Traditional values to guide Vanuatu's development blueprint

A plan to guide development in Vanuatu puts custom and culture at the heart of the country's expected 15-year journey.

The country's national Sustainable Development Plan, called Vanuatu 2030, has been launched by Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai, after some lengthy public consultations.

The Lands Minister, Ralph Regenvanu says Vanuatu 2030, which took three years to draft, is about modernisation while also preserving the country's traditional Melanesian values.

“It was supposed to be ready for 2016 but as you know we had Tropical Cyclone Pam and then we had a bit of a political crisis the same year so basically the government decided to just give it another year before we started and also it gave us time to do the final validation of the document through consultation, Mr Regenvanu told Pacific Beat.

He said he thinks the plan has ownership from all sides of the political spectrum of Vanuatu and that is very important for its implementation.

“One of the big change that has to happen is there has to be some improvement in the way we administer things in government. There is an emphasis on strong and effective institutions, a dynamic public sector, good governance principles, strong institutions. Those are things we need to build on to make sure the whole process gets implemented properly, Mr Regenvanu said.