News

Vanuatu’s Department of Labour has yet to receive an official report on the car accident involving a Ni-Vanuatu seasonal worker in Australia last weekend. It was alleged the worker was driving a vehicle without a valid driving licence and has been detained by police. “Our officials are working on obtaining a direct report from Australia on the alleged car accident, although we have seen photos of the same accident that was said to ...

As borders remain close because of COVID-19 restrictions, a unique repatriation happened this week in Port Vila with Vanuatu Fisheries Observer, Joshua Paolo, reportedly being the first person to be repatriated from abroad by sea. The 95-metre Panama-flagged Fish Carrier Reefer, Shin Ho Chun 102 3FEQ5, called into Port Vila harbour specifically for the repatriation of Mr. Paolo, who served on board the vessel as a Fisheries Observer in t ...

The Council of Ministers (COM) has approved for the Government to provide an additional Vt200 million to cover its cost obligations in the Airbus Purchase Agreement committed by the previous Air Vanuatu Board. This was conveyed by the Minister of Finance, Johnny Koanapo, after yesterday’s COM Meeting at Lakatoro on Malekula. Prior to the COM Meeting, Minister Koanapo had announced that a Commission of Inquiry (COI) will be appointed ...

An article published on page 14 in the weekend edition reported New Nations political Party President, Roro Sambo voicing his concern over purported visits by friends and families to repatriates in quarantine facilities. To set the record straight, visitors have never been allowed in quarantine facilities. No visitation is permitted by family members or anyone outside of health staff members during the quarantine period. Family members ar ...

The World Mosquito Programme’s Wolbachia Project that involved introducing a bacterium to the Aedes Aegypti mosquito to render it sterile from Dengue Virus has come to a halt due to lack in financing. The mosquitoes were given the bacterial strain in 2018 and released in 12 separate locations around Efate in 2019 to infiltrate wild mosquitoes and pass on the strain, narrowing the odds of anyone becoming infected with Dengue virus. De ...

As social distancing becomes part of our new normal, taking into consideration the number of people we’ll be in contact with has jumped to the top of the priority list for many. Official-Canada-eta.com has analysed 169 countries against the number of arrivals and the population density to determine the most remote locations for a quiet break. The data ranked Vanuatu as the third most remote location for a quiet vacation. With people ...

The Vanuatu National Provident Fund (VNPF) Board will be awarding a contract to a new contractor soon to complete renovation of the former Club Vanuatu building in the heart of Port Vila Town. VNPF has retendered the contract for the property renovation after works were stopped due to structural issues which required re-designing. Previous construction works were conducted by Island Construction Ltd. advertisement General Manager ( ...

The Director of External Trade, Joe Pakoa Lui, said he is optimistic that the PACER Plus Agreement will be ratified by Vanuatu as public consultation continues and held recently with parliamentarian committees. “We believe the government will endorse for Vanuatu to ratify this agreement to elevate trade and development activities,” he said. Ratifying the agreement is an opportunity to increase trade by enabling access to duty-free ...

A total of 1,062 citizens and residents have been repatriated so far under the second repatriation phase that commenced early last month. Of the figure, 797 are still observing quarantine while 265 have been released. This does not include those that arrived yesterday. advertisement The 797 individuals being quarantined is higher than the figure recommended to deal with at a time. However, the figure will be relaxed now that a l ...