Kiribati Country Brief – April 2008
Introduction
Australia and Kiribati enjoy close and longstanding relations based on regional and international cooperation, trade and investment links, a substantial development assistance program, support for maritime surveillance through the Pacific Patrol Boat Program and extensive people to people exchanges over many years.
Political Overview
System of Government
Kiribati is a democratic republic within the Commonwealth, having achieved independence on 12 July 1979. At the last census in 2005, the population was 92,533. Based on known birth rate patterns the population is estimated at almost 108,000 in 2007.
The 46 member unicameral parliament is known as the Maneaba ni Maungatabu. Forty-four MPs are elected for a four-year term by non-compulsory universal adult suffrage. Another seat is reserved for Banabans now living on Rabi Island (Fiji), and the Attorney-General sits (ex officio) as a non-elected member. Both of these have full voting rights in the Parliament. The Speaker is elected to office by Members of Parliament but is not a Member of Parliament. The Speaker has neither an original nor a casting vote in Parliamentary decisions.
In Kiribati the President is both Head of Government and Head of State. The President (te Beretitenti) is elected by universal adult suffrage, following a nomination process in the Parliament. Once Parliamentary elections are completed the Maneaba ni Maungatabu meets and Members nominate and vote for Presidential candidates. The Constitution requires that there are at least three and no more than four candidates.
The President appoints his/her own Cabinet, comprising the President, Vice President, Attorney-General and no more than ten ministers selected from Members of the Maneaba ni Maungatabu.
2007 Presidential election
Presidential elections were held on 17 October 2007. Anote Tong of the ruling Boutokaan te Koaua (Supporting the Truth) party was re-elected for a second termas President of the Republic of Kiribati in a landslide victory, winning with an overall margin of almost 48 percent over challenging candidate, former Finance Minister Nabuti Mwemwenikarawa.
President Tong is also Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration. The Vice President, the Honourable Teima Onorio (Ms) is Minister for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives. Other key Ministers in the Tong Government include the Honourable Natan Teewe (Finance and Economic Development), the Honourable Amberoti Nikora (Internal and Social Affairs) and the Honourable Titabu Tabane (Attorney General).
Economic Overview
Kiribati’s economy faces significant constraints common to other island atoll states. These include its small size, remoteness and geographical fragmentation, a harsh natural environment with infertile soils, limited exploitable resources and the need to create jobs and promote growth for an expanding population. Kiribati relies heavily on licence fees from distant water fishing nations and remittances from Kiribati citizens employed abroad, mainly as seamen.
Notwithstanding the limited range of economic assets, Kiribati has largely had a solid record of financial stability since independence in 1979. Governments have traditionally adopted a cautious approach to domestic spending combined with a deliberate policy of accumulating offshore investments. A major distinctive feature of national resources is the Revenue Equalisation Reserve Fund (RERF), initially established in 1956 by the British administration with royalties from mining the Banaba phosphate deposits. The value of Kiribati's total external reserves was around $670 million in May 2007. However, since 2000, poor performance due to weakened financial markets, withdrawals from the RERF to finance fiscal deficits and population growth has seen a decline in the per capita value of the RERF to closer to 1996 levels. At $US 60 million in 2006, Kiribati has one of the lowest GDPs in the region and social indicators rank lower than most other Pacific Island countries.
The Government of Kiribati is currently finalising the 2008-2011 National Sustainable Development Strategy focusing on six key areas for development:. economic growth and poverty reduction, education, health, environment, governance and infrastructure Consultations with Development Partners feed into the NSDS development process.
Bilateral Relationship
Australia is among the largest bilateral donors to Kiribati. The aid budget estimate for 2007-08 is a total of $15 million, of which $10.5 million is bilateral and concentrated in basic education, human resource development (including scholarships) and public sector management. Training nurses through the Kiribati Australia Nursing Initiative (KANI) is a significant new bilateral human resource development activity. Australia is supporting the Kiribati Adaptation Project which aims to reduce Kiribati’s vulnerability to climate change, climate variability and sea level rise. Australia is also funding a Tuberculosis Epidemic Control Project managed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) which will improve detection and treatment of Tuberculosis.
Support through regional programs includes strengthening the Kiribati Police Force through the Pacific Regional Policing Initiative (PRPI), reducing vulnerability to and impact of HIV and AIDS through the Pacific Regional HIV/AIDS Project (PRHP), and working with UNICEF to improve child health and juvenile justice and with UNFPA to improve adolescent reproductive health and emergency obstetric care.
The Australian aid program to Kiribati is delivered primarily by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
Australia provides ongoing assistance to Kiribati in the surveillance of its large Exclusive Economic Zone. The RKS Teanaoi, gifted in the mid 1990s under the Pacific Patrol Boat Program, is an important resource at Kiribati’s disposal for the protection of its fisheries. Australia continues to provide training and other support to the Police Maritime Unit of the Kiribati Police Service for its operation of the patrol boat, as well as periodic maritime surveillance flights and naval visits.
The Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, The Hon Bob McMullan, MP and the Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, The Hon Duncan Kerr, SC, MP, visited Kiribati 6-7 February 2008
Foreign Relations
Kiribati maintains close relations with its Pacific neighbours, including Australia and New Zealand, and is an active member of the Pacific Islands Forum and other regional organisations. A member of the Commonwealth since independence, Kiribati became a member of the United Nations on 14 September 1999, and operates one overseas diplomatic mission, its High Commission in Suva, as well as Honorary Consulates in Sydney, Rhydderch (UK), Honolulu, Tokyo, Hamburg, Auckland and Hong Kong. Kiribati is also a member of the Asian Development Bank, IMF, World Bank, and some UN Organisations including UNESCO, WHO, ILO and FAO. Kiribati has close links with other countries with fishing interests including Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, USA and the EU (notably Spain).
Bilateral Economic and Trade Relationship
Australia is the major supplier of tobacco, food, beverages, pharmaceuticals and services to Kiribati. Australian exports to Kiribati in 2006-07 totalled $28.7 million. Australian imports (principally crustaceans and dried, salted and smoked fish, and animal feed) from Kiribati totalled $1.8 million over the same period. Australian currency is used as the currency of exchange in Kiribati. The ANZ Bank is the majority owner of the Bank of Kiribati which provides both central and retail banking services and is the only banking operation in the country.
Visitor Information
Effective 1 October 2007, Australian passport holders no longer require a visa to enter Kiribati.
Australians travelling to Kiribati are advised to consult the Smartraveller travel advice.
The Kiribati Honorary Consul-General in Sydney can provide travel information and visa information for nationals of other countries.