BY BEN BILUA
GIZO

The Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MoFT) officially opened its office in Noro, Western Province on Friday, August 9, 2025.

Making history, this is the first ever MoFT office established in the provinces since Solomon Islands gained independence.

Minister of Finance and Treasury, Harry Kuma and Premier of Western Province, Billy Veo were given the honour to declare the stunning office building open.

Delivering his keynote address, Kuma described the office complex as significant milestone which reflects the government’s commitment to expand and bring services closer to the people.

He said MoFT is one of the essential agencies of government which provides strategic fiscal and economic advice to ensure the government implements its mandatory obligations and to drive economic development and growth forward.

“Today marks a remarkable day in history as a government province, the ministry and communities and business houses here in Noro and nearby centres. It is indeed a great pride and deep sense of responsibility that I stand before you today to officially open the new Minister of Finance and Treasury office here in Noro,” Kuma said.

He explained that the decision to build and establish MoFT office at Noro is to cater for the growing economic activities happening with Western Province.

Kuma said Noro commercial hub is crucial and that the establishment will support other sectors such as agriculture, fisheries and tourism to grow.

“Today you witness that government services have long been centralized in Honiara, creating obstacles for citizens in our provinces to participate in any forms of business activities in some of our provinces, like in our situation here in Noro, we have growing demand of government services, but our presence is very minimal.

“This is why, under the ministry’s corporate plan, we have committed to embrace this need by prioritizing targeted investment in service delivery closer to where the needs are.

“This new office is not just about infrastructure; it’s about empowering people and empowering our businesses to meet their plans.

“By bringing services closer to communities, we will enhance local participation, enhance regulatory responsibilities and promote inclusive decision making,” he said.

Kuma said, the completion and handing over of the MoFT office demonstrates that the government listens to and meets the needs of every citizen and business.

Veo acknowledged MoFT and Solomon Islands Government for recognising the need for the project and prioritising it.

“It is indeed another facelift to Noro, the country’s second industrial hub and very fittingly so,” he said.

Veo said, the facility is a significant investment that contributes in the development of Western Province and the country.

He strongly believes that the investment is wise as Noro hosts numbers of key investments and infrastructures with the growing need of customs and exercise, biosecurity, immigration and other services.

Veo said MoFT has led the way in infrastructure development to support its services in the provinces.

He calls on other government ministries to follow MoFT’s footsteps.

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BY SAMIE WAIKORI

The Guadalcanal provincial government prioritises the promotion of tourism industry in the province.

This is one of the key sectors the provincial government encourages and is working on to benefit people in the province.

Premier of Guadalcanal province, William Atu recently highlighted the progress Guadalcanal province is making to promote the industry.     

“The Guadalcanal provincial government has made progress in promoting tourism by participating in regional events, supporting rural tour operators and developing a new tourism destination like nature and cultural tours.

“It has also begun community awareness programmes and is working to revive the Guadalcanal Tour Association and partner on projects such as the Bloody Ridge Peace Park,” he said.

However, the premier stated that key challenges such as; poor infrastructure, high transport costs, limited funding, understaffing and others still remain.

He admitted that these issues continue to hinder tourism growth and investment across the province.

Looking into the future, the Atu government plans to finalize tourism development plans by 2026-2027.

This will pave way for the establishment of Guadalcanal Tourism Council and strengthen partnership with stakeholders.

On the same note, the premier highlighted the need to increase funding and staffing to the province and improve access to remote areas to fully realise Guadalcanal’s tourism potentials.

He mentioned that Guadalcanal province still houses some of the most endangered and endemic species in the country.

“And they are still open to explore by tourists of different categories or people who are interested to see what the province has and can offer,” Atu said.

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By Irwin Angiki

The Leader of Opposition has called for the government to create a national bank for the country.

Matthew Wale made the statement in parliament on Monday concluding deliberations on the impact of the Bank of South Pacific’s (BSP) controversial policy which charged 1 percent on customers doing cash transactions $20,000 and above.

The policy, which took effect on June 28 this year, has since been revoked by BSP under directions by the Central Bank (CBSI), finance minister Harry Kuma told parliament.

BSP’s ‘greedy’ action to burden its own customers with such as costly fee is being seen as – going against the interest of Solomon Islanders and businesses, and a threat to banking in the Solomon Islands.

Solomon Islands is one of the lowest in the Pacific in terms of banking – only 30 percent of its population do banking, Minister Kuma told parliament, and cash handling is the main form of transaction.

Member of parliament for Small Malaita, Rick Hou told parliament he was concerned that BSP’s action will discourage people from engaging in banking, jeopardising “[all the efforts that Central Bank has done to educate and encourage the populace to bank their money]”.

Mr Wale said the lesson that can be taken from the BSP fee saga is that Solomon Islands needs its own local bank.

“This matter raises the need for this country to have its own national bank. Where we Solomon Islanders work in it, we run it, we are the biggest shareholders in it. BSP is majority owned by PNG.

“We must own a bank. Maybe DBSI to administer it. We must make it accessible in every province. We do need a national bank.

“The loss of a national bank has tied our hands as a government and our public policy responses. Of course, we must learn from the lessons of DBSI in the past.

“But that is not an argument to say we cannot have our own national bank. We must have our own national bank. It is very important, if we are going to be taking decisions to really grow this economy and make our ordinary people commit,” Wale told parliament.

Wale urged government to make a ‘legislative response’ to ensure such issues as BSP’s fee saga do not happen again.

“It does call for some legislative response. What will be government’s legislative response so that we don’t end up with the same situation.

“In the bank, they deal with money, and greed is the number one thing, they will charge you anything to erode your money that you put in the bank. We need to guard against that greed. Already it’s frustrating, just opening an account is so difficult. It has become so difficult to do banking now. And then they just charge you an arm and a leg,” Wale said.

“The level of profits of the bank is very high, has been for all these years, there is no justification whatsoever for these increases,” he added.

Of two locally owned banks which used to operate in the Solomon Islands – the National Bank of the Solomon Islands (NBSI) and the Development Bank of the Solomon Islands (DBSI) – only DBSI remains.

The retail bank NBSI, founded in 1951, underwent changes of ownership before it was wholly owned by Solomon Islanders after the Bank of Hawaii gave its 51 percent shares to the government in 2002. However, in 2007, NBSI was taken over by BSP. Before the BSP-takeover, NBSI was owned by – NPF (49 percent), NBSI Health and Welfare Trust (17 percent), NBSI Education Trust (17 percent) and NBSI Employees Trust (17 percent). BSP later expanded by acquiring the Westpac operations in the country.

The DBSI was established in 1977, and by 2003 it was insolvent due to ‘institutional and governance weakness’. Also, ‘development bank loans and credit repayment were plummeted by the ethnic tension’, a CBSI national financial timeline said. In 2020, following the DBSI Act of 2018, DBSI was relaunched.

Background to the BSP fee issue:

On June 28, 2025, BSP began charging one percent on cash deposits and withdrawals $20,000 or more, per day, per account.

The bank did not give any reason for this hefty fee. A notice on its website on May 28, 2025, simply told customers to expect this new rate along with other changes to take effect June 28.

Opposition Leader Wale criticised this move by BSP in a media statement on July 3.

The following week, several businesses reported feeling the pinch on their profits, with many complaining that they were not aware of BSP’s new fees.

One major local Honiara-based business told Island Sun that BSP’s new fee was eating away around $4,000 per day via cash deposits.

This was nearly half of their profit per day, the business owner told Island on condition of anonymity.

The company told Island Sun that it was considering laying off workers in response to BSP’s fee.

Other businesses also reportedly made similar ‘inconvenient’ adjustments to counter BSP’s new fee.

Some businesses reportedly responded by factoring the cost of BSP’s fee into their service and goods prices.

“We have marked up our prices for our products and service to cover this new BSP fee,” one business owner, who requested anonymity, told Island Sun.

Another business owner said they had begun depositing below the $20,000 minimum mark to escape the ‘one-percent penalty’.

“We now deposit below $20,000 to avoid BSP’s one-percent penalty. But, this is inconvenient since we have left-over cash takings and this accumulation will soon force us to consider a second account or bank,” the business owner told Island Sun, also on condition of anonymity.

In the Solomon Islands, transaction using hard cash is the norm. Digital exchanges is still far behind.

BSP’s new fee was projected to hit hard on people and businesses.

Wale, in his July-3 statement, described the increase as an unreasonable charge that will penalise legitimate economic activity of everyday Solomon Islanders.

“This is an unjustifiable fee on people simply trying to access or manage their own money. Many Solomon Islanders, particularly those in the villages, those running small businesses, schools, or churches, are forced to operate in cash. This fee punishes them for circumstances they did not choose.

“Many customers of DBSI are ordinary Solomon Islanders who repay their loans in cash. DBSI, who banks with BSP, will then be charged one percent for its deposits. If DBSI deposits $300,000 per day, it will be charged $3,000 per day. It is not hard to imagine how this will then affect DBSI interest rates. CBSI must clamp down on this,” Wale said.

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BY NED GAGAHE

Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has strengthened Solomon Islands’ bilateral ties with New Zealand during his recent official visit where he held high-level talks and advanced key development priorities, including accelerating progress on the Bina Harbour Tuna Processing Project.

Speaking to local media during a press conference in Honiara on Friday, August 9, 2025, PM Manele described the visit as productive and encouraging, emphasizing New Zealand’s role as a “trusted development partner”.

He held bilateral discussions with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Foreign Minister Winston Peters, and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones.

The Prime Minister outlined several key areas of strengthened cooperation between the two countries, including fisheries and marine resource management, labour mobility expansion and support for RSE workers, education and youth development, climate resilience and security, as well as infrastructure and trade, particularly under the PACER Plus framework.

A major focus of the Prime Minister’s update was the Bina Harbour Tuna Processing Project, which he described as a “flagship initiative” under the Government for National Unity and Transformation (GNUT).

He said with donor backing including support from New Zealand, the project is expected to create over 1,600 jobs and inject an estimated USD 400 million into the national economy over the next 15 years.

“This will be a game-changer for Malaita Province and for the broader Solomon Islands economy,” PM Manele said.

Acknowledging growing public concern about the lack of visible progress on the ground, PM Manele said these concerns are valid.

“People have every right to ask questions, particularly when a project is continually referenced as a national priority,” Manele said.

However, he urges the public to appreciate the complexity of such large-scale infrastructure projects, citing challenges related to foreign investment, environmental safeguards, landowner agreements, and donor coordination.

He confirmed that the project is currently in a critical preparatory phase, which includes land identification, environmental and social impact assessments, stakeholder consultations, and the securing of credible investment partners.

The estimated cost of development stands at USD 202 million, covering infrastructure, utilities, and port connectivity. Financing is being pursued through highly concessional loans with terms of 30 plus years, interest rates under 1%, and 10-year grace periods.

PM Manele also confirmed that resources will be allocated for the project in the 2026 national development budget.

While in Auckland, the Prime Minister visited Sanford Limited, New Zealand’s oldest seafood company, to explore investment in fisheries and aquaculture.

He also toured the Port of Auckland to assess opportunities for maritime infrastructure cooperation and training partnerships with Solomon Ports.

He met with over 100 members of the Solomon Islands diaspora in Auckland, acknowledging their contributions and assuring them that their voices remain important to national development.

In Wellington, he met with private sector representatives and development agencies, where he expressed gratitude for New Zealand’s continued support in key areas such as climate change adaptation, early warning systems, infrastructure, education, and capacity building.

PM Manele concluded his address by reaffirming the government’s commitment to strategic partnerships that drive real, inclusive development.

“Whether through bilateral diplomacy, regional cooperation, or investment in infrastructure like Bina Harbour, our goal is to create opportunity, resilience, and unity in our nation,” he said.

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BY NED GAGAHE

Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele says the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) remains the cornerstone of regional unity, cooperation, and collective action for Pacific peoples.

Speaking to local media on Friday, August 9, 2025 during a press conference, Prime Minister Manele said the Pacific region must always lead, drive and own their own agenda and not be distracted by divisive issues pushed by external media.

He said the world has changed, since the Forum was established more than five decades ago.

“We needed a fit-for -purpose regional structure that is aligned to today’s new realities, enhancing the region’s effectiveness, legitimacy to deliver on the region’s 2050 strategy,” said Manele.

He explained that the Pacific Islands Forum began the review of its regional architecture in four phases, beginning in 2024 by mapping out its regional architecture, its structures and processes.

He said phase two, looks at supporting a more coordinated collaborative, and coherent regional system; identifying systematic changes to strengthen the regional system.

Whereas Phase three is the rationalisation of the regional system and finalisation of the development of the Partnership and Engagement Mechanism with to support a fit for purpose regional architecture.

The Prime Minister said this is complimented by a High-Level Talanoa Group made up of the three sub region’s representatives, Samoa, Marshall Islands and Solomon Islands.

“Report will be delivered at the 54^th PIFLM Phase 4 and will have the transition phase to implement reforms in 2026.” Prime Minister Manele said.

The 54th PIF Leaders Meeting will convene in Honiara from September 8 to 12, 2025.

This will be only the third time the Solomon Islands has hosted the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, with the last occasion dating back to 1992.

While the event is primarily regional in nature, it also doubles as a major international gathering, with the country expecting to welcome up to 1,500 participants.

These will include high-level delegations from across the Pacific, as well as representatives from various international and regional organizations.

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