Volcano

TIV Tour To Imaki

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TANNA IS AN island full of independent endeavors. When Transparency International Vanuatu visited the island in February the air was immense with booming activities, small to medium scale businesses continue to increasingly operate throughout the township of Lenakel.

Construction work on the new tar seal roads had opt in a new vision for the future as folks begin to dream about the vast potentials waiting to be explored once the whole of Tanna becomes physically accessible.

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Evidently, life after Cyclone Pam is indifferent, the same challenges continue to be faced; rough roads, unmaintained infrastructure, lack of information, and the lack of proper medical facilities. Despite these challenges the show of resilience by the people continue to downcast the reality of the situation.

And to see a school principal smile while several of his classrooms had no rooftops is a reminder that their hope for a better tomorrow is what faithfully keeps the classroom doors open.

Transparency International Vanuatu, in association with the Right To Information Unit, had planned this RTI toksave trip to Tanna immediately after doing the same thing on the island of Santo in November of last year.

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The TIV Team landed on Tanna on the 21st of February and stayed over at Lenakel for two days before traveling to Imaki Village in south Tanna to conduct the RTI awareness there. The road there is rough, only the toughest vehicles with experienced drivers can get there.

The community of Imaki lies above on a plateau looking out to sea, out against the horizonIMG_8832 the islands of Futuna, Aniwa and Anietyum can be seen on a clear day. The village accommodates a Francophone primary school and a secondary school called College D’Imaki, and the people there are largely from the catholic denomination.

When the team from Transparency International Vanuatu arrived there the village was still in mourning, three deaths had occurred in the past week, one involving a young woman who had unfortunately died at sea when gathering seaweed while gale force winds from TC Winston stormed from the east.

The RTI awareness at Imaki gathered students from both the Primary and the Secondary classes. After the awareness copies of the Vanuatu Constitution booklets were donated to the school’s library.

A demonstration of rights and duties at Imaki

Nancy Feimanga is a women leader is the community, she also attended the Transparency International Vanuatu (TIV) Right to Information Awareness session,, she says that apart from assisting women in the community “I keep them updated on matters that may affect their livelihoods the RTI policy is one of them.” (Source Info: Pacific Leadership Program)

Overall, the teachers at Imaki expressed their support for the Right To Information Bill, “since we are living in a very isolated part of the island this new bill would definitely support the community given that easy access to information will be legalized,” a secondary school teacher said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PugIDXjXfc&feature=youtu.be

WATCH: Right To Information Tour – Tanna Island.

For more information on the RTI or any other topics surrounding the work of Transparency International Vanuatu please contact us at Tel: 25715 or email: transparency@vanuatu.com.vu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TIV Ready To Tour Malekula On The Right To Information

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A TEAM will be visiting the island of Malekula next week to conduct the Right To Information consultations in several community and schools. The team encourages member of the public on Malekula to attend this sessions and to share their opinions.

On this coming Sunday the team will be a Dotre Dae at Rano. On Monday next week the team will be at Lakatoro Junior Secondary School, at Rensarie College and in the evening at Unua Community.

On Tuesday the 5th of April the team will begin the consultation sessions at Tautu community, then on t Norsup College and then to Pinalum community.

On the following day on Wednesday the Right To Information Public Forum will be held at the Wilkins Stadium conference room at 8 o’clock in the morning. In the afternoon the team will visit Unmet community.

On Thursday the team will visit Amelvet School, Orap Secondary School, Atchin community and Matanvat village. The last consultation will take place at the Lakatoro market house on Friday the 8th and will start at 11:30am.

Apart from the Right To Information the team will also be talking about corruption and its effects on societies at large. Also to be talked about is the Vanuatu Constitution, and copies of it in Bislama will be given the schools and communities visited.

For any further information regarding these activities please call the Transparency International Vanuatu office at Tel; 25715

Transparency Team Tours Tanna Island

by with No Comment Uncategorized

LAST WEEK A TEAM from Transparency International Vanuatu run a series of Right To Information (RTI) public awareness programs on the island of Tanna.

The TIV Team landed on Tanna on the 21st of February and stayed over at Lenakel for two days before traveling to Imaki Village on south Tanna to conduct the RTI awareness there. The TIV team then moved eastward through to the central part of Tanna holding several meetings with communities on the Right To Information along the way.

Hundreds of Vanuatu Constitution books were also delivered to several communities and schools throughout this week on the island of Tanna.

The TIV Team also visited Lenakel Presbyterian College, Tafea College and Imaki College and delivered constitution books, rights and duties booklets including corruption booklets. On Monday the team blasted RTI information from speakers at the Lenakel Market House before ending the day successfully at Bethel Village.

Tuesday the 23rd of February was meant to be a busy day, unfortunately cyclone warnings kept the team at base at Lenakel. Heavy rains and strong winds were experienced throughout Tanna on that day, however by late evening a brief peek of sunshine promised a better weather for Wednesday.

The road to the south was a rough ride, as was explained by people at Lenakel. The team left at 9 o’clock in the morning and arrived there at around midday. Again, the team talked to villagers and students about the right to information, and how much benefit it would bring if the right to know is specifically made a law in Vanuatu.

At Lenakel Presbyterian College over 40 students and teachers attended the right to information public awareness on the island of Tanna. And while the rain poured lightly outside Mr. Douglas Tamara from the TIV Team talked about the national anthem and the meaning of ‘Yumi’. Eventually, the students began to sing the national anthem, and they sang it perfectly.

The awareness at Lenakel College took place inside the schools dining hall. Outside, the remains of the wrath of TC Pam is still visible. A UNICEF white tent still accommodates for classes and the dining hall is still divided in two; eat on one side and have classes on the other.

On the other side of the school compound a blue tarpaulin is used to replace the roofs that had been blown off a classroom building. Regardless of this, normal classes proceed as usual for roughly two hundred students. “That number is expected to increase,” explains the Deputy Principal, “once school fee problems are sorted out we will be expecting over four hundred students.”

After the meeting the staff at the school thanked the team for the information shared, including having their own copies of the Vanuatu Constitution which will be made available to students at schools library.

This is the second tour for the TIV Team for the RTI mission, the first tour took the team to the island of Santo. The next tour will be known once plans and logistics are confirmed.

Transparency International Vanuatu believes that everyone has the right to be informed, equipping citizens with the necessary information will not only allow citizens to participate effectively, but it will also give them the opportunity to be the builders of a nation.

The right to information originates as a national fundamental right, and is expressed in Vanuatu’s National Constitution under article five. At the moment there is no RTI Law that will give legal effect to this fundamental right however preparations have already been made and an RTI policy was launched in 2014, and until it becomes law TIV will continue to advocate for the RTI in Vanuatu.

The RTI is important because it is a symbol of an open democracy and a key to governance. The RTI promotes transparency and accountability in the public sector. It supports and protects human rights and it strengthens the foundations of democracy, and most importantly it fights against corruption.

Photos of the RTI tour on Tanna will be published on Transparency’s facebook page and blogsite (www.tivnews.wordpress) once the team returns to Port Vila on this coming Sunday.

For more information on the RTI, or any other matters surround the works of Transparency International Vanuatu please contact us at Tel: 25715, or email: transparency@vanuatu.com.vu