SOLOMON ISLANDS AIMS TO RESET ECONOMIC GROWTH AT NATIONAL ECONOMIC SUMMIT
SOLOMON ISLANDS AIMS TO RESET ECONOMIC GROWTH AT NATIONAL ECONOMIC SUMMIT
The Solomon Islands Government today (Wednesday 31st July) kicked off a 2-day National Economic Summit, unveiling a broad vision to reset economic growth and propel the nation towards a prosperous future.
Delivering his keynote address, Prime Minister Hon. Jeremiah Manele emphasized that the summit is not just about discussions.
“It is about action. We are here to agree on the strategic priorities we must pursue, formulate a plan to address these priorities, and develop a National Economic Development Road Map, tailored to specific sectors to drive our economic revival and growth.”
Minister of National Planning and Development Coordination (MNPDC) Hon. Rexon Ramofafia and Minister of Finance and Treasury (MoFT) Hon. Manasseh Sogavare delivered powerful addresses when setting the scene at today’s opening ceremony.
Minister Ramofafia premised his scene setting remarks through the lens of the National Development Strategy 2016-2035 in particular objective 1 which is aimed at sustained and inclusive economic growth and he went further to propose decisive steps to accelerate progress, based on the summit’s theme, “To Foster Resilient, Transformative, Sustainable Economic Growth and Inclusive Development.”
Hon. Ramofafia highlighted that from 2016 to 2021, around SBD 13.604 billion has been committed to fund development programmes in the country, with almost 65 percent coming from multilateral and bilateral development partners and the balance from SIG development budget.
Despite these investments, Minister Ramofafia acknowledged that progress is uneven and remain untenable against most objectives and their medium-term strategies.
Of particular concern is the GDP growth target of 5 percent by 2025, which appears unattainable given the current growth trend of just above 2 percent.
The Minister posed critical questions, asking, “With the financial investments made over the years have we been investing in the right and critical development investments? Investments that will generate returns and grow the economy.”
To address these challenges, Minister Ramofafia proposed prioritizing critical enablers of development.
These include connectivity infrastructure (transport: sea, land and air, and communication), emphasizing that “people, production and trade must move with ease”.
The Minister stressed the urgency of energy sector reforms, stating, “Solomon Islands holds the Pacific and may be the global title for the highest electricity tariff” and access to grid-power is also very low.
Another key proposal was to roll-out targeted provincial urbanization development programmes to reduce Honiara based urbanization growth and promote economic growth in provincial towns.
The Minister noted “26.7 percent of our people now live in urban areas especially in Honiara and its adjacent areas in Guadalcanal Province, highlighting the need to “decentralize, plan and implement urban development in our provincial towns and centres.”
He emphasized the importance of pursuing selected economic investments that will transform enablers of development, enhance downstream processing and value addition, and enhance the intactness of our biophysical and cultural environment and build on our strengths and long-term experience.
The Minister concluded by noting that the Ministry of MNPDC is currently finalising the review of the National Development Strategy (NDS) 2016 -2035, and that inputs from this Economic Summit will inform its updating.
He also emphasized the critical nature of these discussions as the country works towards its graduation from the Least Developed Country status in 2027.
The two-day summit brings together over 100 participants from both national and provincial governments, development partners, private sector representatives, NGOs, farmers and other stakeholders to collaboratively discuss and shape the Solomon Islands’ economic future.
Prime Minister Hon. Jeremiah Manele delivering the keynote address at the National Economic Summit opening ceremony
Minister of National Planning and Development Coordination Hon. Rexon Ramofafia setting the scene at the opening ceremony.
Minister of Finance and Treasury Hon. Manasseh Sogavare delivered a powerful address when setting the scene at the opening ceremony.
Government Ministers, officials and participants listening to presentations and discussions during a session with farmers.
-MNPDC Press Release
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