New Caledonia’s Loyalty Islands province building Photo: Province des Îles Loyauté.
New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands province, which comprises the north-eastern outer islands of Maré, Lifou, Ouvéa and Tiga, has announced that it is currently facing a staggering debt of approximately 7.51 billion French Pacific Francs (CFP), or about €62.8 million.
The province's newly elected Assembly Pesident Mathias Waneux had earlier announced a debt of approximately some 4 billion CFP, or about €33.5m, in February 2025.
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Waneux recently took office after his predecessor Jacques Lalié was found guilty and declared unfit to hold office following a court ruling in a corruption-related case.
"Now it is 7.51 billion, and it looks like it is not the end of it yet", he told public broadcaster NC la 1ère.
He said the immediate urgency was to cut jobs within the provincial administration workforce of more than 600.
"We will have to look at each department, but we cannot just sack everyone at the same time," he said.
"We need to reorganise, but we have to respect the public servants [and] their families", he said, mentioning the return of school year as well as the post-May 2024 riots financial crisis for the whole of New Caledonia.
Another deadline is the Loyalty Islands' provincial assembly, which is scheduled to vote on its 2025 budget on 25 March, with anticipated cost cuts to the tune of about 30 percent.
