A place to report your grievances – Advocacy & Legal Advice Center
TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL VANUATU (TIV) has heard complaints being raised by members of the public concerning the unfair distributions of aid supplies. People are complaining about the unfair distribution of relief supplies via social media, the media, and even towards the National Disaster Management Office.
It is evident that in some areas, especially in Port Vila, out of a neighborhood of 10 households 2 or 3 of them were not included in the distribution of reliefs, this has raised a lot of concerns among the public on whether the coordination of community assessments was done in a well-coordinated manner.
In some communities it has been reported that more than one assessments were carried out by two different individuals while for some households they received nothing at all. Therefore people are encouraged to raise their concerns with the appropriate authorities and not be silent, if we speak up something can be done to address the issue.
For instance, if your home is badly damaged, yet your neighbors are receiving more aid even though their house is not damaged but because they have a relative working with the relief distribution teams then you must report it. It might be that it was just a genuine mistake, but whatever the case it is important to report to the authorities your situation and let them investigate the issue.
With massive bulks of relief supplies stored in certain locations, it would be hard to find out if one or two items have ‘disappeared’. Thus it is important for members of the public to report any form of irregularities within their communities, it is also important to be reminded that everyone has to receive a fair share of reliefs within a certain region.
If there are ‘highs and lows’ even on the same street then something is definitely wrong, and it should be reported immediately.
TIV is assuring the public that it has a place where you can report your grievances, called ALAC. ALAC stands for Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC). It is a Legal Advice Centre that provides free legal advice and assistance to victims and witnesses of corruption.
ALAC’s aim is to help citizens and residents from all areas regardless of their status to pursue corruption based complaints and to encourage them to “speak out” and come forward in strict client confidentiality to further their complaint.
We have legal officers that are all qualified lawyers who can provide legal recommendations, or advice concerning the options available to each complainant. The ALAC is located at the Rivarec Pacific building in town. You can come and visit us to report your grievances. Or you can contact us on 29008 and speak to one of our lawyers.
Email: alacvanuatu@vanuatu.com.vu
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