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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 - 509,000 (2003 est).
Melanesian (93%), Polynesians (4%), Micronesians
(1.5%), Europeans and Chinese.
Capital
City - Honiara
Religions
- Christian (45% Anglican, 18% Roman Catholic,
12% Methodist-Presbyterian, 9% Baptist, 7% Seventh
Day Adventist)
Official Languages -
English (official), Pidgin, plus 70 other local dialects
Currency - Solomon Island Dollar
EEZ - 1,630,000 sq km
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 Sir Nathaniel
Waena, representing Queen Elizabeth II
Head
of Government - Prime Minister, Hon Dr Derek Sikua
GDP per capita - US$651 (2006)
Real GDP Growth - 6.1% (2006)
Exports - SBD$788.8 million (2005)
Principal Export Destinations: Japan, Australia, United States, Hong Kong
Imports - SBD$1.39 billion (2005)
Principal Import Sources: Australia, Japan, New Zealand, China, United States
Balance of Payments - Surplus SBD$120 million (2005)
Trade Deficit - SBD$131.2 million (2005)
Exchange Rates - NZ$1 = SBD$5.79 (20 June 2007) - US$1 = SBD$7.65 (20 June 2007)
Inflation - Approx. 6.5% (March 2007)
NZ Exports (FOB) - NZ$18.6 million (FOB year ending April 2007)
Main Exports - Books and other printed material, iron, steel, aluminium, machinery and sugars
NZ Imports (CIF) - NZ$2.4 million (year ending April 2007)
Main Imports - Wood and wood products
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.
The 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.
Population
The Solomon Islands’ population was estimated in 2005 (CIA) to be 538,000 with a growth rate of 2.7% per annum. Life expectancy for men is estimated to be 70 years and women 75 years. The fertility rate was 4 children per woman and the infant mortality rates are 21.3 per 1000 births (2005). The population is relatively young with the median age just under 19 for both male and female. 60% of the population are estimated to live in communities of less than 200 people and 75% estimated to rely on subsistence farming (2003). English is the official language though Solomon Pidgin is the lingua franca for most people. There are over 70 languages and dialects spoken in Solomon Islands.
Solomon Islands is predominantly Christian with 45% Anglican, 18% Roman Catholic, 12% United (Methodist/Presbyterian) and 9% Baptist. Five percent of the population practice traditional faiths.
Parliamentary System
The Government operates under the 1978 Constitution that outlines the functions, powers and workings of the three arms of government, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.
Solomon Islands has a Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The Head of State is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who is also Queen of Solomon Islands. The Queen appoints a Governor-General for a term of up to five years on the advice of the Parliament. The Hon Nathaniel Waena was sworn in as Solomon Islands’ fifth Governor General on 7 July 2004.
Elections for the unicameral, 50-member National Parliament are 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 in a particular electorate. The winning candidate can be elected with more votes than any other candidate but with a very small proportion of the total vote. Party structures are very weak, with members moving relatively easily between parties. There is little distinction between the policy positions of the parties, and even if manifestos are produced at election time they bear little relationship to a policy programme.
The Prime Minister is elected by the Members of Parliament and in turn chooses Cabinet Ministers. The members elect the Speaker from “among persons who are qualified for election as a Member of Parliament” ie need not be a Member of Parliament. The Speaker chairs Parliamentary sittings and performs the functions of the Governor-General in the latter’s absence.
There has only ever been one woman MP, Hilda Kari, who was a Guadalcanal MP in the Government of 1998 that was removed by the 2000 coup. She stood again for election in 2001 but was defeated. A number of women candidates stood in the 2006 elections but were not elected.
Despite minor procedural irregularities, the most recent general election on 5 April 2006 was declared peaceful and orderly by international teams invited as observers by the Solomon Islands Government. Observers were sent from the Pacific Islands Forum, the Commonwealth, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the United States. The Commonwealth team acted independently, while the remaining teams – including New Zealand – acted under the overall coordination of the UN Electoral Assistance Division.
Following the election, however, serious riots broke out in Honiara on 18 April following the election by MPs of Snyder Rini as Prime Minister. Chinese-owned businesses were a key target. Solomon Islands police and RAMSI worked to restore calm. The following week, Manasseh Sogavare was elected as Prime Minister.
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 on 13 December, when Prime Minister Sogavare lost a motion of no confidence. On 20 December, Hon Dr Derek Sikua, the former Minister of Education, who had defected to the Opposition, was elected by MPs as Prime Minister. PM Sikua chose a Cabinet consisting of a combination of former Government MPs and former Opposition MPs. PM Dr Sikua now leads one of the numerically strongest Governments ever with 36 MPs with Government and only 11 with the Opposition. Three MPs dies during 2007, leaving vacancies yet to be filled by by-elections.
Constitutional Reform
The desire for a greater degree of governance to be held at the provincial 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.
Building on several rounds of consultation at the village, tribal and provincial levels, over the past decades, a Constitutional Congress has recently been established to prepare a final draft constitution that can be put, eventually, to a larger more representative "people's convention" for debate and agreement. The timeframe for the work of the Constitutional Congress and the convention is yet to be determined.top of page
Media
The Solomon Star is the main daily newspaper. The National Express and Island Sun are both weekly newspapers.
Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) “Radio Hapi Isles” provides a national service on AM (and increasingly FM). Commercial radio covers about two thirds of Solomon Islands. Australian and New Zealand shortwave Pacific radio programs can also be received.
A local television news service, One News, operates a one hour daily news bulletin on a VHF channel.
Foreign Relations
Solomon Islands is a member of many regional and international bodies, including the United Nations, the WTO, the Commonwealth, the Pacific Islands Forum and many other regional bodies, as well as the sub-regional Melanesian Spearhead Group. It has formal diplomatic relations with a number of European, Asian and other Pacific Island countries. Solomon Islands hosts the Forum Fisheries Agency, 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.
Conflict
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 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 the point at which it could no longer function.
Outside efforts to address the situation were first made through Commonwealth Secretariat mediation in 1999 and the deployment of a Multinational (Fiji and Vanuatu) Police Peace Monitoring Group. In 2000, following a partial peace settlement between the combatants an unarmed Australia/New Zealand “International Peace Monitoring Team” was established to monitor the settlement.
Elections were held in December 2001, and Sir Allan Kemakeza was elected Prime Minister. He and his Cabinet made efforts from early 2002 to address law and order problems, to develop credible economic policies, and to include the wider community in discussions to address the major problems facing Solomon Islands. While the immediate conflict between Malaitans and Guale settled down, however, inter-factional disputes arose and the factions turned their attention to raids on the Government’s finances, backed up by their possession of high-powered weapons. The prevailing atmosphere of lawlessness was exacerbated by the compromised nature of the Solomon Islands Police, with some senior officers maintaining links with criminal gangs. The Government, paralysed by fear, and compromised by its own connections and dependence upon certain of the armed groups, was reduced to rubber stamping outrageous claims for 'compensation' from parties claiming to have been wronged. Money destined for provincial programs and normal services such as hospitals and schools was squandered by the thieves and thugs virtually ruling Honiara and people at village level found themselves without even the most basic of services.
Faced with a weak and divided government that was essentially bankrupt, in 2003 Mr Kemakeza wrote to the Australian Prime Minister 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 Solomon Islands called for a concerted regional response as envisaged in the Biketawa Declaration. (The 2000 Declaration states that action will be taken “within the Pacific family” in times of crisis in the region.) Regional police and troops arrived in the Solomon Islands in July 2003. RAMSI’s regional mandate and composition was a key reason for its acceptance by the Solomon Island people and its early, quick successes. This is the first time the countries of the region have worked together on such a large and multi-faceted mission. RAMSI continues to expand its regional membership, with Niue the most recent country to commit personnel (November 2006).
RAMSI was debated in the Solomon Islands Parliament, and the Facilitation of International Assistance Act 2003 passed unanimously to enable RAMSI’s presence in Solomon Islands and to provide immunities and privileges for foreign nationals deployed under the Mission. An International Assistance Notice published under the Act ensures the Act applies to RAMSI. The Solomon Islands Parliament is given the opportunity to review the Notice in July each year.
RAMSI’s first priority was to restore law and order, and to re-establish essential financial and other systems that had collapsed completely. Led by police with military support, Solomon society stabilised quickly. A nationwide three week gun amnesty resulted in the collection of 700 high-powered military-style weapons and ammunition, militant leaders were arrested and charged, and corrupt Solomon police officers were removed from the force. In 2005, trials of former militants began, with New Zealand support in the form of ODA funding of a judge and two magistrates.
RAMSI’s focus has now evolved and expanded in response to the Solomon’ current 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:
To achieve aims in the three pillars, RAMSI comprises a police component (the Participating Police Force, PPF), a military component (the Combined Task Force, CTF), and a large civilian component which includes around 100 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 New Zealand, all 16 Pacific Islands Forum countries contribute personnel and other support to RAMSI. The Mission is coordinated in Honiara by a special Coordinator and a 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 final 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.
New Zealand has been a major contributor to RAMSI since its establishment, second only to Australia. Thirty-five NZ Police personnel and 46 NZDF troops are currently deployed to the 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. NZAID is also working with RAMSI on customs modernization, civic education and rural development programmes. (For further details see section on NZODA)
The period of general lawlessness from June 2000 – July 2003 took a severe toll on the economy. GDP fell significantly for four consecutive years (-14.3% in 2000) and GDP per capita halved to below US$500. Export earnings fell by 80% to just US$34million (well below potential). The main cause of the economic decline was the destruction of the main income earning activities, palm oil, gold, fish processing and tourism. Violence associated with ethnic conflict in 2000 also caused extensive damage to personal property, transport infrastructure, schools, water supply and sanitation systems, government buildings, and the health sector.
There was a significant turnaround in the economy in 2003 and 2004 due mainly to positive developments in the global economy, a significant improvement in law and order, increased donor assistance and private sector resilience. The economy continues to grow at a reasonable rate. Growth over 2006 was estimated at 6.1% with projections for 2007 of 6 to 6.4% growth. Much of this is put down to growing investment. Forestry, construction and manufacturing sectors are all showing particularly strong increases.
Timber is the Solomon Islands main export and, at June 2006, was worth around SBD$149.3 million (NZ$31.3 million) to the country. Logging income is predicted to increase by 12.5% in 2007. The International Monetary Fund has strongly urged the Government to cut down on logging because it is currently estimated to be around four times higher than the sustainable rate. The IMF is concerned that logging will come under increased pressure this year as non-logging sectors contribute less to economic growth. Felling at current rates, the IMF warns, could only continue until 2009 and stocks would be depleted entirely by 2013.
Fresh, canned, smoked and dried fish are the second most important export and are valued at SBD$42 million (NZ$8.8 million) per annum. The fisheries sector is also expected to come under increased pressure to produce higher profits, with the expected downturn in forestry income in a few years.
Over the years 2002-2006 Solomon Islands wore an average trade deficit of SBD$322.2 million (NZ$67.4 million). In 2006 that deficit was double the average at SBD$612 million (NZ$125 million). In March 2007, Solomon Islands showed trade deficits against many of its larger trading partners including, in order of deficit: Australia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Malaysia. At the same time, the trade balance favored Solomon Islands with respect of South Korea, Japan and China.
Since the 1990s, inflation has been trending down (including over the tensions period). In March 2007 inflation was at around 6.5% - 2% lower than the same time the previous year.
Overall visitor numbers to the Solomon Islands are still recovering: in 2005, 9,400 visitors came through Solomon Islands. Prior to the tensions, visitor numbers are recorded as being around 16,000 per year. The tourism sector is still limited essentially to diving and core hospitality infrastructure is limited. Almost half of all visitors in 2005 came for business reasons; 40% were on holiday or visiting a friend.
Since March 2006, economic reforms have included: a new Foreign Investment Act, work and residency permit simplification; tax exemption guidelines; import duty reforms; initiatives to expand financial services in rural areas; endorsement of comprehensive reforms in the state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector, including writing of a new SOE Act; introduction of limited competition in aviation; announcement of the intention to introduce competition in telecommunications; and, commencement of the implementation of a new Transport Plan including a mechanism for ensuring appropriate local funding for transport infrastructure maintenance. Many of these reforms are bearing fruit already. International airfares and international call rates have reduced significantly, foreign investment is three times higher than in 2005 and tax revenues are up markedly.
Both the new Foreign Investment Act and planned business legislation rewrites have streamlined the process for foreign investment. Areas off-limits to foreign investors have been cut from 83 to 14. Foreign investment looks to be significantly higher than previously - with reports of anything from a 3% increase to 7%.
Following reforms, the top import duty rates of 20% and 15% have come down to a maximum of 10%. to offset the reduction in import duty income, the Government removed many of the duty and tax exemptions. Guidelines for the assessment of exemption applications, developed by the Inland Revenue Department, have lessened the complexity of the system.
The Central Bank of the Solomon Islands (CBSI) has identified a number of significant challenges facing the Solomon economy in future. 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 will further hinder growth.
Solomon Islands is currently New Zealand’s largest bilateral aid programme. NZAID’s bilateral official development assistance to Solomon Islands for 2007/2008 will be $31 million, an increase of $13 million from the previous year. Major activities of the programme focus on improving basic education, achieving broad based growth and improving livelihoods and strengthening governance. NZAID will also fund the NZ Police contingent, for capacity building activities, up to $5.8 million per annum.
Access to basic education is a human right and a critical factor for enabling individuals to access and contribute to economic well being, social justice, well governed peaceful societies and good health.
In Solomon Islands, NZAID provided $30 million in direct budget support over 2004-2006 to help the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) to work towards achieving access for all children to quality basic education by 2015. NZAID has become the lead donor in the primary education sector. NZAID support has enabled the government to deliver teaching materials to all primary schools, restart in-service training, commence a nationwide infrastructure development programme, and begin to address shortcomings in teacher management.
Roading: Transport networks are a major factor in accessing markets, social services and enabling broad-based economic growth. In partnership with SIG, AusAID and ADB, NZAID is providing substantial funding for the rehabilitation of roads and bridges throughout Solomon Islands. Through this partnership, NZAID works to ensure that the project rehabilitates those roads that provide the best social and economic returns and that there is close consultation with communities on various environmental and social issues relating to road building. Tangible improvements have already been made in Malaita and Guadalcanal, while a new project will expand coverage to the rest of the country.
Fisheries: Fisheries are a major income source for central government and coastal communities. NZAID is working with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) to implement an organisational strengthening programme. The programme aims to improve MFMR's capability and systems for conserving and managing fisheries resources, thereby enhancing the contribution of fisheries to government revenue and foreign exchange and providing for rural livelihoods.
Livelihoods: Well targeted, innovative support to businesses, livelihoods and food security can make a significant difference to the lives of Solomon Islanders. In partnership with World Vision and WorldFish, NZAID is promoting food security and income generation in rural communities. NZAID also supports the Small Business Enterprise Centre to nurture business skills and entrepreneurship.
Good governance ensures that political, social and economic priorities are based on broad consensus in society and the voices of the poorest and the most vulnerable are heard in decision-making over the allocation of resources.
Working through the SIG-RAMSI partnership, NZAID supports strengthening at the national government level by helping to improve the Solomon Islands Government's capabilities in macro-economic and fiscal management. With assistance from New Zealand IRD, the Solomon Islands Inland Revenue Department is improving revenue collection and the system required to successfully ensure tax compliance. A New Zealand Treasury advisor is assisting the Government's Economic Reform Unit in areas of state-owned enterprise reform and competition. NZAID is also supporting the introduction of an information-management system to the Solomon Islands Custom Service.
NZAID is working with the Honiara City Council (HCC) which is responsible for the delivery of many key services. The partnership provides HCC with the resources, systems and skills to deliver responsive local government services.
NZAID also promotes participatory democracy and is assisting Solomon Islanders to become more aware of and able to demand and claim their rights through supporting a second phase of civic education programmes, developed jointly with RAMSI Machinery of Government Programme. The second phase will emphasises working with civil society to identify how best communities can engage with local and central government, especially on issues of service delivery, transparency and accountability.
Through RAMSI Law and Justice Programme, NZAID is funding a number if High Court Judges. Working with Save the Children, NZAID promotes youth rights and community crime prevention.
NZAID core-funds two Solomon Islands civil society umbrella groups, the National Council of Women (NCW) and Development Services Exchange (DSE). In supporting these organisations, NZAID contributes to fostering a vibrant and capable civic society and ensuring there are accountable, accessible communication mechanisms between state and community.
New Zealand responded to the earthquakes and tsunami of 2 April 2007 by allocating an initial $500,000 to reline efforts in the Solomon Islands. This was spent on getting supplies such as tents, tarpaulins and water storage containers to some of the worst hit areas. A RNZAF Hercules aircraft also carried medical staff and health supplies and two mobile air movement teams to assist with relief flights from Honiara to the affected areas. As the response shifted to recovery and reconstruction, the remainder of New Zealand's funds were allocated to a project to prevent the spread of disease through the improvement of water and sanitation conditions for those affected by the tsunami.
A further $7.5 million has been committed under NZAID's expanded Solomon Islands programme for longer term recovery programmes in education, shelter and fisheries livelihoods.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 both countries' involvement in the Bougainville peace process, and New Zealand's involvement in the Solomon Islands peace process since the ethnic troubles of 1999-2003.
There has been a steady programme of visits by New Zealand leaders to the Solomon Islands, particularly since regional efforts to assist Solomon Islands began. The Prime Minister visited recently in October 2005. Our Governor-General made a State Visit to Solomon Islands in May 2004. Recent New Zealand visitors to the Solomon Islands have included:
New Zealand’s bilateral trade relationship with Solomon Islands is limited and accounts for just 1.6% (approx) of our exports to the Pacific. According to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise statistics, New Zealand's exports to Solomon Islands for the year ending April 2007 totaled BZ$18.6 million. Our main exports were books and newspapers (13%), iron and steel (12%), aluminium (11%), machinery (10%) and sugars (9%). Our imports over the same period totaled NZ$2.4 million (mainly wood and wood products). New Zealand 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.
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 both countries’ involvement in the Bougainville peace process, and New Zealand’s involvement in the Solomon Islands peace process since the ethnic troubles of 1999-2003.
There has been a steady programme of visits by New Zealand leaders to the Solomon Islands, particularly since regional efforts to assist Solomon Islands began. The Prime Minister visited most recently in October 2005. Our Governor-General made a State visit to Solomon Islands in May 2004.
The Safetravel website provides a travel advisory for travellers to Solomon Islands [external link].
