Director's Message

Greetings to you all,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the official website of the Department of Local Authorities (DLA).

The Department of Local Authorities (DLA) sits within the portfolio of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MoIA). The Department is a
government agency responsible for administering, managing and enforcing the principal legislation (Decentralization Act-CAP 230)
related to the Provincial Government Councils and Area Councils.

DLA’s official website has been created to facilitate the dissemination of information as a means of achieving our vision and mission.

We remain steadfast in our efforts to create an environment that supports our Sub-National Governments through sound technical
advice, legal guidance, and continuous administrative support in a way that allows them to continue to improve public services and
promote economic prosperity in a sustainable, resilient and efficient manner.

We enter 2026 with renewed optimism and determination, and trust in our ability to develop solutions that can help change
the narrative of our Provincial and Area Councils.

I encourage you all to actively engage with the department and share with us your ideas, recommendations and any feedback for us
to improve our website.

Tankio Tumas

Mr. Ian Nakou Abbil
Director
Department of Local Authorities

Currently the Department of Local Authorities has about 116 officers, including national, provincial and area council staff

DLA Staff in Head Office

Ian Abbil

Director

Michelle Jonas Trief

Deputy Director

Sebastian Bule

Principal Regional Development Planning Officer

Raywin Bani Sakari

Administration Manager

Devo Wari

Acting Decentralization Manager

Jeffry Yapon

Acting Principal Finance Officer

Christina Kenneth

Senior Finance officer South

David Kaenbo

Senior Development Planning Officer South / Acting Planner Penama

Dennison Santhy

Senior Development Planning Officer North

Claude Daniel

Senior Development Planning Officer Central

Meriam David

Office Assistant

Rina Cyrus

Office Cleaner

Nakou Am

Driver

Project Staff in Head Office

Torba Province

Malampa Province

Penama Province

Sanma Province

Shefa Province

Tafea Province

Vision

The Department envisions a vibrant and resilient local authorities’ systems and structures in enabling
effective and efficient service delivery and development to improve the livelihoods of communities
across Vanuatu.

Mission

The Department of Local Authorities is committed to supporting, coordinating, and monitoring local
authorities by providing technical assistance, legal guidance, and resources for financial management,
regional development, planning, and daily operations through an effective decentralized system,
procedures, and practices to enable efficient service delivery by the Local Authorities.

Objectives/Goals

The principal objective (goals) of The Department of Local Authorities is to:

• Provide policy advice to the Provinces and Area Councils
• Provide technical support in Regional Development Planning
• Managing the Decentralization process
• Provide assistance in managing acts under the jurisdiction of the Department and provinces
• Litigating for the Provinces and Area Councils
• Assist Provinces in strengthening their administrative capacity
• Administrating grants to six (6) provincial Governments and 71 Area Councils

Department of Local Authorities

The Department of Local Authorities (DLA) sits within the portfolio of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MoIA). The Department is a government agency responsible for administering, managing and enforcing the principal legislation (Decentralization Act-CAP 230) related to
the Provincial Government Councils and Area Councils. DLA is the key ad­vis­er to the Gov­ern­ment on mat­ters re­lat­ed to lo­cal au­thor­i­ties. The depart­ment is re­spon­si­ble for strength­en­ing the sus­tain­abil­i­ty, per­for­mance, in­tegrity, transparency and ac­count­abil­
i­ty of lo­cal au­
thor­i­ties. It op­er­ates through a mix of mon­i­tor­ing, inter­ven­tion, ca­pac­i­ty build­ing and co­or­di­na­tion ac­tiv­i­ties. DLA works col­lab­o­ra­tive­ly with local au­thor­i­ties to en­sure good gov­er­nance and ser­vice de­liv­ery to com­mu­ni­ties. The Department is arranged
into several unit, each
with responsibilities for different aspects of the Department mandate and operations and overall support to the Provincial Government councils and Area Councils. This Unit includes the office of the Director, Finance Unit, Decentralization Unit and Regional Planning and
Development Unit

Office of the Director

The Director supported by the Deputy Director leads the activities of the Department and is responsible for the overall functioning of the Department and Provide the oversight over the Provinces and Area Councils. The office of Director is supported by the Administration
staff which includes, the office Manager, Assistant Office Manager, Cleaner and Driver.

Decentralization Unit

The Decentralization unit is responsible to develops and proposes policies for the Department and Provincial Government by researching, reviewing existing policies, and suggesting improvements. The unit also coordinates the implementation of decentralization activities.
It engages with stakeholders, including local authorities and NGOs, to gather input and foster collaboration, ensuring policies meet the needs of provinces and communities. The unit also supports capacity building by providing training and resources to local government
officials and staff. The unit provides advisory support to the Director, Decentralization Working Committee (DWC), and Provincial Government Council, offering expert advice and recommendations on decentralization plans and policies.

There are two positions under this Unit. The Manager Decentralization that oversees the activities under this unit supported by the Senior Decentralization Policy officer.

Regional Development Planning Unit

The Regional Development and Planning Unit under DLA function to enhance and provide advice on the Provincial and Area Council Planning and support for the socio-economic development for the rural Vanuatu. The unit also supports capacity building through training
and resources for the Area Councils on collections and analyses of data to inform decisions and bottom-up planning Approach. Additionally, it provides advisory support, offering expert advice and addressing challenges related to local development and planning to the
office of Director and Provincial Government Council. The unit consists of four officers; the Principal Regional Development and Planning officer coordinate the functions of this unit and supported by Planning and Development officer North, Planning and Development
officer South and Planning and Development officer Central.

Finance Unit

The Finance Unit is responsible to manages the financial operations of the Department and oversees the financial operations of the six Provinces by ensuring proper budgeting, accounting, and financial reporting. The unit oversees the allocation and utilization of funds,
ensuring resources are used efficiently and in accordance with regulations. It also monitors expenditures, conducts financial audits, and provides financial advice to support decision-making at the Department, Provincial and Area Council level. Additionally, the unit is
involved in providing and facilitating capacity training to the Provincial Accountants and Area Councils on the Government Financial systems and structures, financial management practices and ensuring transparency and accountability in all financial matters. There are 3
officers under this Unit. The Principal Finance officer is responsible to manage the unit and oversee the functions of this unit supported by Senior Finance officer North and Senior Finance officer South