Pacific Islands Forum
Talking The Talk
Nauru Donors Roundtable To Take Crucial Decisions
Representatives from about 20 donor countries and institutions are meeting in Nauru early December to examine the country's new 20-year development plan. The plan identifies goals to fix Nauru's economy- particularly in health services, education and infrastructure.
President Ludwig Scotty told the donors of the need for a "national shift in attitude" at the opening of the roundtable, saying Nauruans need to understand their living standards may never return to their previous levels, among the highest in the world.
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David
Adeang. (Photo: S. Magick)
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At the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Papua New Guinea late October, Nauru's foreign affairs minister David Adeang said "despite the implementation of a number of reform initiatives, we cannot claim that the (critical economic and financial) situation has changed. But we are hopeful that in time, we can make Nauru a better place to live."
The government's 2005-06 budget predicts a small surplus and wide ranging reforms in the public sector, instrumentality, financial sector and financial management.
Adeang lists among the government's early achievements, the delisting of Nauru from the blacklist, and the small budget surplus achieved in 2004-05.
Adeang and many Nauruans pin their hopes on a revival of the country's phosphate industry, saying it "will revive the economy like no other economic alternative will."
"We have a whole line of phosphate buyers lining up."
The Nauru government is still waiting on the decision of the Victorian Supreme Court as to the release of the money remaining after the sale of Nauruan property assets in Australia.
"That's the landowners' money but we want to ensure it is properly managed" says Adeang. He believes proper management would entail investing the money in a trust fund, rather than paying it all out immediately.
In terms of the development strategy, Adeang's preferred model is a combination of public sector led development supported by a small private sector, and a community based system, where the community plays a major role in the provision of services.
The December roundtable has been organized by the Pacific Islands Forum, which has played quite an active role connecting Nauru with potential donors.
Adeang hopes that the Forum's new Small Islands States unit will be able to assist it further, particularly on the issue of bulk fuel purchasing, saying the country had been hit hard by recent rises in fuel prices.
But he agrees with President Scotty in saying Nauruans themselves need to undergo fundamental changes if they are to see their country recover.
"In Nauru you're talking about a generation accustomed to one of the highest quality of life in the world. It took our government to tell them the truth.
"It was a generation who knew a Nauru where you didn't need to work or if they turned up, didn't work properly."
