If I just add a couple of zeros onto this...

I thought it might be worth giving a small overview of the political situation in Vanuatu as it currently stands as, like a man who has eaten too many coconuts, things are a bit fluid.

We arrived to find the papers covered with news of a motion of no confidence against the prime minister (the sixth of his tenure). It was signed by a number of MPs and headed up by 5 prominant opposition MPs. Although Vanuatu has a Westminster style system the role of parties isn't quite the same - they appear to be there pretty much in name only and it is more a system of every man for himself. However, everyone was very relieved 3-4 days later when it was announced that the motion of no confidence had been withdrawn and the PM could get back to running the country - with the aid of his 5 new ministers who were no longer prominent opposition MPs!

Things remained calm for several weeks and then it was announced that there was to be a cabinet reshuffle. So, I returned to work on the Tuesday after Independence Day to find that the minister of foreign affairs, who was also the deputy prime minister, had been relieved of his posts, along with several other ministers. The headlines in the papers talk of an ongoing fraud investigation which led to the headline in today's paper "Police arrest first MP in fraud probe" and the comment that he was being held in the "notorius cell number 6" which, depending on who you talk to is either an orwellian style room 101 or something a little more luxurious. Or, as someone said to me in a rather mysterious tone, "its notorius because its actually cell number 5"! Anyway, this fraud investigation appears to involve a number of MPs, some government cheques, some in-the-know bank tellers and a fijian man who promised that if you gave him the government cheques he could double your money. The Sting it was not. But according to one newspaper it has to date cost about 40million vatu.

So we now have a new minister of foreign affairs, and a whole new ministerial staff as, when the minister goes, all the staff go aswell! The prime minister - who in a country that is obsessed with pigs appropriately has the christian name Ham - has stated that if there is a further motion of no confidence lodged then he will almost certainly dissolve parliament and we will face an election. So watch this space. However, if the government can stay in power until the official election time next summer, they will be the first government in the history of independent Vanuatu to have served a full term. How many started in opposition and vice versa is not yet known.