New Caledonia’s new government headquarters in downtown Nouméa. Photo: Gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Calédonie
New Caledonia's government portfolios and their respective ministers were finally announced on Tuesday, 13 days after its President, Alcide Ponga, was elected by the French Pacific territory's Congress.
Since Ponga became President, on 9 January, there had been several attempts and protracted talks to allot the Cabinet portfolios among its 11 members.
The latest attempts were made on Monday and again the meeting had to be adjourned for lack of a majority.
The main stumbling blocks included some of the Cabinet ministers not being satisfied with their proposed portfolios, local media reported.
This included one of those ministers, pro-France Jérémie Katijo-Monnier (Calédonie Ensemble party) rejecting an earlier proposal that would have seen him stripped of the portfolios of environment and ecological transition, which he held under the former government, from which he resigned just before Christmas.
It was his resignation, just before Christmas, that triggered the fall of the previous government headed by pro-independence Louis Mapou.
Heavy horse-trading
The 11-member executive, with a paper-thin loyalist majority of just one vote (6 of 11), was no longer effective without Katijo-Monnier's vote.
In the official portfolio's announcement, following heavy horse-trading well into the night on Monday, Ponga gave in and Katijo-Monnier eventually retained the claimed powers, in exchange for his crucial vote.
Other significant changes in the new cabinet portfolios are associated with transport, which is now three separate portfolios and ministers: one for international air transport (held by President Ponga) and another for land transport (held by Gilbert Tyuienon, who was in charge of all transport under the previous government led by pro-independence Louis Mapou).
Domestic air transport is now in the hands of Samuel Hnepeune.
Under New Caledonia's organic law, the local government, a proportional representation of the MPs elected in Congress, is supposed to work on the basis of "collegiality", so that every party, pro or against independence, shares power in a spirit of consensus.
The new government's majorities and alliances, however, seem to remain fragile and marred by divisions within both pro-independence and loyalists (who support the notion that New Caledonia should remain part of France).
But another important matter still remained unsolved: the choice of a vice-president, a position that is, by practice, reserved to the pro-independence camp (now in opposition).
The pro-independence Cabinet members, however, have not yet managed to agree on a name, mostly due to their internal difference between the two main tendencies, the radical Union Calédonienne (UC) and the moderates (PALIKA, Kanak Liberation Party and UPM, Union Progressiste en Mélanésie).
The divisions within the pro-independence camp had visible repercussions for several years and became even more visible since last year, when insurrectional unrest and riots broke out mid-May 2024, leaving 14 dead and over €2 billion Euros in estimated damage (burning and looting, mostly in the capital Nouméa and its surroundings).
The unresolved feud is likely to return to the fore within days as the pro-independence movement, under its FLNKS (Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front) umbrella, is scheduled to hold a key Assembly at the weekend (25 January 2025).
As was already the case at the previous FLNKS meeting, in late August 2024, both PALIKA and UPM have already made clear that they would not attend.
UC's new President Emmanuel Tjibaou told local public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première on Sunday he was still hopeful all FLNKS members could re-unite at some point in order to present a united pro-independence front.
Looming deadlines
Newly-appointed French Prime minister François Bayrou, while delivering his maiden speech on general policy in Paris earlier this month, said he wanted talks with New Caledonia's politicians to begin before the end of January 2025, under the supervision of Overseas minister Manuel Valls (a former French Prime Minister).
The aim was to agree on a new political roadmap for New Caledonia that would lead to a document deemed to replace the 26-year-old Nouméa Accord, signed in 1998.
Bayrou said the inclusive, bipartisan talks should conclude by the end of March 2025 and resolve a package of pending issues (including the very sensitive question of how to define a New Caledonia citizenship, and the choice of a future political system which could include - or not - France in some kind of "association" status).
The timeline was said to take into account other crucial deadlines for New Caledonia this year, including the FLNKS Congress, but more primarily looming local elections to renew New Caledonia's three provincial assemblies.
The polls, which were already postponed twice last year (once in May, then in December 2024), should take place not later than 30 November 2025.
Under a trickle-down system of proportional representation, the new makeup of the three Assemblies (North, South and Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia) will determine the political proportions of the territorial Congress and, in turn, its local government.
This means the new and present government is not expected to last longer than 11 months.
New Caledonia's cabinet portfolios
- Alcide Ponga, President: Civil law, international air transport, international promotion of New Caledonia, relations with Congress and the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, Francophony (French language matters), mining policy, external relations and civil security.
- Christopher Gygès, government spokesperson: Economy, external trade, tax and excise, labour and employment, energy and digital affairs, New Caledonia's attractiveness.
- Isabelle Champmoreau: Education and higher education, audiovisual media affairs, childhood protection, family affairs, gender balance, animal welfare.
- Thierry Santa: Budget, finance, development agreements, public service, public accounts, handicap and dependency issues.
- Jérémie Katidjo-Monnier: Ecological transition, climate change, sustainable development, biodiversity, Coral Sea Park management, water policy, food transition.
- Petelo Sao: Construction, habitat, urban affairs, New Caledonia's real estate, technological innovation, digital transition, public service modernisation, public policies' assessment.
- Gilbert Tyuienon: Land transport and related public infrastructure, road safety, the Nickel Trust.
- Mickaël Forrest: Youth, sports, culture and citizenship.
- Samuel Hnepeune: Domestic air transport, maritime and ports affairs, valorisation of natural resources, vocational training.
- Adolphe Digoué: Agriculture, livestock, fisheries, monitoring of the rural electrification fund.
- Claude Gambey: Health, social protection, solidarity, Customary affairs, relations with the Customary (Chiefly) Senate and Customary Councils
