BY BEN BILUA
Gizo
PRIME Minister Manasseh Sogavare has called on landowning groups not to scare off investors but work with them to establish developments.
He said investors invest in the country, however the lack of land available continues to stop investors from investing in the country.
“Land must be made available for development. We must not scare away investors by our unfriendly attitudes,” Sogavare said.
“We need to bear in mind that changing the structure of our government system alone does not guarantee the benefits we are talking about. They are benefits that flow from developments happening in the states,” he added.
According to a research carried out by two Solomon Islanders, Customary land in Solomon Islands is already working as it always has.
The report states that many current economic activities such as logging, copra, cocoa and other agricultural crops are happening on customary land.
“This means the bulk of our national economic gross domestic product (GDP) comes from customary land, so I don’t think customary land needs opening up,” Joseph D Foukona, one of the researchers said.
“What is more important when we discuss land reform is making sure that all landowners receive equitable returns from development on their land,” he added.
