Page 7 - Islands Business March 2022

Briefs Briefs

seasonal workers currently in Australia have alleged that they
are being “treated like slaves.”
New Caledonia
The French government has given New Caledonia a further
US$200 million loan to help it balance its budget. French over- Solomon Islands
seas minister, Sebastien Lecornu, said the new loan secures The Central Bank of Solomon Islands Board has agreed to
the entire social system. However France would not lend the maintain an expansionary monetary policy for the next six
full amount requested because of the territory’s already high months to ensure an incipient recovery takes hold. Economic
debt level. growth for 2022 has been projected to further decline by
-7.3%. The Bank says prolonged supply disruptions, rising com-
New Caledonia’s economy has been boosted by record nickel modity prices and other risks could potentially increase prices
prices, and exports may rise further if Russia’s war on Ukraine beyond the headline inflation outlook of 3.2%.
continues. Russia is the world’s third largest producer of
nickel, and New Caledonia the fourth. Meanwhile, the indus-
try recently welcomed the finalisation of contracts to supply Tonga
Tesla with nickel for battery manufacture. Tonga’s government has launched the “Hunga Tonga-Hunga
Ha’apai Volcanic Eruption Tsunami Recovery Project” to assist
tsunami-affected families rebuild their homes. The World Bank
Niue estimates that the direct economic damages to buildings,
Niue has reported its first-ever case of COVID-19. A traveller infrastructure and agriculture are TOP $208.3million (US$92.2
from New Zealand was found positive with the virus on March million), equivalent to 18.5% of Tonga’s Gross Domestic
7. The country has vaccinated 97% of its eligible population, Product (GDP). It says TOP$565.8 million (USD$240 million) is
according to government data. needed to fund the Recovery and Resilience Building Plan.

Tuvalu
Palau Vaccination rollout for Tuvaluan children between the ages of
Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr says the nation is ready 12 and 17 has begun. Health teams have been administering
for the Compact review. Compact grants, disbursements, 2400 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, which arrived in the country
and other U.S. grants made up 25% of the Palau government on March 8 with the help of the Australian government and
expenditures in 2019 according to the latest report from the UNICEF.
United States Government Accountability Office (GAO). “GAO
says this is sufficient help to Palau, it’s not right,” added
Whipps. Inflation, the unfunded liability of its pension fund, Vanuatu
debt accrued due to the pandemic, and an ‘underfunded’ The Council of the European Union (EU) has decided to
Trust Fund are some of the issues that Whipps wants ad- partially suspend the visa waiver agreement with Vanuatu
dressed. due to what it says are risks posed by its investor citizen-
ship schemes, also known as ‘golden passport’ schemes. The
suspension concerns only Vanuatu citizens holding ordinary
Papua New Guinea passports issued since 25 May 2015, when these Vanuatu
PNG Police Commissioner and Pandemic Controller David Man- investment citizenship schemes entered into force. Holders of
ning announced the PNG government has engaged a company such passports will need a visa to travel to Europe.
to handle the audit of K5 billion (US$1.4 billion) in COVID-19
funds. Health Minister Jelta Wong says “it has been a process,
we have spoken to the heads of missions and the foreign part-
ners involved to ensure that the audits are brought forward so Wallis and Futuna
that we can put it together and bring it to Parliament in the Residents of Wallis and Futuna are having a hard time enter-
next session.” ing their home country due to strict COVID-19 quarantine
rules. People from the territory, who had to travel for medical
reasons, have been stuck in New Caledonia and France due
to travel restrictions. Authorities say they will not change the
Samoa rules until 75% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated. So
Samoa’s cabinet has approved the temporary halt of flight ar- far, 58% has received two doses. “It will be a long time until
rangements for Samoan seasonal workers to Australia and New restrictions are lifted… there is such strong resistance [on co-
Zealand, beginning April. This call comes after the Minister vid vaccines] in the islands,” says an anonymous chief medical
for Commerce, Industry and Labour said that “a review of the officer in Wallis and Futuna.
labour scheme in its entirety is necessary.” Several Samoan

Islands Business, March 2022 7