Yearbook 2006
Vanuatu. In March, the opposition tried to trap the
government through a vote of no confidence. The government
then accused the opposition of "creating political
instability" and threatened to present a motion that would
prohibit opposition members from participating in
parliamentary meetings for the remainder of 2006. However,
the prosecutor should have urged the Speaker of Parliament
not to submit the government's motion when it violated the
constitution. The government won the vote of no confidence
and could remain, as the opposition was only supported by 20
of the 50 MPs. This was the third time that opposition
leader Serge Vohor was trying to oust Prime Minister Ham
Lini. Vohor was previously prime minister and was forced to
resign himself after a vote of no confidence in 2004. In
December, he presented a fourth motion of no confidence
against Ham Lini.
According to
CountryAAH, one of the opposition's reasons for the distrust was
allegations of misconduct by a number of state companies,
including the airline Air Vanuatu, who laid off a fifth of
its employees in 2005. Another reason was the government's
decision to introduce a state monopoly on the export of
kava, a light stimulating beverage made from the root of the
plant of the same name. Kava is one of Vanuatu's most
important export goods. The government's decision was much
debated and led, among other things. to Ham Lini's
resignation in March.
Despite the conflicts, the people of Vanuatu are the
happiest people in the world. It shows a survey done by the
New Economic Foundation think tank and the Friends of the
Earth environmental organization 2006. Organizations
advocate a different approach to the classic gross domestic
product to measure welfare. They ranked 178 countries
according to three factors: longevity, well-being and
environmental damage. Sweden ended up in 119th place.
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