In Lifou, the elected representatives of the assembly of the province of the Islands adopted their supplementary budget. It amounts to more than 2.5 billion francs. In a context of unprecedented crisis, the elected representatives had to resolve to take several cost-saving measures.
“The financial situation of the province of the Islands is quite critical“, declared President Jacques Lalié in the preamble. All sectors are affected, but the debates focused on health, a major expenditure item for the community. Among the topics discussed: the lack of doctors, the non-payment of bills which forces some providers to close their businesses, or the cessation of medical evacuations from the Médipôle.
Concerning the latter, they have no longer been provided between the islands and Grande Terre since September 1st. A decision by the Médipôle motivated by the departure of several emergency doctors.Evacuations are managed by the CHT based on a doctor’s diagnosis.explained Jacques Lalié at the end of last week. And since we are trying to work with our emergency doctors, who are fewer in number, we can no longer take on serious illnesses since all our expenses concern people who are covered by medical aid. From the moment that New Caledonia orders the evacuations, it must take charge of them.”
The report by Clarisse Xowié Watue and Nicolas Esturgie:
©newcaledonia
To limit operating costs, certain measures have been taken, such as the elimination of transport assistance from which medical aid holders benefit.It’s been three months since our compensation was reduced.specifies Isabelle Bearune, UC-FLNKS elected representative. We continue to reduce the aid we give to associations. There are also reform projects on medical aid and transport vouchers. Our populations already use territorial continuity, so it is a duplication and this solidarity no longer has any reason to exist.“
Since 2012, residents of Loyalty Islands covered by free medical aid have been entitled to a financial aid which applies for round trips from the home link to their place of stay in Noumea. Each year, transport vouchers represent approximately 200 million francs in the institution’s budget. Since the beginning of 2024, they have no longer been paid due to lack of resources. Charles Washetine regrets the decision to eliminate them. The elected representative of Palika explained that this “penalized the disadvantaged population“. He recalled that “61% of Loyalty Islanders receive free medical aid“.
The two elected representatives of Palika stuck to their position: as for the initial budget, they abstained. This is the case of Wali Wahetra, who explains why.We talked about [l’hôtel] Wadra Bay, which is a very complicated operation in terms of budget and which weighs on the financial trajectory of the province of the Islands. So there are a whole bunch of reasons why we abstained, to continue to alert the executive on the financial management of our province.“
The elected members of the majority who opposed the initial budget have this time given their support. This Tuesday morning, Mathias Waneux, UC elected member, challenged the assembly: “We want reforms to be made so that our populations can be brought back to their feet. We need to stop living beyond our means.“, he added. The elected representative of Ouvéa declared that this time, he would support the president”until the end. We must remain united in the face of this crisis“. The supplementary budget was adopted by the elected representatives.
