The Vanuatu National Youth Council (VNYC) has removed 3 of its staff since 2021 because there have been not enough funds to run its operations within the country.
Speaking with the Vanuatu Daily Post on July 1, VNYC Principal Administrator, Joe Kalo, and current President Morry Ruben, revealed that the organisation is now left with two staffs who are on contract that will last till August this year. If there are no more funds, the office will cease to operate.
It was also reported that the Youth Authority, which is to manage the funds in the VNYC, is not allowed to be in the retreat of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (MoYSD), to vent out some frustrations that VNYC has.
“The voice of all the youths in the country comes from the VNYC, but they are not allowed in the Ministry retreat where they would represent the youth’s voice. The Ministry is operating without their input, especially in this year’s business,” Mr. Ruben told the Vanuatu Daily Post.
“The Government can say that yes, there are fund, that go to the Ministry, but the body that govern the youths should have money to work on that can reach all the youths since the population of voter’s majority came out from the youths.”
He added that despite consistently reporting back to the VNYC on time and supporting its programs by raising issues, the VNYC is struggling. Typically, an organisation like VNYC should operate with an annual budget of VT30 million to VT20 million, but it is currently operating with less than VT10 million.
Although VNYC is one of the largest organisations in Vanuatu by name, its current state does not reflect this stature.
In regards to this, the VNYC National election have been delayed since the election of the Provincial Youth Committee in 2021 and 2022 due to lack of funds to ran the election.
There were funds provided for the election, but VNYC has diverted the funds to pay for the staff salaries.
“In the case where staff use other funds to pay wages, it is not an easy decision for the executive to do, try imagining living in Port Vila for two to three months without a salary, but you have a family and buy rent, and if the money came through for a specific program and no salary, we have to take the decision to keep the office in operation,” the VNYC said.
“If we decided not to run the program, who will do it? The staffs are the ones who run the program, we the executive and president, we are volunteers.”
The VNYC, under the MoYSD, was established in 2009 following demands from the youth.
The MoYSD itself was formed in 2003 after consultations on government support for youth. Many recommendations focused on unemployment, capacity building, and training, leading the government to create the Ministry as an intermediary for training programs.
The youths also demanded their own council and a Youth Act to govern government support for youth service providers and the Youth Council at the grassroots level. Consequently, the Youth Act was enacted in 2018. However, despite government funding, the financial support for the National Youth Council is insufficient, covering only basic operational costs of around two to five million. Proposals have been made to increase funding to cover both operational costs and provincial programs.
According to VNYC Principal Administrator Kalo, the funding for the council has been inconsistent. In 2021 and 2022, the VNYC operated with the expectation that funding would continue, but this has not been the case.
The plan to establish youth committees around the provinces is a step towards the next national election of the council.
He said while the government shows a commitment to helping youths on paper, the reality does not match these promises, and the organisation of the VNYC has no internal revenues to follow its constitution that is in place.
“Such things like elections must be in process, and if we want to make things to work, the election must be on time, but in reality the Government support is another thing which is beyond our control,” Mr. Kalo said.
“There were many disruptions in terms of funding that came in the VNYC, which delayed the election.
“So while it is important to conduct the election, it is also important to keep the office operating, so we have to choose whether to conduct the elections or run the office, these are some of the problems the council faces.”
He added that often, they run out of salary for two to three months, leaving outstanding payments.
When funds do come in, they face the dilemma of whether to use them to pay the staff ensuring operations run smoothly or to spend the money on programs, potentially neglecting office operations.
