Vanuatu's prime minister has appointed the director general of his office, Simeon Athy, as the new governor of the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu and reinstated the suspended director general of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, George Bogiri.
The Daily Post newspaper reports the prime minister, Moana Carcasses, saying he has confidence both senior public servants are capable of carrying out their duties in the best interests of the nation.
But the president of the opposition Nagriamel Political Commission, John Lum, says the government should recruit a foreigner to head the Reserve Bank because senior public servants, including directors general, are partly to blame for the shortfall in the government's budget.
Mr Athy has been a public servant for the last ten years and has worked in the research department of the Reserve Bank.
