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Official Name Solomon Islands
Land Area - 27,556 sq km, spread
over 922 islands. Six main islands
are Guadacanal, Malaita, Choiseul, New Georgia, San Cristobal (Makira), and Santa Isabel. Located between latitudes 5-12º South. Borders
Papua New Guinea to the west and Vanuatu
to the southeast. Lies 3,500km north west of Wellington
Population -
Approx. 523,000 (2009 est)*
Capital
City - Honiara
Religions
- Christian
Official Languages -
English (official), Solomon Islands Pidgin, plus around 100 other local dialects
Currency - Solomon Island Dollar (SBD)
Exchange Rate - NZ$1= $4.54 SBD (24 December 2008), US$1= $8.01 SBD
EEZ - 1,630,000 sq km
*Source: UN World Population Prospects 2008 Revision
Political System - Westminster-style
parliamentary democracy
National government -
Prime Minister Dr Derek Sikua formed the "Coalition for
National Unity and Rural Advancement" Government in December 2007
National legislature -
Unicameral, 50-member National Parliament
Last
election - 5 April 2006
Next
election due - April 2010
Head
of State -
Governor-General HE Frank Ofagioro Kabui, representing Queen Elizabeth II, appointed 7 July 2009 for a term of up to 5 years.
Head
of Government - Prime Minister, Hon Dr Derek Sikua
Key Ministers -
Hon Fred Fono
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development and Indigenous Affairs
Hon Milner Tozaka
Minister of Public Service
Hon William Haomae
Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade
Hon Steve Abana
Minister for Development Planning and Aid Coordination
Hon Snyder Rini
Minister of Finance and Treasury
Hon James Tora
Minister of Police, National Security and Prison Services
Hon Laurie Chan
Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs
Hon Matthew Wale
Minister of Education and Human Resources,
Hon Martin Magga
Minister of Health and Medical Services,
Hon Francis Billy Hilly
Minister of Commerce, Industry and Employment
Hon Seth Gukuna
Minister of Culture and Tourism
Hon Selwyn Riumana
Minister of Agriculture and Livestock
Hon Samuel Manetoali
Minister of Lands and Survey
Hon Stanley Festus Sofu
Minister of Infrastructure and Development
Hon Varian Lonamei
Minister of Communication and Aviation,
Hon Job Dudley Tausinga
Minister of Forestry
Hon Gordon Darcy Lilo
Minister of Environment, Conservation and Meteorology
Hon Nollen Leni
Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources
Hon David Dei Pacha
Minister of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification
Hon Manasseh Maelanga
Minister of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening
Hon Peter Tom
Minister of Home Affairs
Hon Johnson Koli
Minister of Women’s, Youth and Children’s Affairs
Hon Sam Iduri
Minister for National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace
GDP - SBD$3264 million (2007)
GDP per capita - SBD$6735 (2007, estimate only)
Real GDP Growth - 10.3% (2007), 5.5% est. (2008, Solomon Islands Ministry of Finance and Treasury 2009 Budget Strategy and Outlook)
Exports - SBD$1.286 billion (f.o.b.)
Principal Export Destinations: China (51%), South Korea (9%), Thailand (7%), EU (7%), Japan (6%). (2008, Solomon Islands Government Diagnostic Trade Integration Study Draft)
Imports - SBD$1.469 billion (f.o.b.)
Principal Import Sources: Singapore (28%), Australia (26%), Pacific Island Countries (9% mostly Fiji and PNG), South East Asia (7% excl Singapore). (2008, Solomon Islands Government Diagnostic Trade Integration Study Draft)
Balance of Payments - Surplus SBD$127.6 million (2007)
Trade Deficit - SBD$182.9 million (2007)
Inflation - 10% (2007 annual), 23.5% as at September 2008)
Source: Central Bank of Solomon Islands unless otherwise stated
NZ Exports (FOB) - NZ$17.9 million (year ending June 2008)
Main Exports - Iron, steel, aluminium, machinery and sugars
NZ Imports (CIF) - NZ$2.24 million (year ending June 2008)
Main Imports - Wood and wood products scrap metals
Source: Statistics New Zealand
Solomon Islands' first contact with Europeans was in 1568, when the Spanish explorer Mendana visited the islands. Whaling boats and traders began to visit the archipelago during the nineteenth century, followed closely by missionaries. In the 1860s "blackbirding" began, with a large number of Solomon Islanders recruited, sometimes by force, to work on sugar plantations in Queensland and Fiji.
In 1893, the British Government established a protectorate over the eastern group of islands with Germany controlling most of the west. Following the Anglo-German agreement of 1899, the British protectorate was extended to all areas now part of the nation of Solomon Islands, while Buka and Bougainville became part of German New Guinea.
Solomon Islands was the scene of some of the bloodiest land, sea and air battles of World War II from 1942 to 1945 and the capital moved from Tulagi (in the Florida Islands, Central Province) to Honiara (adjacent to the strategic Henderson Airfield on Guadalcanal Province) in 1944.
There were some indigenous demands for self-rule after World War II. Britain granted Solomon Islands internal self-government in 1976, followed by independence on 7 July 1978. At Independence, Solomon Islands joined the Commonwealth.
An election for the unicameral, 50-member Solomon Islands National Parliament is held every four years, with Members elected by a simple majority of votes. There are frequently a large number of candidates in each electorate, all often winning relatively small proportions of the votes. Party structures are weak, with no party registration requirements, and members move relatively easily between parties. This, combined with other political structures and practices, results in a fluid political environment. The Prime Minister is elected by MPs and forms a Government.
In November 2007 12 Government MPs including 9 Ministers defected from the Government to join the Opposition. Following protracted legal and constitutional debates and several more defections (in both directions), the Governor-General called Parliament together on 13 December, during which session Prime Minister Sogavare lost a motion of no confidence. On 20 December, Hon Dr Derek Sikua, a first-term MP and the former Minister of Education who had defected to the Opposition, was elected by MPs as Prime Minister. PM Sikua chose a Cabinet comprising a combination of former Government MPs and former Opposition MPs. PM Sikua now leads one of the numerically strongest Governments ever with between 40 and 42 MPs with Government and only 7 with the Opposition.
Prime Minister Sikua’s government has set itself an ambitious political agenda and worked on a number of new policy and legislative initiatives during its first year in office, including a political integrity and stability policy framework, the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the development of a Medium Term Development Strategy.
The next legislative election is set to take place in 2010.
The desire for a greater degree of governance to be held at the local level, rather than the central level, has been a continuing feature of Solomon Islands political life since independence. The post-coup Government of 2000/2001 undertook a review of governance and prepared a bill to cater for the establishment of a federal system of Government, through amendment to the Constitution. Governments elected since have all reiterated an intention to shepherd through constitutional reforms needed to establish a more decentralised system.
Solomon Islands is a member of many regional and international bodies, including the United Nations, the WTO, the Commonwealth, the Pacific Islands Forum, as well as the sub-regional Melanesian Spearhead Group. It has formal diplomatic relations with a number of European, Asian, American and other Pacific Island countries. The Solomon Islands hosts the Forum Fisheries Agency, which is based in Honiara.
New Zealand, Australia, Britain, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Republic of China (Taiwan) and the European Commission all have diplomatic representatives in Honiara. The United States has a resident consular agent. Solomon Islands has diplomatic missions in Canberra, Port Moresby, Taipei, at the UN in New York, and at the European Commission in Brussels.
Between 1998 and 2003 Solomon Islands experienced a period of destabilising conflict and turmoil now often referred to as “the tensions”. This conflict had its roots in a complex mix of development and ethnic issues but came to be expressed in intermittent conflict between groups of loosely aligned ethnic factions largely from two peoples of Solomon Islands – those from Malaita and those from Guadalcanal. Over time, these factions increasingly used their military power to threaten and raid the coffers of the state. As a result by 2003 the state had become weakened to such a point that it could no longer function.
The Solomon Islands Prime Ministerwrote to the Australian Prime Minister in 2003 requesting assistance. Following extensive consultation in the region, Pacific Forum Foreign Ministers agreed in Sydney on 30 June 2003 that the extent of the problems facing SolomonIslands called for a concerted regional response as envisaged in the Biketawa Declaration. The Solomon Islands Parliament unanimously approved the Facilitation of International Assistance Act to enable RAMSI’s presence in the country and the first troops, police and civilians arrived in July 2003.
RAMSI’s first priority was to restore law and order, and to re-establish essential financial and other systems that had collapsed. Led by police with military support, law and order stabilised quickly. A nationwide gun amnesty resulted in the collection of 700 high-powered military-style weapons and ammunition, militant leaders were arrested and charged, and corrupt Solomon Islands police officers were removed from the force.
RAMSI’s focus has evolved in response to Solomon Islands’ needs, and includes capacity-building efforts in a range of sectors that are necessary to create a peaceful, well-governed and prosperous Solomon Islands. The Mission is working to create an enabling environment that will allow Solomon Islanders to rebuild their society and economy – there is no intention that RAMSI will “do everything”. RAMSI is founded on three key pillars of assistance:
- Law and Justice (police, courts, prisons)
- Economic Governance (Government finance and economic reforms)
- Machinery of Government (public service, accountability institutions, electoral commission, Parliament)
To achieve aims in the three pillars, RAMSI comprises a police component of 286 officers (the Participating Police Force, PPF, with representatives from all 15 Forum countries), a military component (the Combined Task Force, CTF, with personnel from Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and Papua New Guinea), and a large civilian component which includes around 150 in-line personnel and advisers placed in key agencies such as the Ministry of Finance and the justice system.
Although Australia is by far the greatest contributor to RAMSI, followed by NewZealand, all 16 Pacific Island Forum countries contribute personnel and other support to RAMSI. The Mission is coordinated in Honiara by a Special Coordinator and team of “RAMSI Principals” comprising the leaders of the development cooperation, police and military components. New Zealand provides a Deputy Special Coordinator and Fiji an Assistant Special Coordinator. Other Principals are Australian, reflecting the leading role that Australia plays in RAMSI. RAMSI has its own website, www.ramsi.org.
In mid 2007 a Pacific Islands Forum Taskforce undertook a review of RAMSI and provided a set of recommendations for increasing the regional character of RAMSI and to strengthen and regularise consultation and coordination between RAMSI and the Solomon Islands Government. The Taskforce recommendations were endorsed by Forum Leaders in October 2007 and have now been endorsed by the Solomon Islands Government. The Solomon Islands Parliament Foreign Relations Committee is also currently undertaking a review of RAMSI.
New Zealand has been a major contributor to RAMSI since its establishment. 35 New Zealand Police personnel and 43 New Zealand Defence Force troops are currently deployed to Solomon Islands under RAMSI. A number of New Zealand civilian personnel, including the Deputy Special Coordinator, are also serving with the Mission. NZAID primarily provides support for the Mission’s economic reform and justice work, including advisors under RAMSI in the Solomon Islands Ministry of Finance and Treasury. It also provides funding for the NZ Police contingent to RAMSI. NZAID will be funding a major RAMSI programme of assistance in finance and revenue and a project through RAMSI to build over 40 new houses for the police in various locations.
The Solomon Islands economy is experiencing serious challenges. The global economic crisis has accelerated the anticipated decline in the economy and it now faces an estimated budget shortfall of SBD220m (NZ$52m) in 2009. The Solomon Islands economy faces a three-fold problem: low foreign reserves, falling government revenue, and negative real per capita growth. SIG has introduced measures to stabilise the fiscal and balance of payments position.
Forestry products are Solomon Islands’ main export and in 2007 forestry sector income represented 16% of GDP and two thirds of all export earnings. Logging is beyond four times the sustainable rate, and it is expected that natural stocks will be depleted entirely by 2013. There are only two plantations of relevant size in Solomon Islands and they do not contribute significantly to overall export earnings at this stage.
The trade deficit continues to widen. In 2007 it was estimated at SBD $551 million. Solomon Islands shows trade deficits against many of its largest trading partners including (in order of deficit): Australia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Malaysia. At the same time the trade balance favoured Solomon Islands with respect to South Korea, Japan and China.
The Central Bank of the Solomon Islands has identified a number of significant challenges facing the Solomon Islands economy. These include the Solomon Islands’ narrow production base, rapid population growth, an unsustainable debt burden, donor dependency, weak governance and political instability. Inadequate infrastructure and poor transport links may further hinder growth.
Solomon Islands is New Zealand’s largest bilateral development assistance programme, currently at $36 million inclusive of funding for RAMSI of around $11 million annually. The priority funding areas have been education and skills development, improving livelihoods, and promoting broad-based economic growth.top of page
New Zealand’s relationship with Solomon Islands has developed over many years of close association, not least during the Guadalcanal-Solomon Islands campaign during World War II and early missionary linkages through Bishop Selwyn. The political goodwill that has built up over that time has been enhanced in recent years by NewZealand’s strong support and involvement in the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands and the bilateral aid programme.
New Zealand’s bilateral trade relationship with Solomon Islands is limited and accounts for just 1.6 percent (approx) of our exports to the Pacific.
According to the latest figures from Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand’s exports to Solomon Islands for the year ending July 2008 totalled NZ$17.9 million, down from the previous year (NZ$18.6 million to year ended June 2007). Our main exports were aluminium (16 percent), sugars (15 percent), and iron and steel (15 percent). Other key exports include machinery, other construction materials, dairy and fresh vegetables and eggs.
Our imports over the same period totalled NZ$2.24 million (mainly wood and wood products, and scrap metals), also down slightly from the previous year.
NewZealand and Solomon Islands signed a bilateral fisheries agreement in May 2007, which provides for the New Zealand fishing industry to enter into bilateral industry-to-Government access agreements with the Solomon Islands Government. Solomon Islanders are eligible to participate in New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme.
There has been a steady programme of visits by New Zealand leaders to Solomon Islands, particularly since regional efforts to assist Solomon Islands began.
The Safetravel website provides a travel advisory for travellers to Solomon Islands [external link].
