Thursday 7 December 2006
Joint release with the Solomons Islands Government
Senior Solomon Islands Government and RAMSI officials came together on Wednesday 6 December to provide strategic oversight of their joint programs.
The meeting was the third in a series of SIG/RAMSI Consultative Forums which provide both sides with the opportunity to jointly consider achievements, challenges and future work plans.
Permanent Secretary to Prime Minister and Cabinet, Dr John Roughan, welcomed the opportunity to exchange information.
Dr Roughan said “To achieve the common goal of the government/RAMSI partnership, it is critical that we maintain good communication – between ourselves, and also with the people of Solomon Islands. Only by doing so can we work effectively to restore law and order, strengthen government processes and lay the foundation for a prosperous nation.”
RAMSI’s Special Coordinator Tim George said the meeting was an important opportunity to foster a strong sense of partnership, dialogue and cooperation between SIG and the 15 countries that contributed to RAMSI.
Both parties welcomed the outcomes of the October Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting including agreement that the PIF would hold three-way consultations between the PIF, SIG and RAMSI, as well as conduct a high-level review of RAMSI. The Forum is expected to begin work on these initiatives in early in 2007. Two PIF officials attended the SIG/RAMSI consultations as observers.
Jerry Manele, Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary, said the review would play an important role in strengthening the SIG/RAMSI partnership.
“The Solomon Islands Government places a great deal of importance on the Pacific Islands Forum consultations and review in ensuring that the people of Solomon Islands get the most value from the work of the mission”, he said.
Chief of Staff, Office of the Prime Minister, Dr Judson Laefasia, briefed the meeting on the progress towards the development and implementation of Corporate Plans for each government ministry.
“These plans represent reforming the huge machine that is government. The Solomon Islands Government has a long and proud history. This reformation will take time, but we are not starting from scratch. The process is an opportunity to look at all the aspirations of MPs and bring them together to make it work.”
Dr Roughan said these plans represented a ‘whole of government’ approach to policy planning and would support the government’s ‘bottom-up’, rural development strategy”.
“Corporate Plans are also important in highlighting areas for partnership between SIG and bilateral donors, as well as RAMSI because they identified where assistance may be required”, he said.
Dr Jim Hagan, head of RAMSI’s financial management and economic reform program, noted the importance of planning for medium- term economic growth in Solomon Islands.
“Growing businesses and improving government services in rural areas where Solomon Islanders live was a major challenge for the Government and donors. This would allow incomes to rise. The decline in natural forests expected over the next few years and population pressures meant that we needed to be acting now to prepare for the future”, he said.
RAMSI and government representatives discussed progress of the ongoing work across RAMSI’s three “pillars”: machinery of government, economic governance, and law and justice.
Under the Machinery of Government program RAMSI:
- had had its Public Sector Improvement Program approved by Cabinet
- was exploring future avenues to assist with the election process
- was working with women to improve their leadership prospects
- had assisted government departments to produce their Annual Reports.
Under the Economic Governance program:
- a number of economic reforms were being implemented including the Foreign Investment Act and other reforms such as to business law
- SIG and RAMSI advisers had worked together on the government’s 2007 Budget.
Under the Law and Justice program:
- there was active recruiting and training of new Solomon Islands Police Force (SIPF)
- capacity building with the SIPF was well underway
- infrastructure and building work was being carried out at the High Court and Kalala House, as well as for provincial prisons including Auki which was first completely new prison in the Pacific for 20 years
- the Law Reform Commission was up and running
- reform to legislation such as the Prisons Act and Regulations was gathering pace.
RAMSI’s Development Coordinator Blair Exell said RAMSI was developing a Medium Term Strategy in consultation with key groups to guide the next five years.
Mr Exell said “The strategy is being developed in consultation with SIG, civil society, business and donors. The strategy will help align RAMSI and government priorities, measure what has been achieved, and direct our attention to the work not yet finished. The strategy will ensure flexibility so that RAMSI can adapt and evolve with the changing situation in Solomon Islands”.
Dr John Roughan acknowledged the importance of exchanging information with RAMSI and looked forward to future high level consultations.
Mr George said much had been achieved in the SIG/RAMSI partnership over the past three years, “We are looking forward to building on those achievements next year”.