22 Aug 2012

No budget bill in Vanuatu parliament final sitting

12:33 pm on 22 August 2012

Vanuatu's MPs are gathering from today for an extra-ordinary session ahead of the elections in October, but there is no indication the government will consider a supplementary budget.

This comes as many teachers continue to go unpaid while health budget shortfall means graduate nurses cannot be taken on.

The office of the speaker confirms that only 21 bills are to debated during this session with no supplementary budget.

It had been expected both the education and health sectors would have a supplementary budget tabled to meet their accumulated debts.

The Department of Health's human resource section says it needs an additional 833,000 US dollars.

The ministry of education needs 1.7 million US dollars to cover the salaries of teachers unpaid for the last two years.