NATIONAL
INTEGRATED RURAL/PROVINCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMME (NIRPDP)
PROGRAMME FRAMEWORK
Prepared
by:
NATIONAL
RURAL DEVELOPMENT TASK FORCE
with
technical assistance from:
UNDP/UNOPS
Solomon Islands Development Administration
and
Participatory Planning Programme (SIDAPP)
to be
presented at the
Final
Tripartite Review Meeting for SIDAPP
19
November 2001
RURAL
DEVELOPMENT DIVISION (RDD)
Ministry
of Provincial Government and Rural Development
Level 5,
Anthony Saru Building
P.O. Box
G35, Honiara, Solomon Islands
Tel: (677)
26560/61; Fax (677) 26458
Email: sidapp@pipolfastaem.gov.sb
Website: www.peoplefirst.net.sb
1.0 Vision for Rural Development:
Working Together to Build Communities in Solomon Islands
In Solomon Islands, Rural Development means Provincial
Development.
It means developing the country as a whole in a situation
where there are only very few relatively well developed urban enclaves, namely,
Honiara, Auki and Gizo. In this sense, the Mission of rural development is to
increase the capabilities of provinces in improving the quality of life in
village communities where majority of the people live.
Given the natural physical fragmentation of the country
and the relative weaknesses of government institutions, particularly in the
provinces, the goal will then be to bring information and services to as many
village people as possible so that they can participate in overall national
development and ultimately share its benefits.
1.2 Implementation
Strategy for a National Integrated Rural/Provincial Development Programme (NIRPDP)
1.2.1 The overall implementation strategy is to strengthen the
province as basic unit for the planning, implementation, management and
monitoring of development plans and programmes
Each province will require technical assistance and
funding support to produce the following outputs:
a.
a Provincial Development Profile
indicating the current situation, including the impact of the recent social
unrest on the delivery of basic services to communities; the existing resources
available; the status of projects (community self-help; provincial, national
and donor-executed projects, their present outreach to communities, and
projects identified as priority by constituencies and community groups);
assessment of provincial government administrative and financial operations;
b.
a Provincial Development
Framework Plan and Budget incorporating specific targets for a given period
per sector; priority areas for service coverage; investment opportunities for
private sector development; commitments
from the national government and donors for priority programmes, etc.);
c.
a
two-year Provincial Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Programme (PRRP) as part of the MDTS indicating
the specific impact of the social unrest to the province and priority areas for
assistance and investment to minimize or overcome such adverse effects of the
crisis;
d.
a Provincial Economic
Growth Strategy identifying a specific comparative advantage vis-à-vis
other provinces or based on an assessment of existing resources which could be
further developed for making available specific products and services to
domestic or overseas markets; and
e.
a Provincial Support Programme
to Develop the Subsistence Economy and its linkage to the formal economy as
part of the overall economic growth stimulus package during the period of
rehabilitation and reconstruction;
f.
a Provincial Support Programme
for Urban Development as part of the Provincial Development Plan indicating
specific linkage to rural-based initiatives, market opportunities, expansion of
current services and improvement in both outreach and quality; and
g.
a
Community-based Provincial Project
Monitoring System
to determine periodically the status of programmes and projects using existing
staff at provincial and substation level, combined with development volunteers
at constituency and village level.
1.3 The
National Development Plan, in
conjunction with the NIRPDP, will indicate required policy and programme support to assist provinces cope with
long-embedded and traditional constraints to developments.
These policy and programme support has to include the
following:
1.3.1
A
comprehensive policy and strategy framework for the provinces indicating a realistic and
multi-faceted development model to enable the provinces to see how their own
respective development relate to the overall national situation; how each
province can contribute to the country’s economic growth; and the specific
benefits to be derived by resource owners and local communities in the
sustainable exploitation of provincial resources.
Previous national development plans, including the Medium
Term Development Strategy (MDTS), lack regional or spatial dimension. They only
reflect the macro and sectoral aspects. As a result, provincial authorities and
local communities do not view the particular development of their province in
terms of the larger picture, in terms of an overall national plan.
1.3.2
A
review of the Government’s financial management system to achieve
cost-effectiveness and ensure balanced and equitable development
Questions recently raised by Provinces with regard to the
Government’s financial management include the following:
§
How
can we ensure that Provinces get a better share of the revenue from the
exploitation of their natural resources;
§
What
is the share of national revenue spent on the Provinces;
§
Why
does Government do not fully deliver its Provincial grant allocations;
§
How
can we better incorporate the aspirations and priorities of constituencies and
villages into the national and provincial budget systems;
§
What
is the capacity of Provincial Governments to operate a decentralized financial
management system.
1.3.3 A
comprehensive study of land issues and initiate vigorous and purposeful efforts
to involve all stakeholders in resolving them
The land-related issues which have been suggested to be
included are as follows –
Freedom of movement and freedom of settlement;
Issues arising from inter-island marriages or marriages
between matrilineal and matrilineal societies which pertain to conflicting
rules on owning land or inheriting land;
Multi-ethnic composition of the country and their
implications to variations in traditions and cultures defining land use and
ownership.
Current moves towards decentralization through a
State/Federal Government system will have to be complemented by measures such
as the decentralization of the functions of the Office of the Commissioner of
Lands; the Office of the Surveyor General; the Registrar of Titles; and the
Office of the Valuer General.
·
Prepare
a Strategic Plan for the Return of Alienated Land
It is proposed in the paper that alienated land should be
developed first prior to their return to original landowners or provincial
governments. Establishing the original landowners will require tedious
investigation, but this has to be done to avoid potential problems.
Given the differences in cultures, languages and customs
relating to land rights in the country, it may not be appropriate to have a
single legislation to cover customary land. It is recommended that provinces be
given the right to codify their own customary laws within a general legislation
on land.
·
Conduct
nation-wide consultations on land issues
In the aftermath of a devastating social conflict, a root
cause of which could be traced to land-related issues, it has been recommended
that nation-wide consultations be undertaken by the appropriate government
agency to clarify these issues and seek all possible suggestions and ideas on
how resolve them.
Without such resolution, any programme on rural and
provincial development will not be sustainable in the long run.
1.3.4
Establish
Sound Rural Financial Intermediaries and Market
Here are recommendations on how to improve the rural
financial markets:
·
The
concerned rural financial institution must charge the appropriate interest rate
that will cover the full financial, operational and loan risk costs.
With an adequate interest spread, the financial
institution can be profitable and sustainable and will continue to provide
financial services to its rural clientele and reduce its dependence on
government support and subsidy.
·
Mobilisation
of rural savings to ensure self-reliance and paying an appropriate real
interest rates on these deposits.
This can be possible if the lending rates are set high as
indicated above. Rural savings facility
is lacking the rural communities and, therefore, farmers and entrepreneurs are
not able to save part of their income for future use. Loan clients may have more discipline if they know they are
borrowing their neighbours’ savings.
·
The
financial institution must be committed to the rural communities.
Branch and sub-branch offices must be given some form of
autonomy and should be close to their clientele. They should be operated as profit centers.
·
Shifting
the focus from loan approval and disbursement to loan recovery and savings
mobilization.
Credit cannot be created on its own; its source is
savings. Rural communities must be encouraged to save.
·
Staff
retraining must be undertaken.
This
is important to enable the financial institution to perform its demanding task.
·
Providing
incentives to good paying clients.
Interest
rebate and promise of future loans are examples of incentives. It is also good to link staff incentives to
the performance of the loan portfolio.
·
Setting
in place appropriate legal and suitable external supervision framework.
This will deal with ceilings on lending rates, reserve
requirements on deposits, and the imposition of mandatory lending and
prudential banking standards.
The financial institution should be located in an
identified rural growth centre or an Integrated Area Development Project (IADP)
site in a province.
1.3.5
Formulate
a Long-term Plan for Rural Infrastructure Development
Rural
infrastructure can stimulate economic growth and extend the outreach of
services to the rural communities. It can make possible amenities and
facilities that can attract back to the province those who have left for Honiara.
The
reference paper recommends the following:
·
For
the National Government to formulate a 20-Year Infrastructure Development Plan
for each of the Provinces
Previous experience has proven that 5-year plans do not
work when it comes to infrastructure. A
longer time frame is more realistic considering a number of problems that have
to be overcome, e.g. funding, resolving land issues, community consultations to
finalise locations, etc.
The National Government should be able to articulate a set
of policies that will govern the planning, implementation and management of
rural infrastructure. This will facilitate a well-coordinated approach to
building infrastructure in the provinces based on an overall national
development strategy.
The National Government should be able to define clearly
the roles of provincial governments, churches and NGOs, private sector, local
communities and family heads in the planning, building and maintenance of rural
infrastructure.
·
For
the landowners in each province to be oriented on the importance of building
the infrastructure on their own land.
This orientation should be part of a well-coordinated land
policy.
·
For
the Government to deal with misuse of public funds allocated for rural
infrastructure.
This is both an administrative and political problem that
both national and provincial governments should be able to deal with.
1.3.6
Assist
Provinces to Assume Greater Responsibilities and to Discharge their Tasks under
a more Decentralised Form of Governance
For
too long a time, the Provinces have pursued decentralisation, or devolution of
more political, administrative and other decision-making powers from the centre
to the periphery, as an objective.
The
National Integrated Rural/Provincial Development Programme can serve as a
vehicle to assist Provinces initiate a systematic capability-building process
and prepare for assuming greater responsibilities even before a more
decentralised form of governance is put in place.
The
following strategic activities can be pursued towards this end:
v
Clarification
of the respective roles of the public service employees and the political
leaders in the exercise of governance and administration of services within the
province;
v
Assessment
of the various indigenous institutions and community-based structures utilised
by sectoral agencies in the delivery of basic services, taking into account
their possible formal linkage to appropriate government bodies, such as the
provincial substations, for the purpose of project implementation and
monitoring;
v
Support
to a rural development volunteers scheme
to ensure the involvement of out-of-school youth in village development;
v
Preparation
of a Provincial Substation Improvement Project to be designed as key strategy
in extending the outreach of government programmes to relatively remote rural
villages;
v
Refocusing
the mission of Provincial Development Authorities towards providing support to
the possible expansion of the subsistence economy;
v
Improvement
of the existing communication system amongst villages, between the provincial
centre and the constituencies, and other entities through the use of simple
technologies, such as high frequency radio, solar power, etc.;
v
Identification
of project site/mobilization of resources towards the eventual implementation
of an Integrated Area Development Project (IADP) within the Province;
v
Strengthening
the mechanism for Constituency profiling, action planning and project
development with focus on the participation of disadvantaged villages and groups.
30
October 2001
Honiara,
Solomon Islands
PROGRAMME FRAMEWORK
NATIONAL
INTEGRATED RURAL / PROVINCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMME (NIRPDP)
1.0 National Setting for Rural and Provincial
Development
Solomon Islands is an archipelago with a land area of
28,000 square kilometers in the South Pacific.
Its 492,042 people, based on the 1999 census, inhabit six main islands
and most of the 900 small islands that stretch across 1,300 kilometers of the
Pacific Ocean. About 80% of the land is
rugged mountain terrain.
The country is ranked 121 out of a list of 174 countries
compared as to human development indices (life expectancy at birth, literacy,
and real Gross Domestic Product per capita) by the UNDP 2000 Human Development
Report. This ranking has remained
fairly the same over the ten-year period that the report has been
compiled.
The United Nations declared Solomon Islands a Least
Developed Country (LCD) in 1993. The country’s Human Poverty Index which is
below 50, places Solomon Islands in the company of many poor countries in the
sub-Saharan Africa.
The country has a small open
economy. The population, growing at 2.8% yearly, depends primarily on
subsistence farming and fishing. In two decades after Independence from British
rule, cash employment has risen in tourism, commerce and other services. The
public sector accounts for one-third of the Gross Domestic Product. Per capita
income has increased, as a result, and there has been good progress in human
development.
The
economy depends heavily on international trade (around 80% of GDP) and foreign
assistance (20-25% of GDP). Australian investments have gone into gold
production, tourism and commerce; Asian into forestry and fishing; and European
into palm oil and copra production. The country imports all intermediate and
capital goods required for domestic production and almost all of consumer
goods. It depends on few primary commodities for earning foreign exchange. The
stagnant subsistence sector accounts for 30-40% of GDP.
In infrastructure, only maritime
services are relatively well developed. Wharves and shipping facilities link
the country’s main islands. Despite such development, however, internal
transport to most islands is irregular and expensive. Electric power, water supply,
telecommunications and road transportation are not sufficient both in the
capital, Honiara, and in the provinces.
Inadequate infrastructure affects
further development of manufacturing and tourism. It has remained a barrier to
socio-economic advancement since Independence.
For a Least-Developed Country with
a per capita income of around USD760 (1995), Solomon Islands has relatively
well-developed health infrastructure which has helped account for low infant
mortality – currently only 28 per 1000 – and a high life expectancy at birth
which exceeds 60 years. Classrooms and training facilities, however, remain
inadequate, and school attendance at 57% is well below minimum standard.
Literacy and primary school enrollment rates are low compared to those in other
countries in the region.
Development expenditures account
for only around 2% of GDP.
The population is expected to
double in 25 years at the current 2.8% annual growth rate. High population growth negates gains in
economic outputs. The phenomenal growth in the active labour force outstrips
the number of available jobs, which have been further diminished each year by
the economic downturn and closure of big commercial firms during the last two
years. This trend puts pressure on public finances, environment, population
density, and the absorptive capacities of both the subsistence and cash
employment sectors of the economy.
Overall national development has
been hampered by constraints that have not been addressed effectively by
Government since Independence. These obstacles include the following:
§
Inequality
in the distribution of socio-economic projects and uneven sharing of
development benefits, national wealth or financial resources amongst the country’s
provinces and constituencies;
§
Increasing
income disparities amongst the various sections of the population and between
provincial centers and rural villages;
§
Low
labour productivity;
§
Prevalence
of land disputes throughout the country;
§
Political
instability at national and provincial levels; and
§
Weak
mechanism for decentralized administration and governance, as well as for
public accountability.
1.3 Rural
Development
In addition, based on an EU-funded
study as early as 1989, the following were identified as constraints to the
development of rural communities:
§
Transportation
problems derived from the physical nature of the country;
§
Small
size and uneven distribution and cultural diversity of rural communities;
§
Land
utilisation problems arising from disputes arising from communal land
ownership;
§
Shortage
of skilled and experienced manpower generally and for rural development at all
management levels;
§
Limited
education and training outreach for rural people;
§
Still
highly centralized policy and decision-making and administration, as well as
highly sectoral and, hence, uncoordinated orientation in the planning and
delivery of government services.
1.4 Social
Unrest
Honiara, the capital, has been the
seat of national government since Independence in 1978. It has become through the years the
country’s main commercial and educational center. It is located in Guadalcanal that has the country’s largest
flatland and prime agricultural land.
As a result, economic and social
development in Solomon Islands has centered mainly in and around Honiara. Many from other provinces migrated to
Guadalcanal in search of better opportunities. In 1998, out of about 35,000
persons employed in the formal sector, over 51% were in Honiara. The largest
number came from Malaita Province.
Over two decades, the pressure and
economic competition from migrants raised tensions between Malaitans and the
native population of Guadalcanal. The
conflict started to build toward the end of 1998, when an armed group of
militants from Guadalcanal, first known as the Guadalcanal Revolutionary Army
(GRA) and later called the Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM), forced the mostly
Malaitan settlers to leave Guadalcanal.
The dispute grew into a violent conflict by mid-1999 and resulted in
loss of lives, non-delivery of most government services, disruption of economic
activities, damage to infrastructure and private property, and displacement of
people.
By the end of 1999, a militant
group of Malaitan origin, known as the Malaita Eagles Force (MEF), was formed
in retaliation. The armed group took
control of Honiara and detained the Prime Minister on 5 June 2000, leading to
his resignation. A coalition for
national unity, reconciliation and peace subsequently formed a new Government,
which was able to secure ceasefire arrangements between the rival groups. A peace agreement was eventually signed
between the IFM and MEF on 15 October 2000 in Townsville, Australia.
The conflict has inflicted
considerable damage to the country both socially and economically. There has been massive erosion of any sense
of national solidarity; three of the nine provinces have expressed their wish
to break away as separate countries.
Private sector confidence has been shattered. Crimes against property have been brought to unprecedented
levels, with armed individuals and groups openly extorting money, stealing
cars, robbing shops.
Close to 30,000 people abandoned
their homes in Guadalcanal and relocated to Malaita and other provinces. In
refugee communities, many are without access to basic social services.
Companies have closed and at least 8, 000 jobs lost. Around 1,000 public service workers were sent on leave without
pay on account of the government’s severe cash flow problem. For a country of
less than 400,000 population, the two-year ethnic conflict was a devastating
social phenomenon.
A summary of the impact of the
recent social unrest is as follows:
·
Loss
of employment and income, increased hardship and reduced standard of
living;
-Gross Domestic
Product decreased by 14.3% by the end of last year;
-Copra products totaled only 978
tons during the first half of the year, down 95% over the same period last
year;
-Cocoa output only 223 tons, down
86% over the same period last year;
-Fish catch amounted to 3,354
tons, down 81% during the same period last year;
-Forest products totaled 211,000
cubic meters as against 265,000 cubic meters of the same period last year;
-No production of palm oil and
mineral products since June 1999 and July 2000, respectively, affecting wage
employment, government and private sector incomes, and foreign exchange
earnings;
-Inflation is expected to rise to
around 10% this year and will erode people’s incomes; undermine business confidence;
dampen export competitiveness of the economy; demobilize savings; impede
private sector growth and development; and exert undue pressure on the exchange
rate;
-Total exports during the first
half of the year totaled $115.9 million, down 41% compared to the same period
last year;
-Total imports amounted to $213.8
million during the first half of the year, 21% more than that of the same
period last year and 16% higher than that of the same period in 1999 (triggered
by large cash payout towards the peace process and the windfall of
discretionary tax remissions to private individuals and importers);
-Total government debt soared to
$1 billion by the end of the second quarter this year as against $913.2 million
in the same period last year.
·
Displacement
and loss of skills of both nationals (including out-migration) and expatriates;
·
Loss
of business confidence affecting future investment and economic activity;
·
Collapse
in government revenue and reduction in government services;
·
Reduced
government revenue and borrowing constraints limiting use of government
expenditure to sustain or increase economic activity;
·
Economic
reform programme started by the pervious government halted - gains and
improvements resulting from these reforms wiped out;
·
Compensation
payments very costly, backward looking and unproductive and tend to create more
social problems;
·
Rural
economic development and improvement of rural infrastructure neglected in all
provinces;
·
Differential
human and natural resource endowments among the nine provinces, uneven
development more serious;
·
Assistance
from development partners largely suspended with adverse impacts on economic
development and services.
·
Health sector - under funding, inadequate number and lack of qualified
staff, poor distribution of medicines, fall in adequate nutrition and food
security, high maternal/child mortality that may further increase, increased
use of traditional medicine, reduced quality and accessibility to health care
in both preventative and curative services;
·
Education
- under funding, inadequate number and qualified staff, displacement of
teachers and students and closing of schools in Guadalcanal, no school
placement for many students and overcrowding in Malaita schools, issues of the
educational quality and relevance of the curriculum;
·
Under
funding in education and health and related issues also apply to other
provinces, e.g. Temotu, and not just to Guadalcanal and Malaita;
·
Family
dislocation and hardships;
·
Youth
unemployment and involvement in militant and criminal activities;
·
Limits
on absorptive capacity of subsistence (village) economy in highly populated
areas in Malaita and Temotu;
·
Need
for social dialogue between all groups – national and provincial governments,
NGOs, community-based organizations and development partners;
·
Increased
violence and abuse of women;
·
Reduced
living standards i.e. basic needs not met and women not able to access Honiara
market to sell produce and earn income for their families;
·
Increased
criminal activities, especially in Honiara.
·
Militants
setting bad example and are inappropriate role models for the youth population;
·
National
unity tested, increased demand for state governments and debate on the state
government reactivated, proper studies needed of (a) fiscal aspects of
federal/state government system and (b) land issue in a federal/state
government system;
·
Collapse
of law and order, the judiciary, police force and prison services;
·
Creation
of mistrust among people, communities and ethnic groups; without trust it will
be difficult to have harmony and lasting peace;
·
Vulnerability
of Solomon Islands as a divided country highlighted by the crisis.
1.5
Macroeconomic
Issues Affecting Rural Communities
These
issues are as follows:
1.5.1 Need to Refocus Foreign Financial
Assistance
The
country has received substantial amounts of foreign aid and loan funds since
Independence. As a developing economy
unable to finance its investment needs from domestic savings, Solomon Islands
taps and benefits from external financial resources to meet this investment
gap. These external inflows may be in
the form of grants and other transfers or borrowed capital. The assistance may also come as cash
injections, goods or services such as technical assistance.
For
the last ten years, the country received over $1.91 billion in aid assistance
and loans. Unfortunately, these massive
inflows have been largely wasted or spent on infrastructure and white elephants
that do not benefit rural communities.
Most of these assets have become very expensive to maintain and, hence,
they constitute a major drain on government recurrent expenditures. Some of these assets have been left to
deteriorate and are no longer in use.
Despite
the substantial inflows of foreign capital, the economy remains underdeveloped
and, in most cases, rural communities have in fact become worse off than
before. A comprehensive review is
needed to redirect foreign assistance to the sectors, areas and regions that
will have the most impact to rural and provincial development.
1.5.2 Need to
Integrate Smallholder Production into Large-Scale Production
The
country’s production base is quite narrow comprising of a handful of
commodities produced for export. Apart
from copra and cocoa, which are predominantly smallholder based, production of
all the other commodities are by foreign individuals or multinational
companies. Due to this situation, the
economy is vulnerable since the thin smallholder sector cannot support it if
major industries collapse.
The
smallholder or subsistence sector currently accounts for around 40% of the
GDP. The sector has not been able to
produce adequate surpluses that will make an impact on rural incomes and
national wealth. Financial and
technical assistance can make the subsistence economy play a more substantial
role in increasing rural incomes.
1.5.3
Need
for Access to Bank Credit and Other Sources of Rural Funding
There
are several sources of rural funding in Solomon Islands. These range from the formal institutions such
as the commercial banks and the Development Bank to informal institutions, such
as the credit unions. The Government operates special schemes, such as the
Rural Community Development Fund (RCDF).
Some Government ministries provide grant funds to rural communities.
High Commissions and Embassies also provide small grant schemes to assist rural
communities and groups.
Recent
decisions by the commercial banks to suspend lending to local businesses and
withdraw their services from provincial centers have stifled business growth in
the provinces. The rural credit
programme of DBSI has encountered a number of problems. The RCDF is a big
source of rural finance, but its impact is unclear.
Credit
unions have the potential to play an important role in providing communities
with access to rural credit. Of the 165 registered credit unions throughout the
country, only a few are still active.
Mismanagement plagues most credit unions despite a decade of financial
and training support from donors.
The
high rate of default by rural borrowers has also contributed to the problem of
lack of access to rural credit.
2.0 National Action Programme for the Current
Development Situation
The
Programme Framework for Rural Development in Solomon Islands takes into account
the national situation, and the rethinking being done on the country’s current
problems and its future directions.
For the period 2001 – 2010, the Solomon Islands Government
seeks to build a nation that:
§
promotes
equal opportunity for all and is united in ethnic and regional diversity;
§
enables
women to make their full and effective contribution to its welfare and well
being;
§
makes
fully-informed choices to ensure its well being and manages change without
fear;
§
exploits
its natural resources more fully for the benefit of its people;
§
eradicates
poverty through gainful employment or self-employment and through a social safety net for the disadvantaged;
§
pursues
democratic principles and devolves decisions to the level where they most
closely reflect the priorities of local communities;
§
shows
discipline and transparency in
government administration, as well as in public financial management;
§
settles
disputes not through the use of arms, but through the democratic process and
the courts;
§
assumes
for itself the principal responsibility for its development and reduces its
dependence upon the generosity of
the rest of the world.
The Government seeks to get Solomon Islands out of the
list of Least Developed Countries by 2010 and attain for its people a per
capita income of at least USD1,000 from USD760 in 1995 and USD400 in 2000.
Development targets for 2010 also include:
§
Reduce
maternal mortality from 550 to 225;
§
Reduce
annual rate of population increase from 2.8% to 2%;
§
Reduce
fertility rate from 4.5 to 3.5 children per woman of child-bearing age;
§
Increase
contraceptive prevalence from the current 25% to 40%;
§
Increase
adult literacy from the current 76% (men: 83%; women: 68%) to 85% with emphasis
on women and on lagging provinces, Temotu and Malaita; and
§
Increase
school attendance from 57% to 85%.
It will be noted that the country has by 1999 achieved the
following targets:
§
Infant
mortality : 28 per 1,000 (below 35);
§
Under-5
mortality: 22 per 1,000 (below 45);
The Government’s Medium Term Development Strategy
1999-2001 (MTDS) was prepared in 1998 prior to the social unrest. On account of
the prevailing situation outlined in previous sections, Government national
planners are aware of the need to review and adjust the strategy to new
economic and social conditions.
The revised MDTS 2002 – 2005 will therefore reflect
re-prioritisation of the Government’s development objectives. It will give higher priority than in the
previous MDTS to:
§
the
maintenance of peace; and
§
inter-provincial
equity.
The revised MDTS will address the following challenges:
§
Maintain
law and order;
§
Resettle
dislocated families;
§
Rebuild
the country’s destroyed economic and social infrastructure;
§
Revive
the private sector;
§
Balance
the country’s finances.
The revised MDTS will consider the consolidation of the
peace process as the necessary precondition for economic recovery. It will give the citizenry an opportunity to
restore lowered living standards and reduce the uncertainty of foreign and
local investors.
Equally important, the revised MDTS will remain committed
to sustaining full inter-provincial equity in the distribution of its resources
whilst, at the same time, it will progressively introduce decentralized
governance and financial management.
It will be guided by the dictum that whilst there cannot
be development in the country without peace, neither can there be peace without
development. Hence, whilst on the
political side the main aim will be the implementation of the Townsville Peace
Agreement, the economic objective is to increase investment for the
rehabilitation and expansion of economic and social infrastructure, but this
will be done in a manner which will respect the imperatives of inter-provincial
equity. Thus, the provincial distribution of expenditures in the Development
Budget will reflect the provincial distribution of the country’s population.
The MDTS assumes it will take some time before private
investors will confidently and significantly invest their resources to support
economic growth in the Solomon Islands.
Whilst Government is confident that private investors will come back,
and certainly so in the medium-term, in the immediate future it is the
expansion of public investment that must take the lead in the growth of the
economy.
3.0 Policy Framework for the National
Integrated Rural Development Programme
3.1 Relation between NIRDP and National
Planning
4.1 Vision for Rural
Development:
Working Together to Build Communities in Solomon Islands
In Solomon Islands, Rural Development means Provincial
Development.
It means developing the country as a whole in a situation
where there are only very few relatively well developed urban enclaves, namely,
Honiara, Auki and Gizo. In this sense, the Mission of rural development is to
increase the capabilities of provinces in improving the quality of life in
village communities where majority of the people live.
Given the natural physical fragmentation of the country
and the relative weaknesses of government institutions, particularly in the
provinces, the goal will then be to bring information and services to as many
village people as possible so that they can participate in overall national
development and ultimately share its benefits.
4.2 Implementation Strategy for a National Integrated
Rural/Provincial Development Programme
(NIRPDP)
4.2.1 The overall implementation strategy is to strengthen the province
as basic unit for the planning, implementation, management and monitoring of
development plans and programmes
Each province will require technical assistance and
funding support to produce the following outputs:
h.
a Provincial Development Profile
indicating the current situation, including the impact of the recent social
unrest on the delivery of basic services to communities; the existing resources
available; the status of projects (community self-help; provincial, national
and donor-executed projects, their present outreach to communities, and projects
identified as priority by constituencies and community groups); assessment of
provincial government administrative and financial operations;
i.
a Provincial Development
Framework Plan and Budget incorporating specific targets for a given period
per sector; priority areas for service coverage; investment opportunities for
private sector development; commitments
from the national government and donors for priority programmes, etc.);
j.
a
two-year Provincial Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Programme (PRRP) as part of the MDTS indicating
the specific impact of the social unrest to the province and priority areas for
assistance and investment to minimize or overcome such adverse effects of the
crisis;
k.
a Provincial Economic
Growth Strategy identifying a specific comparative advantage vis-à-vis
other provinces or based on an assessment of existing resources which could be
further developed for making available specific products and services to
domestic or overseas markets; and
l.
a Provincial Support Programme
to Develop the Subsistence Economy and its linkage to the formal economy as
part of the overall economic growth stimulus package during the period of
rehabilitation and reconstruction;
m.
a Provincial Support Programme
for Urban Development as part of the Provincial Development Plan indicating
specific linkage to rural-based initiatives, market opportunities, expansion of
current services and improvement in both outreach and quality; and
n.
a
Community-based Provincial Project
Monitoring System
to determine periodically the status of programmes and projects using existing
staff at provincial and substation level, combined with development volunteers
at constituency and village level.
4.3 The National Development Plan will have to deliver a
package of interventions, in terms of policy and programme support, to assist
provinces cope with long-embedded and traditional constraints to developments.
These policy and programme support has to include the
following:
4.3.1
A
comprehensive policy and strategy framework for the provinces indicating a realistic and
multi-faceted development model to enable the provinces to see how their own
respective development relate to the overall national situation; how each
province can contribute to the country’s economic growth; and the specific
benefits to be derived by resource owners and local communities in the
sustainable exploitation of provincial resources.
As indicated earlier, previous national development plans,
including the MDTS, lack regional or spatial dimension. They only reflect the
macro and sectoral aspects. As a result, provincial authorities and local
communities do not view the particular development of their province in terms
of the larger picture, in terms of an overall national plan.
4.3.2
A
review of the Government’s financial management system to achieve
cost-effectiveness and ensure balanced and equitable development
Questions recently raised by Provinces with regard to the
Government’s financial management include the following:
§
How
can we ensure that Provinces get a better share of the revenue from the
exploitation of their natural resources;
§
What
is the share of national revenue spent on the Provinces;
§
Why
does Government do not fully deliver its Provincial grant allocations;
§
How
can we better incorporate the aspirations and priorities of constituencies and
villages into the national and provincial budget systems;
§
What
is the capacity of Provincial Governments to operate a decentralized financial
management system.
The key issues which need to be addressed by the proposed
financial management review will include the following:
Under the current financial management system, the village
people do not feel they are getting a fair share of the national budget. Some people see their
Ward/Constituency/Province as contributing significantly to national revenue
through natural resource taxation; however, they do not see a return of
benefits in terms of grants and services.
The country has a large subsistence economy and a small
monetised sector. Most Solomon
Islanders depend on subsistence farming and fishing for their home consumption
and livelihood. Subsistence production
includes coconut, fruits, vegetables and fish.
Copra is the most important cash crop in the rural sector.
The monetised sector, on the hand, is based on established
agricultural plantations, logging, fishing, and associated trading, mining,
manufacturing, banking and shipping services, as well as a small tourism
industry. Most domestic exports are
primary goods, the principal ones being timber, fish, cocoa and copra.
Tax revenues come mainly from export duties on natural
resources, import duties, and direct taxes such as company and personal tax.
It has been observed that there appears to be too many
taxes for a small country to administer. There is a need to review the proposal
to introduce a value added tax and simplifying the remaining tax system.
Inland Revenue collections account for over 50% of the
Government’s recurrent revenues. These include personal and corporate taxes, as
well as goods, sales and withholding tax.
The Customs Department collects a significant portion of
the remaining Government revenue through import and export duties and excise
taxes. The largest Customs export
collections are on palm products, timber and fish.
It is these resource taxes, along with the recent mineral
export duty, that communities and villages see being exploited with minimum
return to the resource owners.
An important issue for the National Government to resolve
is to have clear policies on the exploitation of these resources to ensure
sustainability . The other issue is to
determine the rightful owners of these resources and to see a greater portion
of tax revenues returned to the Province from where the resources have been
extracted.
One issue in resource allocation is the share for the
Provinces. The current budget system
seems not transparent in terms of its resource allocation to Provinces. The Provinces have three sources of
revenues: local revenue generation; provincial grants; and indirect payments by
national government. Whilst the first two are clear, the third item seems to be
vague as far as provincial governments are concerned.
Local revenue generation is quite limited in the
Provinces. Sources for this revenue are
license fees, head tax, rates, building rental, etc. People do not usually pay due to transport constraints, limited
cash resources, and the generally negative attitude based on the perception
that no return will materialize via service delivery. The cost to Provinces of actually collecting this local revenue
often outweighs the actual revenue collected. Due to the limited cash economy,
Provincial Governments cannot be expected to raise local revenues.
Direct grants consist of health (including malaria),
education and recurrent components. Provinces have complained about so much
delay in the providing these grants. They observe that these grants are usually
diverted to pay for the salaries and wages of Honiara-based government
employees. This indicates a major
problem in the Government’s financial management system and causes a breakdown
in service delivery to the villages and constituencies.
The indirect grant consists of the salaries and wages of
employees in the Provinces that are paid directly from the National
Government’s consolidated fund. The
Provinces cannot determine the actual amount of indirect grants coming from the
National Government.
Hence, before the specific inequities in the system can be
changed, there is a need for the general public and the provincial governments
to be better informed about the current system.
It is a common experience in Solomon Islands that revenue
targets fail to materialize due to poor
revenue forecasting. An analysis of the last 5 years budgets against actual
revenues shows there is a problem in the revenue forecasting process. In 4 out of these 5 years, actual revenue
collections were down on average by 13 percent on the budget projection. This situation frustrates financial
management and repeatedly sees service delivery expectations failing to be met.
The granting of remissions or any form of tax break during
a fiscal year undermines the original revenue forecast and result in a
shortfall of revenue. In the past, the
Government has often resorted to deficit financing rather than the more
difficult fiscally responsible task of living within its means. As a result, the Government now finds itself
in a situation of excessive debt burden.
The situation calls for a review and specific measures to
improve revenue forecasting and to discourage practices which result in deficit
financing.
The current budget process does not integrate the
aspirations and priorities of the people at village and constituency
level. Expenditure by Ministries is
used to decide resource allocation priorities.
This practice encourages incremental budgeting in which resource
allocation for the coming year is based on what was given last year.
The result is that
resource allocation is likely to move further away from current priorities, a
situation that makes people more frustrated with government. This has become a
major problem in Solomon Islands and was a major factor in the social unrest
over the last two years.
There is a need to develop a budget system that ensures a
balanced and equitable allocation of government resources.
The mechanisms for the allocation of the development
budget also require review
and assessment. The Provinces feel that the process of
formulation and implementation of development projects is undertaken at
national level and in isolation from those in the communities most affected by
the proposed developments.
Rural people play minimal role in project planning and
implementation. They are not consulted
during the planning stage. As a result, they have developed a “cargo cult,”
depending on “hand-outs” from the Province, Member of Parliament or development
partners to carry out activities.
Provinces such as Temotu feel that their isolation
accounts for their not receiving an equitable share of the development
budget. For most provinces, proper
mechanisms and linkages with National Government simply do not exist. Hence,
they are effectively cut off from any meaningful contact with the donor
community.
This whole process of allocating development programmes
and projects by Ministries, as well as the lack of participation of Provincial
governments and local communities in development planning and implementation,
needs to be assessed as part of comprehensive review of the budgetary
allocation mechanisms of Government.
This aspect of tax administration will be part of a
thorough review. Any effort to decentralise tax administration will require
upgrading skills in the provinces. Even without full decentralization of this
government function, there is a need to review existing capacities at
provincial level and institute a training programme to prepare provincial
government officers to undertake more responsibilities vis-à-vis a restructured
financial management system.
It has been observed that in the country there is a lack
of effective fiscal responsibility legislation to ensure transparency,
accountability, and fiscal discipline both at national and provincial levels.
Due to this constraint, no reporting systems exist or, if they do, they are not
being used, to ensure accountability to villages and constituencies for
expenditures at the provincial level.
There are also basic communication and reporting issues
that are hindering effective service delivery at the provincial level. Many provincial staff are seconded staff
from National Ministries and they rely on the Ministry for information, advice,
and financial and logistical support.
Due to lack of such support, the provincial substations have become
“money consumption units” that are not significantly improving services in the
rural areas.
Many provincial staff appear to be reporting to two
bodies, the Provincial Governments they work with, and the National Ministry
they work under. The proposed review
should indicate specific measures to define linkages between the seconded staff
and the National Ministry to clearly identify reporting responsibilities.
Provincial governments need policy guidance and technical
assistance from the National Government to articulate clear fiscal policies and
strategies, in areas such as:
§
provincial
government share of the local economy;
§
proposed
provincial expenditure by function;
§
proposed
expenditure within functions (governance, policy advice, social services,
private sector development).
In the long run, these policies and strategies will serve
as accountability tools that the villages and constituencies will use to measure
the performance of Provincial Governments.
4.3.3 Conduct a comprehensive study of land issues and initiate
vigorous and purposeful efforts to involve all stakeholders in resolving them
Solomon Islands is a nation encompassing a total area of
1.3 million square kilometers. Of this
area, only three percent (3%) is land; the rest is covered with ocean. Of the
total land area, 11,829 sq. kms. are arable land whilst 16,796 sq. kms. are
rugged mountains, valleys, rapids and swamps.
Of the country’s total landmass, about fifteen percent
(15%) is registered, whilst eighty five
percent (85%) is customary land. The
government owns ninety percent (90%) of all registered land. This amounts to 3,830 sq. kms.
Most of the land, therefore, rests in the hands of
indigenous tribes all over the country. How to use this land for development
without compromising the social security of the people has been a perennial
problem in Solomon Islands. Two land tenure systems in fact exist: one is the
introduced view that land is a property that can be owned by a single landlord
or entity; and the other is the traditional view of land entrenched in the
subsistence practices of indigenous Solomon Islanders.
All alienated land in the country is covered by written
legislation, the Land and Titles Act.
Unwritten customary laws peculiar to distinct islands or communities, on
the other hand, cover customary land tenure.
Both systems, however, need a thorough review to determine their
efficacy in settling land disputes, which have increased significantly in
recent years.
Most land disputes are related to the marketability of
land rather than disputes over places of worship, burial grounds and other
traditional affinities. Many see the
need to codify customary land laws to be used by courts in settling these
disputes.But others see this as a way to supplant the traditional land tenure
system with a foreign system.
Since Independence, successive governments have announced
efforts to address land issues in recognition of the fact that access to land
is vital to overall national development.
The transfer, for instance of alienated land to traditional owners and
provincial governments, has been proclaimed as a policy by all successive governments.
In line with this policy, the previous government has returned alienated land
to provincial governments in Guadalcanal, Central Province, Isabel and Temotu.
Meanwhile, the government met difficulties in identifying
the original landowning groups. Moreover, conflict normally arises among tribes
or clans who are descendants of the original group.
The Customary Lands Recording Act of 1994 was passed to
record the “true owners” of customary land throughout the country. The law provides for a step-by-step process
to document ownership by a clan or tribe. There are also requirements for the
publication of records, solving disputes and tribal conflicts over land. The recording process, however, is carried
out on a voluntary basis.
There are those who suspect that educated citizens and the
elites will use this recording legislation to manipulate and exploit illiterate
landowners.
In efforts to resolve land issues, the National Government
can start by conducting an assessment of recommendations previously submitted
by well-meaning individuals and groups.
The recommendations cited in a recent paper include the
following:
The land-related issues which have been suggested to be
included are as follows –
·
Freedom
of movement and freedom of settlement;
·
Issues
arising from inter-island marriages or marriages between matrilineal and
matrilineal societies which pertain to conflicting rules on owning land or
inheriting land;
·
Multi-ethnic
composition of the country and their implications to variations in traditions
and cultures defining land use and ownership.
Current moves towards decentralization through a
State/Federal Government system will have to be complemented by measures such
as the decentralization of the functions of the Office of the Commissioner of
Lands; the Office of the Surveyor General; the Registrar of Titles; and the
Office of the Valuer General.
It is proposed in the paper that alienated land should be
developed first prior to their return to original landowners or provincial
governments. Establishing the original landowners will require tedious
investigation, but this has to be done to avoid potential problems.
Given the differences in cultures, languages and customs
relating to land rights in the country, it may not be appropriate to have a
single legislation to cover customary land. It is recommended that provinces be
given the right to codify their own customary laws within a general legislation
on land.
Once customary laws are codified, land courts can use
them. These courts are to be administered by customary groups who are well
versed in their own customs. In
relation to customary land courts, procedures for settling land disputes must
be built into the modern court system.
Conduct nation-wide consultations
on land issues
In the aftermath of a devastating social conflict, a root
cause of which could be traced to land-related issues, it has been recommended
that nation-wide consultations be undertaken by the appropriate government
agency to clarify these issues and seek all possible suggestions and ideas on
how resolve them.
Without such resolution, any programme on rural and
provincial development will not be sustainable in the long run.
4.3.3
Establish
Sound Rural Financial Intermediaries and Market
A vicious cycle of low capital, low productivity, low
incomes, low savings, and low capital has operated in the rural areas where
eighty five percent (85%) of the people reside. Rural credit has been extended to the people to help break this
cycle. The Government, through the support of foreign donor governments and
multilateral financial institutions, have established special schemes to
support credit in rural areas. These range from the popular micro loan scheme,
loans for rural trading and marketing centers, cattle loans, cooperative loans,
plantation loans, rural based industrial loans, the EU/RTC/DBSI Rural Credit
Schemes, and the current RCDF Family Credit Schemes.
At the core of these credit programmes is the Development
Bank of Solomon Islands established by an Act of Parliament in 1977 and
commenced operations on January 1, 1978. Its major objective is the promotion
of rural development by making short, medium to long term loans to rural
entrepreneurs and communities.
DBSI has branch offices in all the provincial
capital. It has gained considerable
experience in rural lending, though most of them unpleasant and at the expense
of the institution’s viability.
The other agencies in the country’s rural financial system
are as follows:
Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI)
The Central Bank of Solomon Islands plays a supportive
role in rural credit and financial markets.
The Governor is the Registrar of Credit Unions. The CBSI administers a
guarantee scheme to support shortfall in the value of securities under the
Small Business Finance Scheme for clients nominated by the DBSI and the
commercial banks. It also has a weekly
programme on finance and money matters aired by SIBC.
The three (3) commercial banks traditionally lend only
clients in provincial centers but mobilize savings from the rural areas. In recent years, the commercial banks have
reduced their provincial operations. About five (5) years ago, the National
Bank of Solomon Islands closed all its rural banking agents.
With its in-built function requiring members to save,
credit unions have the potential to mobilize rural savings and provide low cost
financial services at the village level. Unfortunately, more than 50% of
registered credit unions are now defunct. Its growth can no longer be sustained
and the whole credit union movement needs a thorough evaluation prior to
seeking further support from the Government and international donors such as
IFAD.
Here is a brief assessment of past and present credit
programmes in the country:
The supporting agency is the Cooperative Division of the
Ministry of Commerce. The programme is funded by a grant from the United
Kingdom. It has had high default and delinquency rate. Management problems has plagued the
movement, as well as with APEX Central Cooperative Agency and the Solomon
Wholesale Union.
From the DBSI’s experience, it was generally observed that
the nuclear and immediate family organisation has a higher success rate in
sustaining their business than cooperatives and community grouping.
The country’s cooperative movement has been experiencing
continual decline since the 1980s.
The supporting government agencies are the Land Use
Development Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, with expatriate managers,
and the Cooperative Division. It is funded under the same UK grant for
cooperatives.
DBSI organized the community, normally the original
landowning group, to form a cooperative, get a loan and purchase the
plantations owned by expatriates. Under
the scheme, old coconut plantations were rehabilitated; cocoa growing and
cattle farming were undertaken. When the prices of copra and cocoa dropped, the
community members became disillusioned and abandoned their loyalty to the
group. There was weak management and the members engaged in petty quarrels and
arguments.
The programme had good repayment performance. The
management problems set in after the loans were paid and the members felt they
were not getting fair returns for their hard work.
Micro-loans
This programme, funded by the New Zealand Government, was
more a pilot project on rural lending and development. Loans were extended for
acquiring outboard motors, chainsaw to clear the land for agriculture and to
improve rural housing.
Loans
up to $1,000 were secured against personal guarantees. All loans were
eventually written off on account of high default and loan delinquency. The loan administration cost was considered
high, too.
The programme, funded by a soft loan from the Asian
Development Bank, was implemented by the Cattle Development Authority (CDA),
later renamed the Livestock Development Authority (LDA). The CDA/LDA provided
technical advice on pasture, cattle husbandry management and other aspects of
cattle development. The Authority, however, was not able to sustain its role
and, as a result, smallholder cattle projects experienced poor pasture,
inadequate technical support and transport difficulties. Almost all the cattle
projects collapsed.
The few successful cattle projects were located on the
Guadalcanal plains where farmers had the advantage of being closer to markets,
access to good transport facilities and technical advice.
Rural Trading (Marketing Centres)
The
Ministry of Commerce and Primary Industries appraised and made decisions on
projects. DBSI kept the funds and
released them as directed by the Ministry. The loans were interest free. On top
of the loan, a $1,000 grant was given to enable the recipients to construct a
building, buy transport equipment and provide capital to purchase copra and
cocoa.
The programme experienced high loan default and delinquencies. All loans were eventually written off
against the grant. Weak management of
marketing centers was cited as the cause why the programme failed.
This programme was funded through a credit line from the
European Development Fund (EDF). DBSI had relatively more say in terms of
equity requirements than in previous programmes. Personal guarantee, for
instance, was not accepted under this new scheme.
The programme performed slightly better than previous
schemes. It had less cases of loan defaults. Small-scale projects were funded
in agriculture, rural manufacturing, retail and wholesale and in services.
EU/RTC/DBSI Credit Scheme
This
revolving credit programme, funded through a Human Resources Development
Project assisted by the European Union, was administered by the DBSI. Normal application fees and charges were
waived as well as security and equity requirements to improve access by
graduates of the Rural Training Centres (RTCs).
With their training, the RTC graduates were expected to
manage their projects better and pay off their loans. As strategy to keep their account in order, new applicants from
the RTCs were not given unless the loans were paid. They could exert pressure
on the borrowers to pay their loans. Unfortunately
for the scheme, the graduates did not live within the same geographic area as
the applicants or the catchment area of the RTC.
Because of high default, DBSI and the European Union
decided to terminate the programme.
This programme, funded through a credit line made
available by the International Cooperation and Development Fund, Republic of
China, is still implemented by the Government. A grant component is used to
compensate for shortfalls in equity and security requirements. The CBSI 80%
loan guarantee of the unsecured portion of approved loans is also available to
borrowers. These measures have improved access to the credit scheme. Prior to
submission to the Bank, however, the Member of Parliament must endorse loan
applications. This requirement exposes
the scheme to misuse, e.g. endorsing on the basis of political considerations
and not on the merits of the proposal.
Experiences from these credit schemes indicate that the
following are causes of failure, as indicated by high default and delinquency
rates; lack of sustainability; and lack of replicability:
§
Problems
arising from project design;
§
General
low level of economic activities in many rural communities;
§
Inadequate
infrastructure and poor transportation;
§
Limited
market outlets and demand;
§
Lack
of entrepreneurial drive and poor business management skills;
§
Willful
defaulting;
§
Legacy
of the “handout” mentality;
§
Land
disputes;
§
Poor
coordination amongst the participating agencies;
§
Inadequate
Bank loan administration and lack of supervision capacity.
Here are recommendations on how to improve the rural
financial markets:
·
The
concerned rural financial institution must charge the appropriate interest rate
that will cover the full financial, operational and loan risk costs.
With an adequate interest spread, the financial
institution can be profitable and sustainable and will continue to provide
financial services to its rural clientele and reduce its dependence on
government support and subsidy.
·
Mobilisation
of rural savings to ensure self-reliance and paying an appropriate real
interest rates on these deposits.
This can be possible if the lending rates are set high as
indicated above. Rural savings facility
is lacking the rural communities and, therefore, farmers and entrepreneurs are
not able to save part of their income for future use. Loan clients may have more discipline if they know they are
borrowing their neighbours’ savings.
·
The
financial institution must be committed to the rural communities.
Branch and sub-branch offices must be given some form of
autonomy and should be close to their clientele. They should be operated as profit centers.
·
Shifting
the focus from loan approval and disbursement to loan recovery and savings
mobilization.
Credit cannot be created on its own; its source is
savings. Rural communities must be encouraged to save.
·
Staff
retraining must be undertaken.
This
is important to enable the financial institution to perform its demanding task.
·
Providing
incentives to good paying clients.
Interest
rebate and promise of future loans are examples of incentives. It is also good to link staff incentives to
the performance of the loan portfolio.
·
Setting
in place appropriate legal and suitable external supervision framework.
This will deal with ceilings on lending rates, reserve
requirements on deposits, and the imposition of mandatory lending and
prudential banking standards.
For any credit programme to succeed,
two basic principles must be adhered to:
§
client
discipline; and
§
institutional
discipline.
Client discipline means that rural farmers and rural
entrepreneurs in our communities take responsibilities for their decisions,
agreeing to and making repayments on their loan on time. Client discipline not only serves the
individual client but also other clients, future clients, and the financial
institution. Clients prosper when they
do not bear the burden of repaying other people’s debts. Future clients prosper when capital is
recycled again to reach more rural farmers and entrepreneurs.
Institutional
discipline refers to a set of practices that will lead to the sustainability of credit programmes,
quality service, and operational efficiency, and these include the following:
§
Charging
interest rates to cover all costs (not necessary where support is given; the
benefit of low cost borrowing can be transferred to the rural borrower);
§
Requiring
full on time repayment and tracking repayments on a regular and frequent basis;
§
Creating
lending and savings products and delivery techniques appropriate for rural
clients, which also include simplifying lending and savings procedures and
processes;
§
Improving
and investing in management information systems that provide timely and
appropriate guidance to staff and management;
§
Providing
rural branch staff with performance incentives;
§
Introducing
sufficient decentralization to branch and sub-branch office;
§
Adequate
internal control system and external supervision preferably by CBSI.
The
financial institution should be located in an identified rural growth centre or
an Integrated Area Development Project (IADP) site in a province.
4.3.4
Formulate
a Long-term Plan for Rural Infrastructure Development
Here are observations on the status of rural
infrastructure development in Solomon Islands:
o
Rural
infrastructure has not been a priority of successive national and provincial
governments since Independence. National and provincial budgets have had less
allocations for infrastructure than for basic services.
o
Recent
infrastructure seems to have been built only to improve the appearance of the
place, e.g. Telekom buildings. These projects seem be sporadic in distribution
and cosmetic in appearance. They have not been based on substantial amount of
planning and consultations.
o
Rural
infrastructure development is hampered by the country’s predominantly customary
land tenure system. Bina Harbour in
Malaita, for instance, took almost fifteen (15) years to get started due to
land disputes.
o
Provincial
governments do not have the resources to maintain rural infrastructure, such as
schools, roads, clinics. In most cases, these facilities are deteriorating.
Some buildings have become ghost houses.
o
Local
communities depend on Government for maintaining the infrastructure in their
area. They perceive roads and bridges as government property and wait for
government to look after them.
o
Delays
in infrastructure construction are sometimes due to misuse of public funds or
to politicians and high-ranking government officials meddling with
construction, e.g. where to locate the road, clinic, etc; whom to hire;
Rural
infrastructure can stimulate economic growth and extend the outreach of
services to the rural communities. It can make possible amenities and
facilities that can attract back to the province those who have left for
Honiara.
The
reference paper recommends the following:
§
For
the National Government to formulate a 20-Year Infrastructure Development Plan
for each of the Provinces
Previous experience has proven that 5-year plans do not
work when it comes to infrastructure. A
longer time frame is more realistic considering a number of problems that have
to be overcome, e.g. funding, resolving land issues, community consultations to
finalise locations, etc.
The National Government should be able to articulate a set
of policies that will govern the planning, implementation and management of
rural infrastructure. This will facilitate a well-coordinated approach to
building infrastructure in the provinces based on an overall national
development strategy.
The National Government should be able to define clearly
the roles of provincial governments, churches and NGOs, private sector, local
communities and family heads in the planning, building and maintenance of rural
infrastructure.
§
For
the landowners in each province to be oriented on the importance of building
the infrastructure on their own land.
This orientation should be part of a well-coordinated land
policy.
§
For
the Government to deal with misuse of public funds allocated for rural
infrastructure.
This is both an administrative and political problem that
both national and provincial governments should be able to deal with.
4.3.5
Assist
Provinces to Assume Greater Responsibilities and to Discharge their Tasks under
a more Decentralised Form of Governance
Section 1(a), Part Four, of the Townsville Peace
Agreement, signed on 15 October 2000, states:
Malaita and Guadalcanal Provinces shall be given more
autonomy by devolution or by constitutional amendment to effect
self-governing status in order to allow the people of Malaita and Guadalcanal
to look after their own affairs and to provide for the needs of their growing
population.
(Underscoring supplied).
Section 1(b), also Part Four of the TPA, states:
Within twenty eight days from the date of execution of
this Agreement or at a later date as may be agreed to amongst the parties
hereto, the SIG shall establish a Constitutional Council to rewrite the
Constitution which will provide for more autonomy to provinces, taking
into account such recommendations as may be made by the committees currently
reviewing the provincial government system and also noting the exclusive powers
of Parliament to legislate on such matters. (Underscoring supplied).
The
key phrase is “more autonomy.” Provinces have clamored for more autonomy over
the last two decades since Independence. This popular demand has had a long
history.
Here
are some highlights from the reference paper for this Programme Framework:
The Provincial Government system was introduced in the
second part of the 1970's with the perceived notion of addressing the
governance situation. This was formalized by the adoption of the Provincial Government
Act 1981. Powers remain centralised under this system.
The Provinces have been operating as mere agents of the
Central Government. They only act on directives from the Central Government in
implementing laws and policies.
Since Independence there have been calls by the provinces
for the introduction of Federal/State Government system in Solomon Islands.
Unlike the unitary system of government that gives vast powers to the Central
Government, the federal/state government system entails power sharing between
the federal government and the states.
Under
this system, the question of autonomous status to the States is achievable.
This is one of the elements of the Federal/State government system that appeals
to the provinces. The perception that the Provinces will be able to have some
control over their natural resources and have equitable share from their
utilisation is paramount in their thinking. Other considerations are secondary.
Successive
governments since Independence have exerted efforts to decentralise powers to
the provincial and local governments. Special Committees were appointed to
study and make recommendations on this
vital matter.
A
Special Committee on Provincial Government, chaired by now Sir David Kausimae,
was appointed in December 1977 by the Kenilorea-led government.The committee
delivered its report on 4 May 1979 on presentation to the Minister of Home
Affairs at that time, Hon. Dr. F. R. Kikolo MP. It recommended the introduction
of a state government system following submissions from the entire country.
The
government at that time opted to introduce a bill to formalize the provincial
government system through Provincial Government Act 1981. The Act was however,
difficult to implement partly because it miserably failed to cater to the
political desires of the majority of the people. Hence, the search continued.
The
Alebua-led government appointed another committee in 1986 known as the
Provincial Government Review Committee, chaired by Hon. D. C Lulei. The
Committee delivered its Report on 14 April 1987 to the then Minister of Home
Affairs and Provincial Government, Hon. Andrew Nori. Like the previous report,
the report unanimously recommended the introduction of state government system.
Rather
than heed the recommendation, Hon. Andrew Nori decided to produce instead a Provincial Government Review White Paper.
He proposed improvements to the unitary government system saying that the
evolution of the provincial government system would result in decentralisation
of powers to the provinces.
The
Alebua-led Government appointed another committee, the 1987 Constitutional
Review Committee. Its task was to review the National Constitution with the
view of accommodating the introduction of the State Government system.
The
Sogavare-led Government resuscitated the recommendation of the 1987 committee
in response to the call of Provincial Premiers in their conference in Buala,
Isabel on November, 2000 for the country to adopt a Federal/State Government
System. On December, 2000, the Cabinet
formed a Task Force with the mandate to study and recommend what form of State
government system would be suitable to Solomon Islands.
The
Task Force was formally organized on February 2001 based on this mandate.
Subsequently, on May, 2001, it presented specific recommendations on how the
Constitution could be amended to pave the way for the adoption of what it
called a home-grown Federal/State Government System in Solomon Islands.
The
paper concludes:
The
question of decentralization of powers to lower sectors of government has been
tossed around prior to and since Independence.
Decentralisation of political powers of political powers, equitable
distribution of wealth and development can only be realized meaningfully with
the introduction of the Federal/State Government. The Provincial Government system with its colonial centralized
legacy has failed us with the ultimate result of the ethnic crisis that has
brought this nation into political, social and economic difficulty. It is in the best interest of Solomon
Islands that the next government after the general elections in December 2001
adopts the Federal/State Government system as proposed under the State
Government Taskforce Report if Solomon Islands is to remain one nation. Any
other form of government system or opposition to the introduction of the
Federal/State government system may lead to disintegration and fragmentation of
Solomon Islands into little nations, a scenario that cannot be discounted.
For
too long a time, the Provinces have pursued decentralisation, or devolution of
more political, administrative and other decision-making powers from the centre
to the periphery, as an objective.
The
National Integrated Rural/Provincial Development Programme can serve as a
vehicle to assist Provinces initiate a systematic capability-building process
and prepare for assuming greater responsibilities even before a more
decentralised form of governance is put in place.
The
following strategic activities can be pursued towards this end:
v
Clarification
of the respective roles of the public service employees and the political
leaders in the exercise of governance and administration of services within the
province;
v
Assessment
of the various indigenous institutions and community-based structures utilised
by sectoral agencies in the delivery of basic services, taking into account
their possible formal linkage to appropriate government bodies, such as the
provincial substations, for the purpose of project implementation and
monitoring;
v
Support
to a rural development volunteers scheme
to ensure the involvement of out-of-school youth in village development;
v
Preparation
of a Provincial Substation Improvement Project to be designed as key strategy
in extending the outreach of government programmes to relatively remote rural
villages;
v
Refocusing
the mission of Provincial Development Authorities towards providing support to
the possible expansion of the subsistence economy;
v
Improvement
of the existing communication system amongst villages, between the provincial
centre and the constituencies, and other entities through the use of simple
technologies, such as high frequency radio, solar power, etc.;
v
Identification
of project site/mobilization of resources towards the eventual implementation
of an Integrated Area Development Project (IADP) within the Province;
v
Strengthening
the mechanism for Constituency profiling, action planning and project
development with focus on the participation of disadvantaged villages and
groups.
4.3.6
Building
on the Gains Achieved by the Pilot Project SIDAPP in identifying initial key
components of NIRPDP
See
Annex A, Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development: A
Report on Current Development Initiatives and Their Bearing on Future Policy
Directions.
REFERENCES
UNDP/UQ/ILO
2000, Experts Group Meeting on the Post-Conflict Situation
in Solomon Islands, Brisbane
Forum
Secretariat 1989, Definition of a Pacific Regional Rural Development
Programme, Suva
Ministry
of Planning
and
Human Resources Development 2001, Action Programme for the
Development of Solomon
Islands, 2001-2010, Brussels
Ministry
of Provincial Government
and
Rural Development 2001, A Report on Current Development Initiatives and
Their
Bearing on Future Policy Directions
Kudu,
D. 2001, Concept and Policy Framework for the National Integrated l
Rural Development
Programe for Solomon Islands
Roughan, J. 2001, Creating a Vision Statement
Forau,
P. 2001, Insights on Rural Development in Solomon Islands
Rarawa,
D. and Moveni,R 2001, Macro Economic Issues and How They Impact on
Marginal Rural Communities
Nanau,
G. 2001, Land: Solomon Islands Frustration or Hope
Solomon,
R. 2001, Government Financial Management for Balanced and Equitable
Development
Wate,
M. 2001, Credit and Financial Issues in Solomon Islands Rural Development
Tepai,
M. 2001, Infrastructure Development in Rural Areas of Solomon Islands
Solomon
Islands Government 2000, The Townsville Peace Agreement, Townsville
Tuhaika,
J. 2001, Federal/State Government System and its Impact on Rural
Development
ANNEX A
MINISTRY
OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:
A REPORT ON CURRENT DEVELOPMENT
INITIATIVES AND THEIR BEARING ON FUTURE
POLICY DIRECTIONS
1.0 Background
Consistent
with its commitment to help achieve balanced and equitable development amongst
the country’s provinces and regions, the Ministry has been implementing two
priority programmes since August last year:
The first
initiative has been carried out through the organization of the Provincial
Institutional Strengthening Development Unit (PISDU) and a National Task Force
on the State Government System. The work of these two entities resulted in the
following key accomplishments:
This paper will deal with how the second initiative,
SIDAPP, the pilot programme on participatory profiling and planning, has been
focusing on key concerns that will have relevance on the future policy
directions of the Ministry.
In line
with the policy direction of the Ministry under the new Government, SIDAPP
refocused its activities to complement the thrust to evolve a decentralized
government system and to support current peace and development efforts.
Under the
new Minister, SIDAPP provided technical assistance to enable Task Force members
to conduct consultations in the various provinces. It committed staff to the
Millennium Conference of Premiers held in Buala in October 1999.
With the
Minister’s request and direction, the project liaised with donor agencies,
namely, ADB, World Bank, UNDP Suva, UNOPS Kuala Lumpur, and ILO to articulate
the Ministry’s thrust under the new Government.
As part
of its provincial profiling activity, the project conducted an initial study on
the financial and economic resources available in each province.
The
project reproduced and distributed discussion papers to resource persons,
political leaders, and representatives of communities, and churches to ensure a
sound information base during provincial consultations. The SIDAPP teams and
community networks were mobilized to stimulate discussions on issues related to
the Ministry’s two key initiatives.
Moreover,
in support of the new Government’s peace and development objectives, SIDAPP in
August, 1999 recruited and trained 90 student volunteers from USP and SICHE and
attached them to teams in constituencies all over the country. These were students who could not go back to
their classes on account of the Government’s severe cash flow problem.
The
project also employed a number of faculty members from SICHE, as well as senior
officers from other government agencies who were placed on leave without pay,
to serve as trainers and coordinators of the Peace and Development Volunteers.
During
the tripartite review of the project conducted in February this year by the
Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the host Ministry –
Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development, and the funding and
executing agencies (United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations
Office for Project Services) approved the following recommendations:
2.1
National
Integrated Rural Development Programme (NIRDP)
2.1.1
Background/Justification
Over the last two decades after
Independence, all the provinces have consistently articulated the view that a
balanced and equitable development is needed to preserve national unity and
ensure social cohesion of the country’s diverse ethnic and language groups. The
recent ethnic unrest has brought national attention to urgent issues associated
with this demand. In response, the
Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development has been pursuing in
recent months a twin strategy to ensure that:
a)
the country’s highly centralised system of
governance will be modified to facilitate greater participation of provinces
and local communities in political decision-making, as well as in the
utilisation of their resources and sharing of benefits from such resources; and
b)
each of the nine (9) provinces will be involved to
assess its own development situation; identify its resources and potential;
determine its comparative socio-economic advantage vis-à-vis other provinces;
and formulate its own unique strategies for overall development and service
delivery, taking into account the need to view these strategies within
the national aspiration for “unity in diversity.”
Whilst SIDAPP as pilot project
carried out in three (3) provinces will end by December this year, the National
Integrated Rural Development Programme (NIRDP), agreed to by all Provincial
Governments, will succeed it. It is expected to be as a
multi-donor programme.
to cover all the
country’s provinces.
The new programme will build on
SIDAPP’s accomplishments during the last four (4) years. It will use the lessons learnt and after
modification for local circumstances, modify the systems, procedures, training
modules and other participatory methodologies that have been field-tested and
developed by SIDAPP to suit the conditions obtaining in each of the nine (9)
provinces.
The preparation of the initial
5-Year National Integrated Rural Development Programme (2002 – 2006) will mark
the first time that the Ministry or, for that matter, the central government,
will have a comprehensive approach to the need for balanced and equitable
development amongst the country’s provinces and regions.
2.1.2 NIRDP Formulation Process
The following activities have
been done so far:
§
Collection of data and information with
bearing on rural development for all nine (9) provinces;
§
Preparation of 9 Provincial Development
Profiles based on the collected data;
§
Updating of these profiles with political
leaders, government officers, and local communities through provincial
consultation meetings;
§
Formulation of core development strategies based on the updated
profiles;
§
Preparation and printing of the Atlas of
Solomon Islands, a collection of more than 100 maps indicating current
resources and services available for rural development in each of the nine (9)
provinces;
§
Restructuring of the Provincial Government
Development Unit into the Rural Development Division in preparation for the
implementation of the proposed National Integrated Rural Development
Programme;
§
Organisation of a 15-member National Rural
Development Task Force to serve as “think tank” for policies, strategies and
issues recommended to be part of the national programme;
§
Conduct of an initial study on the financial
and economic resources in each of the provinces and preparation of terms of
reference for a future study on how the provinces can effectively raise
revenues and manage their own finances;
§
Establishment of the People First Internet
Café, base station and one email station to test the simple and appropriate
technologies being proposed for a rural information and communication system.
2.1.3 Key Programme Strategy for Integrated Rural Development in Solomon
Islands
Previous
development strategies so far formulated and implemented in the country have
assumed that one model will fit all the country’s provinces and islands. They have been based on the assumption that
all provinces are the same in resources, level of skills and status of
infrastructure development. The result is
that so many investments have resulted in ineffective plans and programmes.
Strategies based on this assumption have merely widened the gap amongst the
provinces and contributed to the present lack of balanced and equitable
development.
The
Ministry will work closely with the Ministry of National Planning and Human
Resources Development in formulating the NIRDP Indicative Plan for the period
2002-2006. The key strategy is to classify the provinces according to specific
stage of development and to adjust service delivery and budgetary allocations
in accordance with their development category.
Hence,
in terms of their natural resources, level of available skilled manpower and
status of infrastructure development, the nine provinces can be grouped as
follows:
Group A: Guadalcanal, Malaita, and Western
Province. These provinces have relatively abundant natural resources; more
skilled human resources; fairly developed physical and social infrastructure.
Group B: Central Province, Choiseul,
Isabel, and Makira. These provinces have also relatively abundant, but
unexploited natural resources; less skilled human resources; and less developed
basic infrastructure.
Group C: Rennell and Bellona, Temotu. These provinces have severe limitations in natural and human resources
skills; they have narrow market base; they are far from markets; isolated,
fragmented and have largely undeveloped infrastructure.
Once
these categories are accepted by the Government, development partners,
provincial governments, Constituencies and local communities, the NIRDP will
recommend the appropriate mix of assistance to ensure the maximum impact of
plans and programmes to the development of rural communities and the province
as a whole.
For
instance, high-finance commercial investments can be encouraged in Group A
provinces, but may not be suitable at the present stage to those in Group C.
Group B will require relatively more assistance in developing their
infrastructure and manpower prior to launching big commercial ventures. Group C,
on the other hand, will need initially more of the micro-projects (costing
SBD10, 000 or below) to cater to the urgent needs of isolated village
communities until such time that they can build adequate skills and
infrastructure level for economic projects appropriate to their resources and
target markets.
2.1.4 Support Measures to Strengthen Decentralised
Administration in Preparation for the Full Operations of a Federal/State
Government System
Even
prior to the adoption and establishment of the State Government system, the
following measures can be undertaken to lay the groundwork for
decentralized public sector and
financial administration:
§
Establishment of a rural based communication
system, using low-cost information technologies, to facilitate the flow of development
information amongst the various provinces, between provincial centers and the
isolated islands and villages, as well as the Honiara-based government centre
and the remote provincial areas, and thus ensure a sense of national unity and
mutual inter-dependence amongst all parts of the country and its diverse social
groups;
§
Upgrading of all provincial substations to
improve the delivery of basic services (e.g. health clinics; kindergartens, primary
schools; water
supply and sanitation; agricultural extension, basic
infrastructure, etc.) to rural communities;
§
Strengthening the Provincial Development
Authority as investment arm of the provincial government with capabilities to:
-
support the expansion of existing
small-scale enterprises;
-
support current government-funded business
undertakings with sound with management advice and inputs;
-
tap new markets for village produce; and
-
link credit facilities to smallholders and
new entrepreneurs, etc.
§
Improving the tax revenue base of each
province and strengthening the financial management system to ensure the full
success of the decentralization of government functions.
2.2 Organisation of the Rural Development
Division at the Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development
2.2.1
Background/Rationale
The Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural
Development established the Provincial Government Development Unit (PGDU) with
the inception in November 1997 of the UNDP-funded (and UNOPS-executed) Solomon
Islands Development Administration and Participatory Planning Programme
(SIDAPP). Under SIDAPP, the PGDU served as the capability-building and training
arm of the Ministry in implementing project activities.
Like other government units, PGDU operations were
suspended in July 2000 as the ethnic conflict further intensified. As indicated
earlier, SIDAPP modified its activities in response to the call of the new
Government to reorient direction in support of peace and development efforts.
Thus, for the rest of last year to early 2001,
SIDAPP launched new initiatives, including: the training of peace and
development volunteers; the launching of a volunteers programme with SICHE; and
the preparation and submission of rehabilitation projects for the support of
donor agencies, such as Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, UN-Japan
Human Security Fund, and the EU Micro projects Programme.
These new activities were implemented using ad hoc
structures, such as the National Core Team of Trainers (NCTT), Provincial Core
Team of Trainers (PCTT), and the teams of volunteers linked to project staff in
each province. The PGDU has remained suspended during the period.
During
the review of the project in February this year, it was proposed that instead
of reviving the PGDU, the Rural Development Division (RDD) be established
within the Ministry. NIRDP needs to be
institutionalized as the official national programme of the Ministry to take
the place of SIDAPP, which is a pilot undertaking.
The
recommendation was approved since a national programme would need a focal point
from within the Ministry to ensure systematic coordination of the planning,
implementation, management and monitoring of plans and projects involving all
nine provinces.
2.2.2 Key
Task and Functions of the Rural Development Division
Key Task
To plan, implement and monitor a
national programme on rural development involving all provincial/State
governments and local communities
Core
Functions
2.2.3
Current Status of the Division
Initial
discussions were undertaken between SIDAPP and the Public Service Division on
the concept paper, structure and staffing of the proposed Rural Development
Division.
On
the basis of these preparatory discussions, the Division was reorganized, the
existing staff reassigned to sections based on the new structure and new
positions proposed for inclusion in next year’s budget.
In
August this year, an agreement was signed with the Japanese Grassroots
Development Initiative that the RDD extend technical assistance in project
development to village communities and to monitor Japan-funded projects in
several provinces.
The
Embassy of Japan has also funded water supply projects identified by SIDAPP in
Isabel, Malaita and Rennell and Bellona.
Meanwhile,
a draft Memorandum of Understanding is being prepared that will define the role
of the RDD in the EU-funded Micro-projects Programme. A number of projects
identified and documented by the SIDAPP team are now being considered for
funding by the programme.
2.3 People
First Network (PFnet): A Rural-Based Information and Communication System as
Vital Component of the National Integrated Rural Development Programme
2.3.1 Background/Rationale
The Solomon Islands consists of roughly 850
islands, mostly undeveloped. Modern
telecommunications only exist in the capital Honiara and a few provincial centres.
Outside Honiara, Internet is available without the use of personal satellite
equipment only in Gizo and Auki (currently cut off following the ethnic
tension). There are no cable links to overseas or between islands.
Currently, most provinces remain very
isolated from the main administrative and commercial areas of the country.
Transportation is rare and expensive, sometimes irregular, and does not allow
for systematic communication such as postal service, let alone information
exchange in the form of newsprint distribution. The postal service largely
collapsed and has stopped reaching poor and remote areas, due to the defaulting
of payment by the postal authorities to the single airline company (Solomon
Airlines) that ensures regular links to all provinces.
The main mode of inter-island (and within-island)
communication is by HF (Short Wave) radio transceiver for voice transmission.
Although such radios are widespread, there is usually only one channel
available for an entire Province and the signal quality is often very poor due
to the distances, mountainous terrain, and interference.
The whole of the population is affected by inadequate
communication facilities. The Provincial HQs and other professionals such as
teachers find it difficult to hear about and respond to notifications from
central government in time. Tourism lodges are effectively at the mercy of
inefficient central booking offices and cannot respond quickly. Likewise,
business people offering investment opportunities and products find it almost
impossible to contact from overseas.
Communicating about personal affairs and more urgent matters such as illnesses
is always very difficult and unreliable. It is also costly; the standard charge
to make a radio call on a private or Provincial Government radio is SBD$5
(US$1).
Rural development is obviously hindered by the
communications problems. Field workers, for instance, cannot get data back to
their central offices without arranging their own mobile systems. Businesses
hesitate to move out to areas where there is no communication infrastructure.
Extension services by agencies involved in rural development are hampered by
lack of a nationwide communication system.
In addition, inadequate communication infrastructure also
makes it difficult to build national unity. It impedes smooth flow of
information and prevents understanding amongst diverse social groups.
There is, therefore, a need to establish a rural-based
information and communication system to help facilitate development in the rural
areas and the country as a whole.
2.3.2 Goal and Major Activities
The goal of this important
component of rural development is to establish an information and communication
system that will provide vital information management and support services to
isolated islands and villages. It seeks to strengthen the capacity of Solomon
Islanders to implement, manage and maintain such a system
The following are the expected key
outputs of the proposed project:
§
Point-to-point communications to and from the remote provinces of the
Solomon Islands by creating the capacity for establishing and maintaining a low-cost,
self-sustaining email system with public access points in several provincial
locations and the main urban areas of the country;
§
Rural development and peace-related information flows and knowledge
building among all rural and urban social groups, using the potential of new
information and communication technologies such as email, etc.;
§
Adequate provision of information by development and peace organisations,
including policy makers, other government officials, development agencies,
NGOs, the media, and other stakeholders.
To enable the use of new
information technologies for the sharing of relevant information, most rural
development and peace agencies in the Solomon Islands still need extensive
training. The first major activity will thus aim at facilitating networking
through the capacity building of partners to deploy and use appropriate email
systems, as well as electronic mailing lists and forums.
In response to the most pressing
communication needs, and to improve point-to-point communication within
existing networks (extended families, professional peers, commercial partners),
the project will first emphasise training and capacity building of project
participants for the deployment, maintenance and use of an email system based
on technologies appropriate to the difficult situation of rural areas.
Through its network of volunteers
and with the cooperation of the provincial authorities, the Ministry will
assist partners to establish and operate rural email stations. This will
include a participatory process of site selection, recruitment of volunteers,
training and institutional capacity building, and community awareness raising.
The PFnet volunteers will operate
the provincial rural email stations. The email station operators will be
extensively trained to use and maintain the equipment (radio and computer), the
email and other information software, and will provide the email and information
services to the community. Many young people who attended schools in recent
years have the necessary skills to operate such equipment. Due to the
deteriorating peace and order situation in Honiara, some of these former
students have returned to their villages.
Villagers do not need to operate
the computers themselves, but will rely on the volunteer for typing, sending,
receiving and printing emails, or for finding information available. This will
promote broad access to email.
Knowledge of English is not required (messages can be sent in any
language); literacy is not a factor to use the rural email service. The
volunteers will handle everything.
In addition to email, the project
will also train partners and information providers (government officials,
development agencies, NGOs, media organisations, and other stakeholders) at
using electronic conferencing tools, in particular the email-based mailing
lists. Through this, the project intends to provide a facility to make possible
the smooth interchange of information amongst and between people in remote
rural locations, and between the people and professional organisations serving
them.
PFnet will work closely with
existing and potential information providers to raise their awareness and
develop their capacity to manage information through electronic mailing lists
and respond to the needs of the rural people. This will include training on
emailing list maintenance, the building of question and answer e-forums, and
the capacity to search other sources on the Internet to find information needed
by the people.
For example, PFnet will assist
government offices responsible for cyclone monitoring and disaster prevention
and mitigation to use mailing lists in the broadcasting of warnings,
discussions of appropriate measures, and rapid exchange of information on what
is happening.
Information can be shared in
similar ways, through simple email-only technologies, for other activities in
the field of fisheries, small-scale manufacturing, trade, natural resource
management and tourism.
The young people who operate the
rural email stations will be trained as community journalists. They will be trained to report on events
from their remote villages to the national radio service, SIBC, Solomon Star and
other mass media channels.
To ensure accessibility to all
social sectors, in particular in remote and poorest provinces of the Solomon
Islands, PFnet will provide technical and capital support for the deployment of
appropriate, inexpensive and community-controlled rural email system, largely
based on two-way short-wave radios (HF) already in use.
This technology has been in used
for over a decade, but at different levels of accessibility and cost. Now found
in many countries, notably in sparsely populated and undeveloped areas of
Africa, data transmission over HF radios has more recently become increasingly
easy and cheaper to use.
PFnet will initially focus its
activities where the weakest penetration of telecommunication and information
is found to be, largely in the most remote provinces of Choiseul, Temotu,
Makira, Rennell and Bellona, and the Weather Coast of Guadalcanal, with a
target of 2 email stations per province.
Considering the social and
political context of the Solomon Islands, with significant religious and clan
(wantok) segregation in some cases, the project proposes to establish rural
email stations in public facilities, where access is possible for all social
groups without discrimination. Existing clinics have been identified as offering
a good potential. Most clinics have working HF radio equipment, powered by
solar panels, and are attended by clinic staff. They are also secure locales,
respected by the communities, and open to all groups in the community.
Other rural institutions such as
schools, provincial government sub-stations, or the training centers run by
NGOs are also possible locations. PFnet aims to establish 25 rural email
stations during the first two years of operation.
RDD staff and the Rural
Development Volunteers (RDVs) will assist in the upgrading of those existing
facilities where needed, add an inexpensive modem and computer, and train local
volunteers that will operate the email service for basic allowance.
In turn, a systematic use of
commercial sites, such as private HF operators or traders’ facilities, for the
project purposes could limit the capacity of poor sectors to access the
service. If such private initiatives are proposed however, the project may
elect to assist them by permitting data transmission to be channeled through
PFnet at actual cost, and support the initiative with procurement and technical
advises on the deployment of equipment and training of operators. This would be
done on the understanding that private facilities do not substitute for public
ones, but address other and complementary needs (wider coverage, commercial or
tourist use, etc.).
In terms of equipment, the project
will procure low-cost computers and communication equipment for a limited
number of sites. Each station, normally already equipped with an HF transceiver
and antenna, will also need an HF modem, a 486-laptop computer (by now very
inexpensive), and a suitable solar power system. Such equipment and its
installation by the SIDAPP RDVs could cost approximately US$ 2500 per station,
plus another $1000 for the upgrading of the facilities, when necessary.
2.3.3 Current Status of the PF
Net
Despite limited funding resources
during its final year, SIDAPP has been able to initiate vital start-up
activities for the People First Network. These are as follows:
Website
SIDAPP launched in January this
year, the country’s first and only rural development website, www.peoplefirst.net.sb. Almost 40,000
people all over the world to date have accessed information about Solomon
Islands and its rural villages through this facility. It provides information
on each of the provinces, their development profiles, plans and programmes and
the projects identified by rural communities that are available for funding by
donors and international NGOs.
The website also serves as an
interactive medium for discussing issues related to NIRDP, PFnet and other
projects.
People First Internet Café
Since February this year, SIDAPP
has established in Honiara a self-sustained not-for-profit Internet Café. It
offers email services at cheap rates.
The Ministry, through the RDD, and
the newly-organised Rural Development Volunteers Association operate the Cafe.
It is envisaged that in the future, the Internet Café, along with the rural
email stations, will be run solely by the RDVA under the People First Net
project. The role of the RDD will be on overall project management and
monitoring.
The income from the Café now pays
for the salaries of the staff (1 Asst. Webmaster, 3 Café assistants, 1 driver,
1 utility staff), part of the rental for a leased line from Telekom and the
fuel for the project vehicle.
To generate more income, the Café
has initiated the conduct of computer training for the public. It will also provide
other associated services that will generate the income necessary for its
financial viability. The Café has a special facility to enable the blind to use
email or surf the net.
The Café has become popular with
professionals, local and expatriate; students and lecturers particularly those
who are doing research; and tourists. More than 30% of Café habitués are women.
The plan is that the Café will
serve eventually as the electronic post office of the PFnet where messages from
rural email stations in the provinces can be received and distributed to
addressees in Honiara.
In September this year, the
British High Commission provided funding to enable PFnet to establish a base
station at the RDD and its first rural email facility in Sasamungga,
Choiseul.
More than 30 NGOs, business
houses, development projects and other institutions have requested to be part
of the PFnet. With the base station, it is now possible to service several
rural email facilities. The Embassy of Japan has expressed interest in funding
email stations in Ulawa, Makira and in Temotu. The Republic of China has
provided funds to ensure a four-month extension of the Technical Adviser for
PFnet.
SIDAPP has launched a vigorous
campaign to raise funds for the implementation of the PFnet project. Proposals
have been sent to Tokyo for consideration under the UN Human Security Fund put
up with assistance from the Japanese government. The project document, prepared
by an international consultant hired by SIDAPP, has been submitted to UNDP Suva
for possible funding under the next UNDP programming cycle for the period
2002-2006.
2.4 Formation of the Rural Development Volunteers Association
(RDVA)
2.4.1 Background/Rationale
Based on the experience in the
recruitment, training and deployment of peace and development volunteers in all
Constituencies during the crisis, SIDAPP saw the potential of forming the Rural
Development Volunteers Association (RDVA). Through an Association, volunteers
from amongst the young people can be systematically recruited, trained and
assigned to provincial substations to do work related to village development.
The Ministry and SICHE agreed
that something more permanent should come out of the earlier collaboration
involving student volunteers. A volunteers programme is needed that will make
possible the systematic involvement of students during semestral breaks that
can be part of their practicum. At the same time, such programme can expose
students to the actual conditions in the rural areas.
Based on this assessment, SICHE
has made available its former Distance Education Centre as the office for such
initiative. The rural development volunteers office was inaugurated in January
this year with officials of UNDP, UNOPS, and the Ministry in attendance.
Both the Government and the
donor agencies supported the idea that an organisation of rural development
volunteers would be needed to keep track of the activities of the student and
community volunteers and to systematically provide them with training and
assistance.
2.4.2
Objectives, Membership and
Structure
The organisation was
formally named as the Rural Development Volunteers Association or RDVA. Its
Constitution and By-laws were prepared and it was registered as an NGO in
August this year.
As stated in its Constitution,
the objectives of the RDVA are as follows:
a.
to serve as a partner agency of the Ministry of
Provincial Government and Rural Development, the Solomon Islands College of Higher
Education (SICHE) and the University of Southern Philippines (USP) and other
entities involved in helping improve the quality of life in rural communities
in Solomon Islands;
b.
to collect, update and maintain a database on rural
development for each province and all constituencies as a basis for formulation
of programmes designed to improve the situation of vulnerable and disadvantaged
groups in rural areas, such children, youth and women;
c.
to implement programmes and projects relevant to
rural development in general;
d.
to articulate the will and aspirations of Rural
Development Volunteers for discussions with government departments, private
sector organizations, statutory bodies, non-government organizations, regional
and international organizations and other stakeholders;
e.
to represent the views and opinions of Rural
Development Volunteers in national and international forums pertinent to rural
development in Solomon Islands;
f.
to serve as a forum for sharing ideas and
experiences amongst Rural Development Volunteers; and
g.
to document achievements and identify measures to
further enhance the roles and functions of Rural Development Volunteers.
Membership
Membership
of the Association shall be of four kinds:
1)
student volunteers recruited from SICHE, Rural
Training Centres, USP (SI) and Vocational Schools initially, but later expanded
to include students from other educational institutions;
2)
village-based volunteers comprised of knowledgeable
and responsible individuals engaged to carry out projects in the rural
communities;
3)
individuals from government departments, private
sector organizations, statutory bodies, non-government organizations and others
who subscribe to the objectives of the Association; and
4)
honorary members (non-voting members), for other
nationals serving as development volunteers in Solomon Islands.
An eight-member Executive
Committee holds office for two years. They are elected during the annual
general meeting to serve as the management team to run the affairs of the
Association.
A Board of Trustees is elected
by the AGM to advise and support the members in the formulation of policies and
rules.
The Association shall establish
branches in each province whose members shall comprise volunteers indigenous to
each respective province. In each ward
and constituency, local chapters can be established.
The heads of each chapter shall
form the Executive Committee of each Provincial Branch.
2.4.3 Current Status of the RDVA
Starting October this year, the
RDVA has become the partner agency of the Division in implementing the start-up
activities of PFnet. It has signed an agreement with the Embassy of the
Republic of China for the provision of technical assistance to enable the
project to implement initial activities.
The Association was also one of
four NGOs chosen by the Solomon Islands Government to conduct election
awareness campaigns in the provinces. It was given a SBD240,000 grant.
The RDVA has been proposed as
the implementing agency for a Schools Rehabilitation Project under the UN Human
Security Fund assisted by the Government of Japan. Total project cost:
USD300,000.
3.0 Policy Implications of the Ministry’s Current Development
Initiatives
The Ministry’s current
development initiatives will require policy and programme support measures to
be in place so that they can be pursued more vigorously and effectively. These
will easily include the following:
§
A Comprehensive Policy Framework that places Rural
Development as the core concern of Government and provides a mechanism by which
sectoral agencies can allocate budgetary resources to support priority
programmes targeting specific cluster of communities in each province which
require assistance to improve their situation and, thereby, contribute to improving
the socio-economic status of rural villages in general;
§
A set of policy guidelines to define clearly the
specific objectives, strategies and action programmes that will be contained in
an Indicative Plan for NIRDP, taking into account existing initiatives and
those in the pipeline of sectoral agencies;
§
A support programme to assist provincial governments
to articulate clear policies and strategies in areas such as: provincial
government share of the local economy; proposed provincial expenditure by
function; and proposed expenditure within functions (governance, policy advice,
social services, private sector development);
§
An assessment of provincial revenue and expenditure
pattern to identify ways and means to improve the tax base and financial management
system of each province;
§
A validation study on the suggested grouping of
provinces for the purpose of formulating development strategies based on the
specific socio-economic situation and comparative advantage of each of the nine
provinces; and
§
A clear policy decision on the focal point for
carrying out an Integrated Rural Development Programme and the setting up of an
institutional mechanism in support of this focal point.
21 October 2001