The Honorable Robson Iavro, Minister of Trade and Commerce.

Tuesday, 06th October 2026, Port-Vila, Vanuatu:

The Ministry of Trade and Commerce (MTC) wishes to provide the public with an update on the Value Addition Investment Capital Fund (VAICF), through which VT180,000,000 was released to 11 selected local businesses. The Ministry takes good note of the public concerns that have been raised about the management and use of the Fund and wishes to reassure everyone that these concerns are being addressed.

The release of the funds was approved by the Council of Ministers on 20 November 2025, for projects approved by the Fund’s Board of Governors under the Value Addition Investment Capital Fund Regulation made on 2 July 2025. The Fund was established to help local businesses add value to Vanuatu’s products, upgrade their processing operations and standards, create jobs and open new markets. Since taking office in July 2026, following the resignation of the former Minister Samson Samsen, Minister Iavro has made the proper management of the Fund one of his first priorities. Over the last 2 months the Minister has personally met with several of the recipients to see first-hand how their projects are progressing and the challenges they are facing on the ground.

Alongside these meetings, the Minister directed the senior executives of the Ministry to assess each of the 11 recipients, to confirm that the funds have been used for their intended purposes and as outlined in the Regulation. This assessment is now well under way. Each of the 11 operators who received funds signed a Grant Funding Agreement (GFA) with the Government.

The GFA sets out the purpose for which the funds were granted, the obligations of each recipient and the conditions under which any mismanagement or misuse of funds is to be addressed. The Ministry’s assessment, and any decision that follows, will be based on these agreements and their conditions.

Under the GFA, each recipient is given a 12-month performance period, during which the Fund Secretariat carries out quarterly performance assessments. The 12-month performance period comes to an end in December 2026, based on an independent assessment to be undertaken to an external assessor.

This work sits alongside the compliance and accountability work currently being undertaken by the Government’s oversight institutions, with which the Ministry continues to cooperate fully. By following the process set out in the Regulation and in each GFA, the Ministry is ensuring that the assessment is fair to every recipient, that its integrity is protected, and that any decision taken by the Government rests on a sound legal footing and will stand up to scrutiny or challenge.

Appointment of an independent assessor

To guarantee the integrity of the process, the Ministry is in the process of appointing an independent assessor to review all compliance and performance reports carried out on each of the 11 businesses that received funds.

The assessor will be independent of the Ministry and of the recipients to avoid any conflict of interest or interference, so that the public can have full confidence in the findings.

The findings will be reviewed regarding the terms and conditions of each GFA and will allow the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to complete its tasks. Based on these findings, the Ministry will make its recommendations on the future of the Fund to the Council of Ministers, and the Government will decide either to continue supporting the genuine business operators or to seek recovery of the funds through legal avenues.

Accountability for public funds

The Ministry acknowledges the support of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economic Management, who has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to the effective implementation of the Fund and has asked the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management and the Ministry of Trade and Commerce to work together to ensure that its administration meets the Government’s financial controls and compliance requirements.

“These are public funds and the people of Vanuatu deserve to know that they have been used for the purpose for which they were given,” said the Honorable Robson Iavro. “Many of these businesses are working hard and doing exactly what they set out to do, and they deserve our continued support. Where funds have not been used as intended, the Government will act. The independent assessment will give us the facts we need to make that decision fairly and decisively.”

The Ministry will continue to keep the public informed as the assessment progresses.