Sanma is a province located in the Northern part of the nation of Vanuatu

Vanuatu

Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...

, occupying the nation's largest island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

, Espiritu Santo

Espiritu Santo

Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....

, which is located approximately 2,500 km northeast of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The name Sanma is derived from the initial letters of the main islands of (Espiritu) Santo and Malo

Malo Island

Malo is an island in Vanuatu, off the southern coast of the larger Espiritu Santo in Sanma Province. It has a circumference of and an area of . In 1979 the island had a population of 2,312. In 1999, the population numbered about 3000...

. It has a population of 32,340 and an area of 4,248 km².

Overview

The provincial capital is Luganville

Luganville

Luganville, called "Santo" by people from Vanuatu's northern islands who use Luganville as their big city, and called "Kanal" by rural residents of the large island of Espiritu Santo, is the second largest city in Vanuatu. The population is .Luganville is one of Vanuatu's busiest ports,...

. Other centers of population include Champagne Beach

Champagne Beach

Champagne Beach is a popular beach located on the island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu. It is famous for its beautiful white sandy beaches, one of the best in the South Pacific. It is visited regularly by tourists and cruise boats from Australia. Its waters are very clear.Champagne Beach is located...

, Hogharbour,Port Olry and Aseviah.

Sanma provincial council is responsible for running the daily affairs of the province. The council is elected every four years, the party which has the vast majority of seats sets up the provincial government. The head of the provincial government is the President of Sanma province. The headquarters of the province is located in the town centre of Luganville.

Critics had blamed the provincial government for ill management of the provincial affairs during the past few years. For example, over the last few years, poor management had culminated in a considerable amount of litigations. This has therefore cost the council a fortune as regards legal fees. One of the avowed aims of this recent council at Sanma province is to ensure transparency, and good governance

Good governance

Good governance is an indeterminate term used in development literature to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources in order to guarantee the realization of human rights. Governance describes "the process of decision-making and the process by which...

.