Overlapping authorities: Governance, leadership and
accountability in contemporary Vanuatu Wesley Morgan and Nelly
Willy
Slide 2
Overview of presentation Introduction Considering what we know
Global discourses: Good governance, civil society and developmental
leadership Uniquely complex: Hybrid modernity and community
governance in post-colonial Vanuatu Improving accountability and
affecting change: A case for building bridges? What role for civil
society? Oxfam and Leadership Vanuatu
Slide 3
Good governance: A global discourse Governance represented 33%
of the AusAID expenditure in 2004 Global influence: From the World
Bank to AusAID - to the Pacific?
Slide 4
A liberal market and an effective state AusAIDs good governance
implementation principles 1.) promotion of trade and investment 2.)
promotion of more clearly defined property rights 3.) helping
partner governments create an efficient and equitable taxation
system 4.) strengthening banking sector and financial markets 5.)
improving corporate governance 6.) supporting the development of
micro-enterprises 7.) improving the delivery of basic services, 8.)
strengthening the rule of law and improving legal systems 9.)
promoting respect for human rights, and strengthening democratic
process
Slide 5
But good governance needs developmental leadership 2005: AusAID
white paper recommends a focus on improving Pacific leadership
2007: Leaders, Elites and Coalitions Research Program launched
2007: Pacific Leadership Program launched
Slide 6
From developmental leadership to good governance to poverty
reduction: Poverty reduction needs economic growth needs a dynamic
private sector needs an enabling policy environment needs effective
state institutions needs good governance needs coalitions that
foster demand for change needs developmental leadership.
Developmental leadership leads to coalitions that foster demand for
change leads to good governance leads to effective state
institutions leads to an enabling policy environment leads to a
dynamic private sector leads to economic growth leads to poverty
reduction. Perceived links in a universal causal chain
Slide 7
Fostering developmental leadership in the Pacific Australia
will help develop the current leadership cadre in the Pacific,
focus on the next generation of regional leaders and build the
demand from within countries for improved governance performance.
White Paper on the Australian governments overseas aid program -
2005
Slide 8
Local context: Vanuatus hybrid modernity Divisions between
tradition and modernity are misleading: Vanuatus cultures, as with
all cultures, are ever-changing. They are both resilient and
adaptable. Can be thought of as an indigenisation of modernity
(Sahlins 2007) Orthodox and universal prescriptions for good
governance need to be understood as they interact with a particular
lived experience of hybrid modernity in which Western notions of
rationality and ethics co-exist with resilient indigenous ways of
knowing and being.
Slide 9
Leadership and governance in Vanuatu: A bird that flies with
two wings* Kastom governance [indigenous / local] State government
[modern / national] *Phrase borrowed from Miranda Forsyths 2009
book: A bird that flies with two wings: The kastom and state
justice systems in Vanuatu
Slide 10
Hybrid economics: modern markets and traditional economies
Small formal sector Food production (on communal land) and
distribution (through socially embedded systems of exchange) is
central to national economy Traditional and global economies
inter-linked
Slide 11
The past is in the present Diverse models of localised
authority Complex array of pathways to political and social power
Grading systems for men and women in some parts of Vanuatu Over 115
distinct cultures and 106 languages spread across 83 inhabited
islands No institutional structures above village level, and no
common identity attached to the territory of contemporary Vanuatu
(Cox et al. 2007)
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Chiefs in the missionary/colonial era Chiefs does not
accurately reflect pre-existing forms of leadership Mid-1800s:
Missionaries created chiefs to help them preach 1906: Establishment
of Condominium administration (largely concerned with land
appropriation by French/British plantation owners) Threadbare
administration allowed continuation of local forms of governance
Consistently, missionaries and other Europeans looked for leaders
in Vanuatu, and found influential individuals whom they described
as chiefs. But the European notion of a chief rarely matched local
conceptions of authority... (Bolton 1998)
Slide 13
Chiefs, kastom and dispute resolution A broad overview of
governance in Vanuatu during the missionary / colonial era Colonial
administration also created chiefs as community representatives
Condominium appointed assessors - increasingly given powers to
settle disputes The thin line of administration relied on chiefs
and indigenous conflict management to maintain good order Over
time, chiefs as formal village adjudicators was reinforced as
kastom
Slide 14
Towards independence! The new nation of Vanuatu encompassed 83
inhabited islands and the culturally and linguistically diverse
peoples who lived there. In some respects, the construction of a
new nation has been arbitrary people are unified as much by a
shared colonial past as by indigenous self-identity. 1970s
Indigenous nationalism led by church leaders Customary land
ownership a rallying cry for independence A renaissance of kastom
tied to nascent national identity
Slide 15
Kastom governance and the new nation In recent years the
Malvatamauri has helped to stimulate community debate through
national summits on land and regarding the traditional economy 1977
Malvatamauri National Council of Chiefs established 1980
Constitution. Malvatamauri must be consulted with regard to custom
and tradition and land law 2006 National Council of Chiefs Act
setting out roles and responsibilities of chiefs
Slide 16
Contemporary kastom governance Vary considerably across the
country Rests on authority of chiefs as adjudicators Oversee
community life, dealing with common infractions: alcohol and
marijuana use, fighting, theft, unapproved relationships. Sometimes
more serious issues like domestic or sexual violence. Chiefs also
adjudicate on land usage Ideally transparent / public
decision-making through discussion and consensus building Processes
of dispute resolution often involves reconciliation through the
payment of reparation
Slide 17
Urban kastom governance Chiefs generally linked to place
Increasingly important in urban settings (Vila and Luganville)
Important for mitigating violence during riots in 1998 and 2007
During 2007 disputes in Vila, PM sent pigs and mats to chiefs from
Tanna. Also important in stand-off between Vanuatu Police and
Vanuatu Mobile Force (1998) and a prison escape (2006)
Slide 18
Institutions of the Vanuatu state Republic (1980). Based on
Westminster parliamentary democracy State power vested in
Constitution (mama loa) Largely ceremonial President Single-house
national parliament (52 seats) Executive power rests with Prime
Minister and cabinet a council of ministers (13 MPs) responsible to
parliament Formal oversight of the executive: Leadership code,
ombudsman and auditor general Elections every four years 1
National/ 6 provincial/2 municipal council
Slide 19
1980s dominated by Vanuaaku Pati (English speaking /
Presbyterian) and UMP (French speaking / Catholic) 1990s - Major
parties marked by leadership disputes, factionalsm, and splits... A
process of political centrifugalism (Morgan 2005) Post 2000:
increasing numbers of small parties and independent MPs (associated
declining representation) Today: volatile governments formed by
unstable coalitions Contemporary state government 1980-2013
Slide 20
Features of state government today Patron-client dynamics
between some MPs and communities Leadership almost exclusively
reserved for men Poor decentralisation (few state services outside
urban centres) Highly politicised public service Breaches of
leadership code (or the law) poorly prosecuted Good media scrutiny
High participation rates at election time
Slide 21
Extending service delivery (especially health and education)
Identifying and prosecuting corruption Improving womens
participation in decision-making Managing land resources Deriving
benefits (employment/income) from the formal economy Serious
governance challenges?
Slide 22
Holding leaders accountable? Requires access to, often
unfamiliar, means of redress Ombudsman Auditor general Leadership
code Public prosecutor Media Parliamentary oversight Current
government considering giving ombudsman the power to prosecute
leaders if public prosecutor does not action reports. If the
Ombudsman is given powers to prosecute and its implementation is
retroactive, some past and current leaders will not be sleeping
well at night (Daily Post 2013)
Slide 23
What role for civil society? Typically urban-based Facilitate
dialogue and informed discussion regarding processes of governance
Bridge kastom and state governance? Rural and urban conversations?
A Nakamal Way (Huffer and Molisa 1999) Strengthening kastom
governance?
Slide 24
A word on Christian churches Ni-Vanuatu overwhelmingly
Christian (30 denominations) Churches key to service delivery
(education and health) - 33% of schools Important for nation
building: God and custom must be the sail and the steering paddle
of our canoe - Fr Walter Lini (1980) Vanuatu Christian Council
(umbrella body)
Slide 25
From global discourse to local choices Universal discourses of
developmental leadership and good governance are blunt instruments
Global in nature, they fail to accommodate the complexity of the
local As a nation, Vanuatu is young and unique, and is still
locating its postcolonial identity Overlapping models of governance
and systems of accountability (state/kastom) are not fixed.
Negotiations toward consensus on forms of governance remain
ongoing.