POLITICAL REVIEWS

SaHu, Yaw. 1993. A Current Example ofPolicy-Making on the Trot in Papua NewGuinea. Paper presented at Pacific IslandsPolitical Studies Association conference,Rarotonga, 5 December.

Togarewa, Neville. 1993a. Lihir a "Goer."PC, 24 May, II.

--. 1993b. Government Sets SaturdayDeadline for Talks on Lihir. PC, 29 July, 3.

--. 1993c. 50 pct Equity Decision IsFinal. pc, 13 August, 5I.

TPNG, Times ofPapua New Guinea.Weekly. Port Moresby.

SOLOMON ISLANDS

New Year's Eve 1992 brought havoc tothe southeastern parts of SolomonIslands as Cyclone Nina passedthrough. Parts of Malaita, SouthGuadalcanal, Makira, Temotu, andRennell and Bellona were devastated.For the people in these islands, a sea­son of celebration and reflectionbecame overnight a time of disasterand lost hopes. Homes and schools hadto be rebuilt, new gardens had to becleared, and short-term assistance wasnecessary. The much-needed assistancewas given promptly when the wholenation pitched in and, with some helpfrom other governments and organiza­tions, pledged SI$L5 million toward thegovernment's rehabilitation program(ss, March 1993). As in the aftermathof other natural disasters, SolomonIslanders looked to the future withoptimism as they rebuilt their homes,churches, and schools, and hoped forbetter fortune in the year to come.

Another kind of storm-a politicalone-was awaited with equal uncer-

457

tainty. The national general electiontook place on 26 May 1993. Seats ineach of the 47 constituencies through­out the country were contested bysome 280 candidates. The state ofuncertainty lasted for some time afterthe results were announced over na­tional radio. Solomon Mamaloni'sparty of National Unity won the mostseats, but with only 21 of the total of 47it did not have a clear majority. Of theother parties, the People's AllianceParty led by Nathaniel Waena won 7seats; the new National Action Party ofSolomon Islands (Francis Saemala) andthe United Party (Ezekiel Alebua) won5 each; the Labour Party (loses Tuha­nuku) won 4; the National Front forProgress (Andrew Nori) and the newSolomon Islands Leaders Fellowship(Reverend Michael Maeliau) won 2

each; and 1 was won by an indepen­dent (Francis Billy Hilly). A coalitiongovernment had to be formed.

Uncertainty and political specula­tion were fueled by strong indicationsthat veteran politician and incumbentPrime Minister Solomon Mamaloniand his party might lose their parlia­mentary majority. The first sign ofimpending doom for Mamaloni camewith the election for Speaker of theHouse, which was held a few weeksafter the general election and beforethat for the new prime minister. In theelection for the Speaker, the two con­tending groups, the Government forNational Unity led by Mamaloni andthe National Coalition Partnershipgroup whose leader was yet to benamed, fielded their respective candi­dates. Waita Ben, who was thenSpeaker, was the nominee of the Gov­ernment for National Unity, and Paul

THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC. FALL 1994

Tovua, who had just lost his Malango(central Guadalcanal) constituencyseat, was nominated by the NationalCoalition. When Paul Tovua waselected Speaker, political gurus wereleft with little doubt that, if the coali­tion (especially its new members) heldtogether and survived the intense lob­bying, political intrigue, and wantokmanipulations that characterized theperiod leading to the election for primeminister, it would have a chance to leadthe next government. When the votesfor prime minister were counted, Ma­maloni's party for National Unity wasousted by the narrowest margin sinceindependence-24 votes to 23. On 18June, a new government was formed,led by the 45-year-old member forRanongga and Simbo, the HonourableFrancis Billy Hilly.

The new coalition government con­sists of the existing parties-Peoples'Alliance Party, United Party, LabourParty, National Front for Progress­and the independent member, plus twonew parties-the National ActionPaIty of the Solomon Islands and theSolomon Islands Leaders Fellowship.(Though a political anomaly, the lastinsisted it not be called a politicalparty.)

Though Hilly was new as primeminister, a post dominated by SolomonMamaloni or Sir Peter Kenilorea since1974, he was not a novice in politics.After a Bachelor's degree from the Uni­versity of the South Pacific and almosttwo years of employment with the gov­ernment and the Solomon TradingCompany, Hilly entered politics inJune 1976 as member of Parliament forRanongga and Simbo. He was returnedfor a second term in the 1980 elections

and became the leader of the indepen­dent group in Parliament. In this sec­ond term, he became deputy primeminister and served as minister for theMinistry of Home Affairs in a coalitiongovernment led by Peter Kenilorea. InAugust 1981, Hilly resigned from thecoalition, serving as an ordinary mem­ber, and did not seek reelection in the1984 elections. Instead, he successfullyran in the Western Province electionsand became president of the WesternProvincial Assembly. In 1989, he ranunsuccessfully for the National Parlia­ment. At the time of the elections inMay 1993, he was running a familybusiness.

One of the chief aims of the partiesthat made up the coalition was to oustMamaloni's strong Government ofNational Unity, and they closed ranksto do it. Among other matters, such asallegations of corruption, the Mama­loni government appeared to haveallowed prime land sites in and aroundthe capital to be bought and occupiedby foreign investors. Eager to changethe situation, and guided by their newvision and new policies, the coalitionwas determined to lead the country andcarry the developmental trajectory in adifferent direction.

The new government led by FrancisBilly Hilly did not acquire politicalpower without having its mettle testedand its unity shaken. From the begin­ning, the Mamaloni camp gave clearindications that power would not beyielded easily; a catalogue of electionpetitions was lodged in the High Courtand political horse-trading ensued. Theelection petitions included one byMamaloni himself, challenging thelegality of Hilly's majority and that his

POLITICAL REVIEWS

election as prime minister was uncon­stitutional (sv, Oct 1993). The HighCourt settled in favor of Hilly. As ifthis were not enough, Dennis Lulei,leader of the Alliance Party in Parlia­ment and new minister for education,was terminated by the coalition leadersfor insurbordination after challengingthe government's leadership and deci­sions. And Allan Paul resigned fromthe Hilly government but later decidedto rejoin.

Despite these wrangles, thingsseemed to be settling down as monthspassed and most of the petitions to theHigh Court failed, and the coalition'sposition appeared much more secure.Because of the nature of politics inSolomon Islands, where allegiance canchange overnight, a former member ofthe Government of National Unity,Walter Folotalu, accepted the portfolioleft vacant by the withdrawal of DennisLulei to become minister of education.A successful petition against the mem­ber for East Honiara, the HonourableCharles Dausabea (a spokesman forthe Government of National Unitygroup and a staunch supporter of Solo­mon Mamaloni), alleging illegality ofvoting practices, further strengthenedthe coalition's position. At the end ofthe year, it was again strengthened bythe approval of three additional minis­tries during the December sitting ofParliament, and the Mamaloni campseemed resigned to their defeat, if notexhausted. All of these power strugglestook up a good six months, which thegovernment could have put to betteruse in serving the country and itspeople.

On the domestic front, the coalitiongovernment's policies include a number

459

of reforms as well as immediate andlong-term priorities. The immediategoals include investigation into corrup­tion, malpractice, and abuse of power;establishment of a new national plan­ning strategy; effective control and useof government assets and utilities;review of permanent secretaries;review of the taxing regimes; review ofthe provincial establishments; conven­ing of economic, religious, and youthsummits; reengagement of doctors whohad earlier resigned; formulation of anew foreign assistance policy; andreview and assessment of SolomonIslands' overseas representation. Aministerial consultative committee willmonitor the implementation of thesepolicies.

The long-term goals include self­reliance, decentralization, and im­provement of government servicesaround the country. The economic pol­icy of the government is designed topromote self-reliance. Importantly,government assistance to rural areas isguided by the principle of self-relianceand is not viewed as a governmenthandout. The decentralization strategyinvolves maximizing linkages to therural masses and requires the develop­ment of a new decentralizing formulato allow a more direct and meaningfulsharing of ideas, powers, and responsi­bilities with traditional leaders andresource owners (villagers who arelandowners) throughout the country.Hilly's government recognizes theimportance of the resource owners tothe country and believes they should beafforded maximum benefits from theirresources.

In support of its goal to improvegovernment services, the coalition gov-

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THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC. FALL 1994

ernment hopes to improve and expandhealth services and to implement anopen education policy that shouldallow maximum access to schools.

The Hilly government places greatimportance on state-church relationsand the need to strengthen this link.The government has announced it willprovide assistance to the churches, forexample in the training of their leaders,and will encourage the churches to takean active role in linking the govern­ment to the rural communities. Thegovernment also sees the state and thechurches as the most important agen­cies of development, and hopes thatclose state-church relations will resultin greater participation by SolomonIslanders in the political process.

The chief thrust of the new SolomonIslands foreign policy can be character­ized by the slogan, Friendship by Reci­procity. Central to this approach is anemphasis on the use of foreign assis­tance for economic development. Abeginning will be made through recon­ciliation with foreign governments.Particular importance is attached toPapua New Guinea, with whom pre­vious relations had soured, especiallyover the Bougainville crisis and thespillover effects when three SolomonIslanders were killed in September1992. The coalition government pro­duced a six-point initiative to aid inresolving the Bougainville debacle: (I)to normalize relations with Papua NewGuinea through dialogue rather thanconfrontation; (2) to restore respect forthe laws, customs, and immigrationregulations of Solomon Islands thathave been violated since the beginningof the border problem. The Bougain­ville Humanitarian Office is to be

closed down and replaced with a peaceoffice. (3) to encourage the conveningof the proposed pan-Bougainville lead­ers' conference as a necessary avenuefor a meeting of minds from the differ­ent sides on Bougainville; (4) to restorenormal services on the Solomons sideof the border, including immigrationand customs control; (5) to establish anhonorary consulate in Port Moresby asa center for bilateral discussionsbetween Solomon Islands and PapuaNew Guinea. This office will also caterfor the interests of Solomon Islandersliving in Papua New Guinea. (6) towork toward the establishment of aproper border treaty with Papua NewGuinea (5N, July-Aug 1993).

Beside the attempt to restore PapuaNew Guinea-Solomon Islands rela­tions, especially with an eye to workingtogether to resolve the Bougainville cri­sis, the government has also pledged toincrease dialogue with regional andglobal friends in order to renew friend­ship and gain respect and support. Anew foreign policy paper will be intro­duced to iay the foundation for further­ing Solomon Islands' image and integ­rity overseas, and relations with alloverseas donors will be improved.

After taking office, the governmentdecided to slowly phase out logging, toencourage local processing of logs, andto conserve forest resources. To effectits policy on timber and forest re­sources, the coalition would place amoratorium on the granting of licensesto logging companies, effective early in1994 (55, July 1993). A lot had gonewrong with forest exploitation in thecountry. For instance, the permanentsecretary for the Ministry of NaturalResources had revealed that the coun-

POLITICAL REVIEWS

try was losing SI$15 million a year fromunderpricing of its timber exports.Companies operating in the Solomonsachieved this through collaborationwith overseas companies. Not only didlandowners lose money, but the gov­ernment also lost revenue because ofundertaxation. For example, the gov­ernment had to ask Kalena TimberCompany to pay SI$900,000 in under­stated duties and royalties (sv, April1993). In other cases, many of theAsian companies operating in thecountry did not follow the legal proce­dures required by the Forest Resourceand Timber Utilization Act. Some wereoperating on lands not covered by theirpermits and licenses (ss, Jan 1993).

Other coalition government policiesare influenced by cost-containmentmeasures. Soon after the new govern­ment took office, it decided to suspendconstruction of the new State House,contracted to be built for SI$15 million,which it claimed would be a burden onthe government's purse. Individuals orcompanies adversely affected would becompensated accordingly. The perma­nent secretary positions that had beencontracted out by the Mamaloni gov­ernment were revoked in October (ss,Oct 1993) and were reestablished underthe normal public service employmentstructure. For the new positions, sixty­seven applicants vied for fifteen vacan­cies. Most of the former permanentsecretaries were rehired, with only fourof them unsuccessful. Permanent secre­tary salaries, placed on a permanentbasis instead of contractual employ~ment, were reduced from sl$60,000 to$43,000 a year (ss, Oct 1993).

The proposed Melanesian TradeBloc, whose objective is to improve the

economies and trade of member coun­tries, is expected to be an economicmilestone in the relations between themember countries of the MelanesianSpearhead Group. Each country willexport products in which they have acompetitive advantage. The countriespresently involved are Papua NewGuinea, Vanuatu, and SolomonIslands, but others such as Fiji andKanaky (New Caledonia) could beincluded if they wished. Under such anarrangement, Vanuatu beef could beexported to Solomons and Papua NewGuinea; Solomons tuna to Papua NewGuinea and Vanuatu, and so on.

In education, the World Bank ap­proved us$16.9 million (approximatelySI$52 million) for the construction ofmore secondary schools in the country.The Implementation Project Unit in theMinistry of Education is to be respon­sible for the different phases of the pro­ject. The process will be slow and cau­tious to avoid the misappropriation offunds or bungling of contracts thathappened with an earlier World Bankproject in the mid-1980s. The HoniaraTown Council established an innova­tive program to absorb Standard 6dropouts so that they can be taught thebasic skills they will need in the work­place. Essentially, middle schools willprovide an alternative avenue for thesestudents; it has yet to be decidedwhether these schools will form abridge to get the students back into themain stream of schooling, towardadvanced studies.

The long-running dispute betweenthe national doctors and the govern­ment finally came to an end in Octo­ber. Prime Minister Hilly personallyinvited the doctors to discuss the condi-

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THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC. FALL 1994

tions of the new contract with him. DrQuan, a spokesperson for the doctors,later informed S%man Voice that theywere happy with the new contract,which if implemented would for thefirst time place them among the mosthighly paid professionals in the country(5V, Sept 1993). With an improved paypackage of between 51$30,000 and$60,000 (5N, April-May 1993), thedoctors were required to take up thenew offer and resume work no laterthan 29 October (55, Oct 1993).

In March, history was made whenJohn Muria became the first indige­nous chief justice of the Solomons.From Guadalcanal, Muria was edu­cated at the Catholic St Joseph's Sec­ondary School in Honiara and the Uni­versity of Papua New Guinea, fromwhich he graduated in law in 1979. Hehad worked for a short time in PapuaNew Guinea and was a public solicitorin Honiara before his appointment. Heis 37 years old and married with threechildren.

A well-known anthropologist whodid extensive work among the Kwaiopeople on Malaita, Professor RogerKeesing, died on 7 May during an aca­demic meeting in Toronto. His asheswere taken to the Solomons by hispartner, Christine Jourdan, and hischildren and buried at Ngarinasuru,Malaita (55, Aug 1993).

In September, the Solomon Brewerywas officially opened by GovernorGeneral Sir George Lepping. Thebrewery is owned partly by the Ger­man company Brachaus and partly byNauruan interests. Dignitaries fromNauru, Brachaus, and the governmentwere present at the official opening cer­emony (55, Sept 1993).

In line with the emphasis on state­church relations, Provincial PremierMathias Ramoni of Makira encour­aged the churches to establish schoolsin his province. Speaking during cele­brations of the tenth anniversary of theprovince, the Honourable Ramonicommended the Anglican, Catholic,South Seas Evangelical, and SeventhDay Adventist Churches for runningthe schools in the province. In additionto the primary schools, the churchesoperate some vocational and pre-theo­logical colleges, an example being theStuvenberg Rural Training Centre inEast Makira. The South Seas Evangeli­cal Church proposed to establish a sec­ondary school. The premier highlycommended this kind of initiative (55,Oct 1993).

The Tourist Authority collaboratedeagerly with Dr Robert Ballard of theUnited States National GeographicSociety on his book, The Lost Ships ofGuada/cana/, in the hope of finding outwhether Iron Bottom Sound (a majorSecond World War battle site) mighteventually become a vast underwatermuseum. As the general manager of theTourist Authority predicted, "We aresitting on a gold mine if only we canturn technology and vision to SolomonIslands' advantage." He was very opti­mistic: "The international exposure forus is priceless. This is right next toHoniara and suddenly Dr Ballard isputting us on the world map" (5V, Oct1993)·

Overall, the political wranglingsand delayed implementation of the newpolicies of the Hilly government, whichare innovative and pragmatic in manyways, made the overall achievementsof the country seem slow and few. But

POLITICAL REVIEWS

given the complexity of the countryand the many hurdles the new govern­ment had to overcome, 1993 may beregarded as a year of preparation forthe Hilly government to start with aclean slate in 1994.

JOHN MOFFAT FUGUI

MIKE WATE

References

55, Solomon Star. Weekly. Honiara.5V, Solomon Voice. Weekly. Honiara.5N, Solomon Nius. Government monthly.Honiara.

VANUATU

Maxime Carlot Korman's governmentretained office during 1993, despite ten­sions between the coalition partners,Korman's Union of Moderate Parties(UMP) and the National United Party(NUP). These tensions, combined withthose within the coalition parties,repeatedly distracted attention fromproblems of economic managementand development.

Prime Minister Korman began theyear with a ministerial reshuffle, thefirst since his government took office inDecember 1991, intended to consoli­date his position and to rein in twoministers whose conduct had beencapricious. Korman took over the for­eign affairs portfolio from his leadingrival within the Union of ModerateParties, Serge Vohor, shifting him tothe new post of minister for eco-nomic affairs. He made his movewhile Vohor was on an official visitto Noumea. He retained Willie Jimmy

.as minister for finance, but reduced

his responsibilities by transferringexternal trade to the new economicaffairs ministry (PR, Jan 1993; VW,

9 Jan 1993, I).In the course of the year Korman

carried forward his foreign affairsresponsibilities with reasonable suc­cess. He consolidated relations withFrance, and developed links with NewCaledonia, including by opening a con­sulate in Noumea in April. But Francemaintained a relatively cautiousapproach, notwithstanding the hopesof some UMP supporters, and the fearsof some critics of the French presencein the region, and despite the return topower of the conservatives in theFrench elections in March. Kormanand his government also maintainedharmonious relations with Australia,Vanuatu's leading aid donor, avoidinga recurrence of the tensions that hadtwice arisen in 1992 (Fry 1993, 396, 399;Henningham 1993, 427). Australia'sMinister for Development Assistanceand the Pacific Islands' Gordon Bilneyvisited Vanuatu in June and describedbilateral relations as "good andimproving" (vw, 19 June 1993, 5). Inaddition, the Korman governmentsought to develop and consolidateVanuatu's external relations morewidely, with some success.

If Vanuatu's external relations weregenerally constructive and serene dur­ing 1993, this was not true of domesticaffairs. Walter Lini's National UnitedParty proved anything but united. Itsinternal problems had unsettling effectson the governing coalition, as did ten­sions between anglophone-educatedand francophone-educated ni­Vanuatu. During the course of the yearLini repeatedly demanded that Korman