29 Jul 2014

PASO may leave Vanuatu over unpaid fees

3:35 pm on 29 July 2014

It is being reported in Vanuatu that the Pacific Aviation Safety Organisation may move its headquarters out of the country because the government has not been paying its fees.

The body is responsible for aviation safety and security in 10 Pacific countries.

An MP, Robert Bohn from Epi, is blaming public servants, saying they are not doing their jobs properly.

The Vanuatu Independent newspaper reports Mr Bohn as saying PASO is owed nearly 900,000 US dollars.

He says the blame clearly lies at the door of public servants who may have misappropriated the money.

Mr Bohn says there are very few regional bodies that base themselves in Port Vila and the country needs them to stay.

He says PASO has been holding talks about moving its office to Noumea or New Zealand.