A chief from Vanuatu's island of Pentecost says the country's Capital Investment Immigration Plan should be abandoned.
The government this week reaffirmed provisional support for the CIIP scheme which raises government revenue through citizenship sale.
The Prime Minister Joe Natuman says support for the plan is subject to a review of the CIIP scheme and negotiations between a government taskforce and the Hong Kong-based agent for the scheme.
Chief Selwyn Garu says the sale of citizenship runs counter to the notion of Vanuatu's sovereignty that was central to the country's struggle for independence.
"And for me, the citizenship issue should not be a fund-raising thing. Citizenship is much more important than making fund-raising means, to raise funds. I am very much of the view that it's just that we need to look within ourselves, yet within the country, to build the country, not look outside of us."
Selwyn Garu
