A Member of Parliament; Entitlements 

 

The Vanuatu Parliament in collaboration with the Right To Information (RTI) Unit under the Department of Strategic Policy, Planning and Aid Coordination (DSPPAC) at the Prime Minister’s Office, and Transparency International Vanuatu (TIV) have today released the Members of Parliament (MP) Entitlements Poster as a means to educate communities on what to expect after electing their candidates in the upcoming national elections.

The informative A-3 Size Poster features entitlements and benefits of MPs prescribed under the Official Salaries Act (OSA) and the Members of Parliament (Expenses and Allowances) (Amendment) Act No 45 of 2017. The OSA provides 32 positions for MPs in the government, in the Speaker’s Office and in the Opposition’s Office and others.

Effective from 2023, the MPs Expenses and Allowances (Amendment) Act of 2017 and the Amendment Order N0.67 of 2022 provides allowances and allocation of up to VT 12,594,600 a year for each MP under three scheme; Responsibility Allowance (VT 5,989,600 per annum); Touring Allowance (VT 1605,000 per annum); MP Allocation (VT 5,000,000 per annum).

 

Members Allowance

 

The Responsibility and Touring Allowances are allotted to MPs to spend, as they see fit, in their respective constituencies. Both are divided and injected into the personal accounts of MPs, fortnightly. However, the MP Allocation is obtained through an application to the Speaker’s Office based on quotation or invoices for community development activities.

A total of 5,000 copies of the posters were printed and released under the sponsorship of TIV. It is hoped the Poster would assist communities understand what they are entitle to know after voting in their MPs in the new legislature.

 

Area Councils & Constituencies

 

The posters with infographic information on the financial resources for area council and provincial constituencies was the outcome of the working partnership between the Right To Information Unit and the Department of Local Authorities.