BY NED GAGAHE
Solomon Islands National University (SINU) Vice Chancellor, Professor Transform Aqorau cautions Pacific Island countries against overreliance on labour mobility and remittances, warning that exporting people cannot replace sustainable domestic development.
Aqorau made the comments in a widely circulated paper titled “Reclaiming Pacific Economic Independence: From Aid Reliance to Innovation,” released during the festive season.
While acknowledging that overseas employment in Australia, New Zealand and the United States has provided jobs and vital income for many families, he said labour export has increasingly become a cornerstone of economic policy across the Pacific.
He said in 2023, Pacific Islanders abroad sent home more than US$1.29 billion in remittances, often exceeding aid or trade revenues. Tonga and Samoa rank among the world’s most remittance-dependent countries, with remittances accounting for about 43 per cent and 28 per cent of GDP respectively. In both countries, around 80 per cent of households rely on remittance income, with similar dependence in Kiribati, Tuvalu and Fiji.
Professor Aqorau said that remittances have improved living standards by supporting education, housing and community projects, but stressed they are not a long-term development solution.
He said that large-scale labour migration is depleting villages of young, able-bodied workers, a trend increasingly described as “brain drain”. Estimates suggest about 15 percent of Tonga’s working-age population is overseas on temporary work programmes at any given time, compared to 11 percent in Vanuatu and 2 percent in Fiji.
According to Professor Aqorau, mass out-migration is hollowing out local economies, straining families and weakening community and cultural structures, while those unable to migrate risk being left behind.
He said that dependence on foreign labour markets leaves Pacific economies vulnerable to external shocks and policy changes, as highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Aqorau urges Pacific leaders to treat labour mobility as a bridge to a more diversified economy, not a permanent substitute, and to invest in job creation at home.
“Every Pacific islander deserves the choice to thrive in their own country, not only abroad,” he said.
Photo: Supplied
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