Solomon Islands Government - Development Partners High Level Meeting

Presentation By James Batley, Special Coordinator, Regional Assistance Mission To Solomon Islands

 

Honiara, 17-18 November 2004

It has been almost 16 months since RAMSI arrived in Solomon Islands at the invitation of the government and with the unanimous endorsement of the national Parliament. RAMSI's impact in that time has been profound.

RAMSI's focus in its first year was on two main areas: first, security and law and order; and second, the stabilization of government finances. There have been many significant achievements in both areas since the last Development Partners meeting. Respect for the rule of law has been re-established; the Royal Solomon Islands Police has been purged and has started recruiting again after many years; a number of significant arrests and convictions have been secured; public servants are being paid on time; the government has started to regularise its debts and arrears; revenue is up strongly; and a balanced budget has been prepared for consideration by Parliament next week.

Law and order, and public finances, remain core priorities for RAMSI.

It is hardly necessary to demonstrate the essential link between these two priority areas, or that progress in each area goes to reinforce progress in the other.

But these are minimum conditions for restoring a level of civil activity and of functionality in government. They are necessary, but not sufficient, to the achievement of lasting stability and peace in Solomon Islands.

Security, in its broadest sense, is inseparable from development. Seen in this way, the achievement of lasting security in Solomon Islands continues to demand action on many fronts.

The challenges that face Solomon Islands at this time are serious and require long-term attention. We must not shy away from identifying those challenges, which include:

• addressing the issue of corruption, which continues to undermine the effectiveness of government, and to undermine public trust and confidence in government and the rule of law;
  
• improving the working culture in the public service, to reinforce standards of discipline, probity, service delivery and leadership;
  
• creating a business-friendly environment by cutting through unnecessary red tape and reducing the exercise of discretionary powers;
  
• bringing about improvements in the real economy and in particular giving opportunities to the majority of the population living in the villages;
  
• encouraging development in all parts of the country, and
  
• overcoming obstacles in the face of infrastructure development throughout the country.

Over recent months RAMSI, with the encouragement and support of the government, has expanded the scope of its work to address many of these challenges.

• We are implementing a range of governance programs under the broad heading of Machinery of Government: this covers assistance to and reforms in the office of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet; the Parliament; the Electoral Commission; and the Public Service.

• We have extensive programs in place to strengthen the administration of justice, including assistance to the High Court, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and of the Public Solicitor, the Magistrate's Court, and the Prison Service.

• We are working to provide support for the institutions which safeguard integrity in the public sector: the Auditor-General's Office, the Leadership Code Commission and the Ombudsman's Office.

• The Economic Reform Unit within the Ministry of Finance, National Reform and Planning is helping to implement the government's plans for economic reform and to generate new reform proposals for consideration by government.

• Our research indicates that the export of rural commodities such as copra and cocoa have risen strongly over the past 18 months. This has clearly flowed through to rural incomes. At the same time, we have commissioned a report on the rural economy which will provide a range of policy options for both government and donors, aimed at boosting rural livelihoods.

RAMSI's key relationship in Solomon Islands is with the elected government; we see our activities and programs as being consistent with, and indeed as supporting, the government's own policies including the National Economic Recovery, Reform and Development Plan (the NERRDP). I should record here RAMSI's appreciation for the excellent working relationship that exists at all levels with the government of Solomon Islands. At the same time we in RAMSI maintain active and regular links with all sectors including in Parliament; the public sector; civil society including business and the NGOs; and provincial governments.

Members of RAMSI are accountable to our own governments; collectively we are accountable to the Pacific Islands Forum, and regular reports are provided to the Forum on RAMSI's progress. We are of course conscious of our accountability to Solomon Islands. The government is currently considering a report on RAMSI's performance in its first year; the report has been prepared by an independent Task Force with input from all sectors of society. We expect the report to be tabled in Parliament and debated over the next few weeks. We welcome this scrutiny as an essential input to our own work.

The peoples of this region are practical and pragmatic. Reflecting that, we do not seek to categorise RAMSI into an international taxonomy of foreign interventions. While that could be a stimulating intellectual exercise, we will leave that to academics and commentators that come after us. RAMSI remains a unique regional solution to a regional problem. Our focus is on what actually works for us and for Solomon Islands.

At their annual meeting in Apia, Samoa in August 2004, Forum leaders commended the significant progress made by RAMSI, in particular through strong support and involvement of the countries of the region and noted the challenges that lie ahead and the need for the region to remain focussed and engaged. Encouragingly, over the past year the number of regional countries providing personnel to RAMSI has increased.

In all its operations, RAMSI is guided by a simple set of principles:

The first of these is partnership. RAMSI is first and foremost a partnership between Solomon Islands and its neighbours. This means that RAMSI does not substitute for government in this country. RAMSI does not pretend to have the answers to all of Solomon Islands' problems. Nor do we want to take on that responsibility. Rather, we see ourselves as creating the conditions for Solomon Islanders themselves to address the problems that affect them and their country. This includes helping to create better conditions in which the donor community can operate.

Second, we understand that, for all the resources that RAMSI can bring to bear on particular issues and in particular sectors, our impact will not be lasting unless there is local ownership of change and reform. We are - quite consciously - promoting an agenda for change: but we do so not to implant foreign models or ways of doing things, but in order to empower those in Solomon Islands who are themselves working to bring about change for the better.

Third, and closely related to the previous point, capacity development is central to our efforts. It is true that in the early emergency phase of the intervention, RAMSI assumed some functions normally performed by local authorities. That remains the case in a limited, but declining, number of areas. We know that the sustainability of reform depends on developing the know-how and skills of Solomon Islanders. Capacity development now lies at the heart of our work with – for instance - the Royal Solomon Islands Police, the Department of Finance and Treasury, and right across the Machinery of Government program.

Finally, RAMSI represents a long term commitment on the part of contributing nations. We do not put a formal time-frame on RAMSI's presence in Solomon Islands but we do understand that the challenges facing Solomon Islands need to be addressed across a broad front over many years. And we have now agreed with the Government on the frameworks of assistance that will be needed to move ahead with reform.

These frameworks have objectives for this country that all development partners - and friends of Solomon Islands - would likely share. Together, we have a unique opportunity to implement programs of assistance which are coordinated, consistent and complementary. There are many layers of assistance needed - more than RAMSI alone can achieve - and we look forward to working very closely with development partners in the years ahead.

RAMSI's vision for Solomon Islands is of a country that is a leader in its region; a country that others look to for ideas and for inspiration; a country where citizens are free to exercise their rights; and a country where citizens enjoy the opportunity to make choices about their own future, and the means to realise their dreams. As Solomon Islands' friends and neighbours, we continue to work to help realise that vision.