The Native Iowan

The Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) wishes to pass its warm welcome and professional congratulations to the newly appointed Governor General, Mr. Frank Kabui. We welcome Mr. Kabui to the position of G.G. and look forward to working closely with him.

There is much that such an important position as Governor General can do to effect positive change. I note that the outgoing G.G. has raised the discussion of growth and development gained through what appears to be a dependency on foreign aid. The outgoing G.G. is right to query where the decades of aid dependency has taken us as a Nation.

We in the SICCI applaud such a question. The SICCI is the voice of the Private Sector in Solomon Islands. With over 140 members from small, medium and large business houses the SICCI represents the private sector when interfacing and dealing with Government. The current CINURA Government led by Dr. Sikua has been open and responsive to SICCI overtures.

The SICCI recently gave a presentation to Caucus. Our presentation discussed the need to review and update the labor laws applied in the Solomons. These laws are outdated if not antiquated. For the benefit of the economy, the employee and the business houses these laws must be brought into the 21^st century.  The presentation also discussed the need to review the current Tax Regimes we live under. We are living with taxes upon taxes. We are living in an environment where less than 50% of all businesses are actually registered. In such a situation we find that the Tax Base is too small to cater to the general needs of Government thus the businesses that are fully compliant with the system pay the bulk of the taxes. This is not good for any of us. Another issue the Chamber is managing deals with the Cost of Doing Business in Solomon Islands. We hear much discussion about “welcoming investment in the Solomons”. But allow me to ask: What business is going to invest in a country where the power is off regularly, very regularly? Or where water may or may not be flowing to your home of office. Or where land is difficult to find and almost impossible to develop due to conflicts, disputes and continuous hassles? Where riots, social unrest and even military coups are not unheard of?

We need to realize that the Solomon’s is not a place that is currently attractive to investors. The Cost Of Doing Business is simply too high. The taxes are onerous to the point of being debilitating. Labor laws and rules make running a business difficult and costly. The social issues are simply too “dangerous” for foreigners to accept.

We know that the Solomon’s is a magnificent place. It is not that the Solomon’s is an unattractive place to invest. No. Rather, the situation is one where the infrastructure, the public services and the basic systems, including the social systems we live under all needs to be rebuilt. All needs to be updated and modernized. Failing this we have a situation where there is lots of potential but little effort to realize the potential simply due to the fact that we are not yet ready to host such developments.

There is much we need before we will be ready. We will need roads that allow a business to operate efficiently, Wharves that add to businesses productivity, airstrips and airlines that are open and dependable, power that is dependable and affordable, water that allows a modem society to be clean and healthy, a society that shares a nationalistic mind-set and, perhaps most importantly, we need wise leadership.

Mr. Kabui , the SICCI welcomes you and thanks you for your time, professional experience and Wisdom.