Prime Minister Bob Loughman

No confidence motion lodged against Vanuatu PM

 The motion was signed in the presence of the Clerk of Parliament, Raymond Manuake, in accordance with the new Parliament Standing Orders.

 These 27 MPs are representatives from different groupings in Parliament. Daily Post was informed the MPs are from all groupings in Parliament: the two parties in the Opposition, Reunification of Movement of Change (RMC), Vanua’aku Pati (VP), Union of Moderate Parties (UMP) and G10 bloc.

If registered by the Parliament, the Motion of No Trust in Prime Minister Loughman will be the first one to be deposited this year.

Vanuatu PM constitutional changes shelved

The changes included increasing the number of Government Ministries from 13 to 17 and putting the chief justice on a term limit.

The Daily Post newspaper said the Parliament sitting last Friday was "short-lived" after only 31 MPs out of 52 MPs were present.

The opposition side of the House as well as one of the government coalition's own member parties that is led by former Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai, boycotted the special sitting.

Vanuatu PM urges social distancing, good hygiene practices due to Covid border cases

Loughman made the comment as he announced that the Ministry of Health through the Covid-19 Task force team in Port Vila detected two cases of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Sunday.

He said the two patients were part of 18 passengers flown into the country on Friday 22 October, from Noumea, New Caledonia.

“Health authorities discovered the two had the coronavirus while they were in the quarantine”.

No confidence motion filed against Vanuatu government

The opposition accuses the government of excessive spending on self-interest in a time of national crisis.

The country's economy has been hammered by the loss of tourism caused by the pandemic and Cyclone Harold, which caused extensive damage a year ago.

The opposition also accuses the government of mismanaging scholarships and failing to discipline MPs.

The motion is expected to be debated next Monday, with the opposition needing the support of 27 members to change the government.

Govt ministers to take stand in trial of former Vanuatu PM

The Speaker of Parliament, Gracia Shadrak is also due to take the stand in Salwai's trial for bribery, corruption and perjury.

The prosecution indicated they will call 26 witnesses in the trial which began yesterday.

Two other former ministers are also standing trial, after a complaint by former Opposition Leader and current Deputy Prime Minister, Ishmael Kalsakau, last year.

Kalsakau himself is due to take the stand today.

     

Vanuatu PM’s family supports Tafea Day celebrations at USP’s Suva campus

The Loughman family gave financial assistance to the association through their daughter Nisa Kaun Loughman, who is also studying at USP in Suva.

TSA President Andrew Nawakai expressed gratitude to PM Loughman for the generous support, which will help their members celebrate Tafea Day on Thursday.

The programme will include educational panel discussions on topics and fields of study of students from Tafea.