23 Nov 2012

Call for rural people in Vanuatu to get better access to social media

3:51 pm on 23 November 2012

A former political advisor in Vanuatu says the country would benefit from people in rural areas being given better access to social media networks.

A longtime aid and advisor to the former Prime Minister Edward Natapei, Seru Virokanu, says the rise of social media has given a valuable opportunity for ni-Vanuatu to be part of the public discourse on politics.

However it is mainly urban people that use social media.

Mr Virokanu says at election time, uneducated rural communities often vote for candidates who offer handouts, such as money and materials, rather than voting for what could be more in the national interest.

"These politicians go out there and persuade people especially in the rural areas where they're not very well educated. So I think expanding the social media network is important because then people in the rural areas will get up to date news or explanations and that helps people in the rural areas get educated about politics."

Seru Virokanu