BY NED GAGAHE
Frank Wickham, Chairman of Solomon Airlines Limited (SAL), indicated that the company is possibly the lowest in terms of employee remuneration compared to other State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
Wickham made this revelation when he appeared before the Parliamentary Bills and Legislation Committee last week on the State-Owned Enterprise (Amendment) Bill 2024.
“We probably are the lowest remunerated of the SOEs, but if the standard is deemed to increase, we will be very happy,” the Chairman said.
SAL is one of the State-Owned Enterprises that presented its views on the proposed legislation before the Committee.
The State-Owned Enterprises (Amendment) Bill 2024 seeks to amend the State-Owned Enterprises Act 2007 in alignment with the Government’s SOE Ownership Policy 2018 and the National Gender Equality and Women’s Development Policy 2016-2020.
It aims to consolidate ownership monitoring under the Minister of Finance, clarify the process for SOEs to fulfill Community Service Obligations, strengthen publication requirements for documents tabled in Parliament, and introduce regulations for evaluating directors and electing board chairpersons and deputy chairpersons.
Commenting on the proposed amendment, Chairman Wickham noted that the change designates the Minister of Finance as the primary overseer of SOEs.
He suggested that previously, having two ministers involved allowed for shared responsibility—one focusing on the technical aspects and comparative strengths of the SOEs, while the other addressed broader ministry concerns.
“It’s important for the expertise related to the functions of the SOE to be considered in the process. However, we recognize that it now falls under the Ministry of Finance. Additionally, Chair, we acknowledge the new criteria for appointing directors, which include remuneration and performance evaluation—elements that were not part of the original Act. We have no objections to these changes.
“While we may be among the lowest in remuneration compared to other SOEs, we would welcome any increases to that standard. The decision is ultimately yours. We acknowledge the change, and we suggest that there could be a mechanism for involving the relevant ministry, which has the expertise related to the SOE’s mandate, in this process.” He said.
Wickham stated that he understands others may wish to discuss specific interventions, particularly regarding dividends.
He noted that the provision allowing the minister to call for dividends from SOEs aligns with the rights of the majority shareholder.
However, he suggested that SOEs should be encouraged to develop their own dividend policies, which could then be negotiated with the minister.
“Some SOEs may want to reserve a good proportion of their dividends for their capital budgets and other reasons, so perhaps there could be a rationale for negotiating the dividend payout by the SOE to the government,” Chairman Wickham said.
Solomon Airlines Limited (SAL) is a Solomon Islands company registered under the Companies Act 2009. One hundred percent of its shares are owned by the Government of Solomon Islands, through the Investment Corporation of the Solomon Islands (82.3%) and Solomon Island Holdings (17.7%).
This SOE is commercially focused on providing domestic and international air and ground handling services that fully maximize the benefits for its customers. The company is subject to the State-Owned Enterprises Act 2007 and State-Owned Enterprises Regulations 2010.
Solomon Airlines is governed by a board of directors that is responsible to the Minister of Finance and Treasury, who is the Accountable Minister for Solomon Airlines Limited.
According to reports, Solomon Airlines received SBD 9.9 million, SBD 3.039 million, SBD 2.766 million, SBD 3.8 million, and SBD 4.0 million in payments for the provision of community service obligations (CSOs) from the Government in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively.
These CSOs are air services to provincial airstrips where ticketing revenue is insufficient to cover the costs of service.
