Reports from Vanuatu indicate moves are already underway to organise a motion of no-confidence against the new prime minister.

Vanuatu has a new prime minister after parliamentarians removed Moana Carcasses in a vote of no confidence on Thursday.

In his place, they voted in the veteran MP Joe Natuman of the Vanua’aku Party, parliament’s biggest single grouping and the party which guided Vanuatu to independence in 1980.

Recent events in Port Vila are evidence that government in Vanuatu is fragmented and the nation remains hampered by instability.

Vanuatu is currently taking stock of the tenth change of its prime minister in six years.

Such a rate of change in government might constitute a crisis in a country like New Zealand. Yet in Vanuatu, frequent changes of government are an everyday and normal part of the democratic system.

Votes of no-confidence have become a leverage tool for parliamentarians to affect change of policy at the executive level.

The Carcasses government ruled for nearly 14 months and faced four motions of no-confidence as opposition to its policies mounted.

These includes a controversial plan for a major airport development, taking out huge loans for road schemes and its programme for selling citizenship.

New prime minister Natuman says he wants Vanuatu to get back to the principles of self-reliance it prioritised at independence.

“In my view we are doing things which have not been what people expected of our founding fathers.

“Basically I want us to go back to the roots and redirect the country and ensure that we live within our means and not to live beyond our means with unnecessary spending so we become short of money.

“Therefore we resort to so-called overseas fund raising initiatives, such as selling our citizenship and our passports, so I will have to review all this.

But with the basis of the former administration still in government, it remains to be seen whether any controversial policies will be discarded.

The Capital Investment Immigration Plan which targets Chinese nationals with the offer of fast-track Vanuatu citizenship as an easy revenue earner is still on the table.

Vanuatu’s former president George Sokomanu says he is surprised the government did not check the laws of China, which does not recognise dual citizenship, before it approved the plan.

He is concerned that if thousands of Chinese nationals become Ni-Vanuatu, they will have nowhere to live in Vanuatu.

“We are not talking about hundreds, but there will be thousands, there may be a million Chinese wanting to do the same if we allow them to come in, not as refugees, but they can acquire land and stay with us. But are our people prepared to accept this?”

Given the importance of land in Vanuatu culture, the government will also remain under pressure over a recent agreement signed with a Singaporean cigarette company to develop a major international airport on the main island, Efate.

Levi Tarosa of the local Council of Chiefs says that while they welcome a new airport, the politicians have to be careful about how they use land.

“We will object or resist the government’s intentions to use the compulsory acquisition act as a means of acquiring the land for the new international airport.

“The basic reason for that is we feel that any compulsory acquisition affects or impacts on future benefits of the landowners and their descendants.”

Ralph Regenvanu, who retains the Lands Minister portfolio in the new cabinet, has started ushering in land reforms after his predecessors in the role oversaw a long list of dubious land deals which favoured foreign investors but increased alienation of indigenous land rights.

Regenvanu says there now also appears to be a chance for political reform.

“I think the push for political reform will be stronger because we now have all the major parties in the government, which wasn’t something that we had before.

“So I think with all the major parties in the government now, we will be pushing very strongly for political reform in terms of reforms that strengthen political parties, it’ll be in our interest now.

However local media is reporting that the deposed prime minister is already organising a motion of no-confidence in his successor.

However, local observers say he has little chance of succeeding. Reports say he has only collected 17 signatures so far and needs 27.

While frequent changes of government are seen by the public as a waste of time and money, it is the product of a parliament with almost 20 political parties vying for control.

Until the political system is changed, juggling the interests of his coalition partners will likely remain the prime minister’s top priority, whoever the prime minister happens to be on any given day.