and NZ$155 million (US$109 million) in imports in 2002. More than NZ$100 million (US$70.9 million), almost half of New Zealand's total international development budget, is dedicated to assistance in the Pacific Islands. Clark hosted the Pacific Islands Forum in 2003, and has a vested interest in seeing the "Pacific Plan" process through. She hosted the leaders of Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Marshall Islands in March to discuss the progress of this plan. Reportedly she has been frustrated at the slow pace of this process. After the meeting she said, "development is proceeding very fast in other parts of the developed world, the Pacific mustn't drift back. We need momentum, we need traction." Clark's government has most dramatic influence on its nearest Polynesian neighbors; Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands and Tokelau. She is keen to strengthen the "Treaty of Friendship" her country has with Samoa, recently establishing a Prime Minister's Fellowship, which offers potential leaders from Samoa the opportunity to "look at aspects of New Zealand life particularly relevant to the New Zealand-Samoa relationship." It's an apt illustration of her hands-on approach to the region. 3) Tuilaepa
Sailele Malielegaoi Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi is the current chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum, at a time of renewed focus by Pacific leaders on making regional cooperation work in the face of constrained economic development and globalization. One of the region's longest serving leaders, Tuilaepa succeeded the late Tofilau Eti Alesana as Samoa's prime minister in November 1998 and has held the position since then.
As Minister of Finance for 18 years before that, Tuilaepa was the architect of comprehensive restructuring and reform of the Samoan economy, undertaken in the mid-1990s in response to two destructive cyclones and a stagnating economy. These reforms have won praise from the donor community and international financiers such as the World Bank and for Samoa, the epithet of model economy in the region. They have also seen the economy grow on average 4 percent per annum in the last several years, lifting Samoa out of the Least Developed Country (LDC) group. At the regional level, Tuilaepa's open support for reform has placed him at the forefront of the good governance and accountability agenda. From 1988 to 2000, Tuilaepa was chairman of the Pacific members of the Africa Caribbean and Pacific group (ACP), beneficiaries of European Union financial and technical assistance through the EU-ACP relationship. Despite a setback in his candidate missing out on the ACP Secretary-General's position last year, Tuilaepa maintains a keen interest in the grouping. 4) Greg
Urwin Greg Urwin would be a little taken aback to appear on this list. It's true as Secretary General he is a regional bureaucrat who implements the decisions of Pacific Island Forum leaders. He is not in the position to unilaterally make them. But Urwin's very power-real and potential- lies in how effectively this implementation happens and the influence of a somewhat reinvigorated Pacific Islands Forum.
Urwin is managing a 16-member organization that has a US$15 million budget. True, it has little impact on the more northern reaches of the region, the Northern Marianas and Guam are not members, but no other regional organization is addressing the wide range of issues and fundamental questions about the future, in the way the Forum is. Urwin is a prolific speech maker and traveler and he is quite comfortable with the Pacific style of consultation. These latter traits have attracted some criticism about the pace of change at the Forum, and the so-called Pacific Plan, in particular. Nevertheless, when Forum leaders meet in Port Moresby later this year, they will be presented with a plan that has been considered by a wide variety of Pacific Islanders-and that's not such a bad thing, if an arduous process. Urwin's challenge will be to drive the changes needed while maintaining the confidence, and patience, of the region's leaders. Urwin has stated he hopes his legacy is to help "plumb the limits of what regionalism can be." His ability to turn this into tangible action through the Pacific Islands Forum will likely determine the length of his tenure in the "Power 10." 5) Sir Michael Somare The elder Pacific statesman and Papua New Guinea prime minister, Sir Michael Somare, will take over the chairmanship of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) later this year and with it the responsibility of reconciling the widely varying interests of its member countries. This new focus follows recent domestic economic success. Somare's government has successfully turned the PNG economy around by reducing inflation to 2.4 percent-the lowest level since 1989, triggering employment growth of 0.2 percent, accumulating an overall surplus of $US71.8 million-1.7 percent of GDP, and the building up of foreign reserves to US$624.1 million. But the task of pursuing the interests of the 15 Forum member states will be arduous, and there is still much work for him at home. Somare will take on the role of pushing through progress on the "Pacific Plan." He will also have to keep an eye on the Forum's relationship with French Polynesia, revealing that reinstated Prime Minister Oscar Temaru had already discussed this with him. The response of Somare's government to activities around Australia's Enhanced Cooperation Package could also potentially have wider ramifications for the Pacific. If it is seen to be a success a year from now, it could strengthen Australia's resolve to pursue this sort of strategy-such as the posting of Australian police and placement of civil servants-elsewhere. 6)
Hari Punja Hari Punja is Fiji's most successful businessman, with 15 companies in the Hari Punja and Sons stable. The group is active in the food manufacturing, flour mills, rice, hotels, media, packaging and printing industries. Punja was among the first of Fiji's investors to see the South Pacific Stock Exchange as a means of raising capital. Four of his companies are now listed. Analysts say this has created the "Punja effect" with other entrepreneurs being encouraged by the businessman's participation on the markets.
He is one of Fiji's largest domestic investors. Last year Punja's Flour Mills of Fiji (FMF) invested about FJ$20million (US$11.9 million) in a new biscuit factory. It is now looking to invest a further FJ$10million (US$5.9 million) to double capacity. FMF aims to boost the value of its biscuit exports to approximately $20 million in the next 12 months. While Punja looms large over the Fiji economy, he qualifies for the "Power 10" because of the influence he has on the buying patterns of people all over the region, and on government to government relations. His empire is partly built, if you like, on cabin crackers. Last year FMF acquired two Australian biscuit companies, giving it a foothold into the Australian market. It also invested millions into its New Zealand warehouse and operations. But his export ambitions have also seen Fiji and Vanuatu become embroiled in controversy again over the banning of FMF biscuit imports into Vanuatu. At the time of going to press, the controversy was still unresolved. Punja also owns a stake in a number of regional media organizations, a fact that is causing a debate about cross ownership in Papua New Guinea. His company owns a stake in commercial radio and now television stations in Fiji and Papua New Guinea. 7) Kolone Vaai Kolone Vaai is a quiet achiever. But since 1991 through his consulting companies he has shaped the way regional governments, donors and investors think about economic policy and financial management.
The holder of two chiefly titles, Afoa and Asiata, Vaai was Samoa's Financial Secretary for Government of Samoa for seven years. Since establishing Kolone Vaai and Associates, and later KVA Consult, he has led his team-some of the brightest young minds in the Pacific-in assignments involving national strategic plans; financial and economic feasibility studies and investment banking. One of KVA's latest joint projects is the Samoa Venture Capital Fund. This fund also involves the International Finance Corporation, which calls it "a Pacific solution to a Pacific problem. Whilst we have incorporated world's best practices, we have recognized and addressed the realities of small Pacific Island economies." That problem: helping raise financing for Pacific businesses. KVA Consult has also worked on UNDP strategies in the Pacific, a review of the South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme Action Plan, AusAID and European Union program reviews, and further afield, a project in Bangladesh. Vaai's knowledge and reputation comprises the calm center of this whirlwind of activity. In a field that is largely dominated by advisors and consulting companies from outside the Pacific island countries, KVA Consult is carving out a niche for itself, providing a uniquely local and Pacific perspective and insight. 8) Sir John Kaputin It has been three months since former Papua New Guinea politician Sir John Kaputin took over the reins of Secretary-General for the African, Caribbean Pacific secretariat, and the task of overseeing the interests of 78 ACP countries.
While Kaputin has set his sights on achieving the broad objectives of integrating member states into the world economy, eradicating poverty and promoting sustainable development through the ACP secretariat, negotiations currently underway on the Contonou Agreement to retain duty-free market access to the European Union for ACP countries is already proving a real challenge. The EU-which is linked to the 78 members of the ACP through the 20-year Contonou Agreement and is a major contributor of development aid in the Pacific Islands, has pointed out that trade among ACP member states was a prerequisite for its development aid. This has worried smaller Pacific Island states like the Federated States of Micronesia, Niue, Palau and Tuvalu, who fear they have more to lose than gain from regional trade agreements such as the Pacific Agreement on Close Economic Relations, the Pacific Islands Countries Trade Agreement, and the Pacific Regional Economic Partnership Agreement. Kaputin's challenge is to ensure there is a level playing field among all ACP states when it comes to trade liberalization, and to represent the 78 ACP members fairly. It's no small task, but an immensely important one. 9) Alan Grey Alan Grey is the invisible guiding hand so to speak, behind the legendary Aggie Grey Hotel empire in Samoa. The story of Aggies, as Aggie Grey hotel is more widely known, is a story already well told. What is not as widely known is the part that Alan Grey, the youngest of Aggie Grey's children, played in that success story. "My father was in his final year studying to be an industrial chemist at Auckland University when he came home to visit," says Fred Grey, Aggie's grandson and heir apparent. "He saw his mother struggling to run the hotel and bar, and decided to stay to help her." The rest, as they say, is history. Alan Grey never went back to finish his degree. Aggies Hotel, on the other hand, moved on from its modest British Club beginnings to become a 156-room international hotel with a loyal clientele that straddles the globe. Come July this year, yet another chapter in the story of Aggies will begin, with the opening of Aggies Lagoon Beach Resort and Spa hotel close to Faleolo International Airport. The new hotel, which opens in July, is expected to provide a major boost for Samoan tourism. And, as a model for regional tourism, the country's first international-class golf and spa resort is financed with 100 percent local investments. While the hotels are the centerpiece of the "Aggies Empire," the family business also has significant investments in a number of other Samoan businesses, and is the dominant commercial enterprise in Polynesia. That is why Grey qualifies for this year's "Power 10" list. But Alan Grey is much more than an hotelier of international note. A keen sportsman who played rugby and sailed for Samoa, Grey was chairman of the Samoa Rugby Football Union during the rebuilding years of the 1970s and 1980s that resulted in Samoa making the quarterfinals of the 1990 Rugby World Cup. Perpetually strapped for cash, Samoan rugby looked to the chairman during those long lean years not just for leadership, but also for funding. Another of the many sports that have benefited from Grey's enthusiasm and support is the village based long boat or fautasi racing. Alan Grey has two racing fautasi himself, but has also built boats like the present national champion, Telefoni o le Vainu'u, for other villages to race. 10)
Gaetane Austin Gaetane Austin started her business, quite literally, around her kitchen table as she raised her seven children. Now Pure Fiji, which produces natural bath, body and skin care products, employs four of her daughters and is a model for business development for the Pacific.
The company was crowned Fiji Exporter of the Year Award in 2001 with the words, "(They) may not be one of our largest exporters, but obviously (Pure Fiji) have the potential to become one of Fiji's unique success stories as it focuses on tapping local resources and innovative ways of marketing them." Austin makes our list because of her company's success in international, particularly U.S. markets, but also because of her innovative business model. Fijian craftspeople provide cold pressed coconut oil, natural papers, masi (bark cloth), coconut sinnet and woven baskets for Pure Fiji products. The income from the sale of these items has paid for school fees, water tanks, better food and health services. Pure Fiji's marketing and distribution plan involves placement in high end spas and a keen understanding of the power of celebrity endorsements. New innovations include an F$4 million (US$2.38 million) dollar factory, showroom and spa in Suva. Pure Fiji is a purely women-run enterprise. Many entrepreneurs have tried (and are trying) to make a go of "traditional" coconut oil-based products. Few, if any, have succeeded as well as Pure Fiji has to date. |
