The Native Iowan

Meeting with Hon. D. Sikua, Prime Minister

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Lets Agree:

Economy worldwide is in a mess.

S.I. has little influence in the world thus we ride the wave to see where we go.

Smart forward planning is required in all things, AND, to plan now for the economic future of S.I. is much needed, behind schedule and moving slow.

The Private Sector are the professionals in business… the Public Sector is the regulator and referee, the CBSI is the “accountant” that watches and supposedly advises all involved… this is not happening now… we are all in contention with each thinking the other does not know what it is doing.

The cost of doing business is very high in S.I.: note that all businesses need

Standby power

A security force or service

4×4 vehicles to simply drive in the city

This is not “how to” develop the Private Sector… ALSO…

SIG “gives” money away to develop businesses… this cannot work

The gratuitous sale or gifting of Public Property must end

We need to stop making it harder to do business here. All our new initiatives are good (the Business Act?) but they are not going to make business attractive to outsiders with valuable/ hard earned cash to invest. We should be looking at honest ways to entice business development… not attack (tall poppy syndrome) successful businesses and drive them out of the country.

We require fairness, integrity and forward planning… all of which are lacking, to one degree or another, at this time.

If the Private Sector cannot gain productive access to the Government of the day they by default end up in opposition to the Government.

Basic Concerns/ Discussion Points:

The downturn of the economy and how Private and Public Sector can work together and bring current situation into a manageable and even profitable/ controllable scenario.

Mistakes already made… too much World Bank advise… ?

General population and societal controls very poor… this is a major factor as to why the cost of doing business is so high.

What money Public Sector has should be spent wisely, not wasted (poor tendering process, money given away as development, etc)

At some point the political demands must take second fiddle to the public demands.

Labor Laws need to be reviewed and reformed. It’s not that hard. Most of the work has been done by SICCI and ILO. The aim is a fair and positive set of laws that will last us a long time. What do we need now?

Take 5 acts and turn into 1

Ensure/ plan to educate our workforce in the proper manner… now it is hard to hire accountants or engineers but we have heaps of lawyers.

Often a free market in the labor place is more productive than a restricted market. Less regulation will gain more in the long run.

Allow educated Solomon Islanders to make a life in the country… many, many of our educated elite have been more or less forced to move off shore to meet the needs of their families.

Welcome our educated wontoks back into the country to contribute… Let’s get dual citizenship sorted for the children of mixed nationalities; they can easily assist us and want to come “home” but when they do they are treated worse than foreigners.

Corruption is killing the country… corrupt Private Sector participants seek, meet, and even teach willing Public Sector officers the art of corruption. Currently corruption is endemic (a part of our culture) and must be conditioned out of the modern psyche.

Private businesses running without proper registration or paying proper taxes

General importation of goods without paying full fees/ taxes

Public Officers refusing to act without “extra” pay

RCDF… use as a tool to effect needed repairs/ development not a slush fund to keep leaky, political vessels afloat. Standardize?

Up to date with all reporting… release the numbers from Public Treasury before they are asked for… Are we still years behind?

Taxation… Private Sector is willing to pay hefty but sensible taxes AND/ BUT we must see value for money… let’s agree that Private Sector is the “engine” for National Development. Private Sector supposedly funds Public Sector through taxes… how well is our investment being managed?

Current GST very probably illegal… can we address this without a battle… it is wrong and must be reviewed.

Taxing education is INSANE… we all agree we need more education and more educated citizens, tell the Nation they will get “FREE EDUCATION” but tax companies trying to assist their employees and their families… makes no sense at all.

Use the Tax Base that we have… use it Fairly and Honestly… a number of businesses (some owned by senior politicians) simply run like village trade stores… this is not fair and is not acceptable.

Following from taxation and proper care of Public Funds… Service Deliveries from government (both Provincial and Central) to the Private Sector/ these services are a joke right now. Consider: roads and infrastructure, garbage collection/ sanitation, transport and linkages (Solair, etc), Land tenure/ Security and the function of our lands office, general licensing, certification and general societal controls (drivers licenses, auto licensing, etc)… there is a source of SIG income here being poorly managed, and worse, exploited.

Public safety and security… without intervention we would be living in a madhouse…

Meeting in July: work together to make a presentation/ impression… we need help to build our Private Sector.