Put your money where your mouth is!

J. Roughan

22 June 2010

Honiara

In most parts of the world, if you are really serious about what you are saying and you want to see things go ahead, then the person backs up  the words from the mouth by investing real, hard cash in the enterprise. If something is so important that you constantly talk about it, then, as the words above say: "Put your money where your mouth is!"

 

More than a dozen political parties, some new and some quite old, are currently in vigorous campaign mode. Some parties have simply confined themselves to words on the radio or newspaper write ups, while others are actually touring the provinces, holding meetings in provincial capitals and are seriously engaging rural populations on the merits of their party's political agenda.

 

Each and every political party, however, has one thing in common. At lease for this election they are all saying that the rural person, ( I would prefer if they would speak about villagers), is the most important person in these islands. Finally, at last, the political establishment is correctly reading the reality of the Solomons. Villagers, through their liens, tribes and clans, actually own the lion's share of this nation's land, trees, rivers, reefs, fishing grounds, etc. Unlike many other nations--Australia, New Zealand, America, etc.--Solomon Islanders do control more than 90% of this country. The government owns less than 5% of the land! The 29,000 sq. kilometers of land surface, and according to the majority of land owners, the riches beneath the surface of these islands, is owned, controlled and more and more directed by village people.

 

It's taken more than 30 years of independence and a mini civil war for our political class, educated elite and power brokers to realize the basic fact that Solomon Islanders through their clans are the real and only owners of the nation. Now for the first time it seems that this message has finally made headway with our leaders and they are beginning to craft policies which will help villagers get ahead.

 

But words floating in the air mean nothing unless they are put into practice. Hence, the expression: Put your money where your mouth is!" The worst thing that could happen from this up coming election in August is to stick with words alone and not immediately put into action the political party's manifesto when it comes to putting rural people first.

 

May I suggest here that the first thing done on the day after the election is for each newly elected member to appoint an Action Committee for his constituency to flesh out the details of a Growth Centre which would have three separate but closely tied functions?

 

1st: Create a communications hub where villagers of the constituency would have telephone access with the rest of the nation. The real owners of this country, although rich in resources, are terribly poor in getting rapid, clear and precise information about what is happening in other parts of the nation. With the advent of the newest telecommunication outfit, beMobile, it would be a treasure for this new company to be in on the ground floor in the establishment of newly formed growth centres. The newly elected member of parliament would be in an excellent position to  pressure the new telecommunications company to set up a telephone system in the member's newly founded Growth Centre. 

 

2nd: Part and parcel for a well functioning Growth Center would be to cluster basic people's services--postal, banking, repair, information, police post, clinic, government offices, etc.--which villagers would be able to access rather than having to travel over to Honiara or provincial capitals for each and every need. Up to 80% of villagers' service needs could be operational within a well functioning Growth Centre. Many services, rather than being physical buildings, could rely at the beginning on the use of a mobile phone system. In many parts of Africa, for instance, banking takes place over the phone and not in a bank building as such. 

 

3rd: Establish a competent research unit made up of Solomon Islands' graduates and secondary students whose duty would be to gather vital information through a series of on-going surveys and research work to help the newly elected Member and the people of a constituency know quickly and readily what are the area's vital statistics, facts and information needed to make sound decisions. Every member needs a competent research unit to help establish vital, up to date and pertinent information to help the member formulate sound policies for his people.

 

By setting up all of these functions means creating jobs, employment and casual labor. A Growth Centre need not wait for a government handout to get started. Member's RCDF and other cash grants should be his first investment priority and over a four year period the Growth Centre could grow and become more useful for the very people who own the Solomons. Such investment would be an excellent example of: Putting money where the mouth is.

Myths driving our politicians (3)

J. Roughan

21 June 2010

Honiara 

 

Over the past two weeks we have been exploring some of the major myths--a notion that contains some truth inside it but is also filled with error, misinformation and falsehood--which are driving our current politicians. These myths centre on the development funds in the hands of parliamentarians.  . 

 

The first myth (12 June article) is about the idea that the most important work of a parliamentarian is to handle well the many development funds coming his way. However, it's clear from past election results that just the opposite is true. The more funds a Member distributes the harder it is for him to return to parliament. In 1997, for instance, over half of the members never returned to their seat. While in the 2001 election, the fall out was worse . . .64% of sitting members failed to make it back into office. 

 

Last week's article explored the myth that raising people's quality of life came about in how well and how much the member could focus his attention and energies on development funds. Once again, not true!

 

Most citizens need and want to see the quality of their lives made stronger but they speak primarily of quality education opportunities, well stocked clinics and hospitals, assistance in their resource base and chances of gaining modest but assured amounts of money. Of course they are happy to see the funding of projects but these are not their top priority.

 

Two separate surveys--one from Canberra and the second from SIDT--both made the point that government failure in the nation's social infra- structure was more important than project funding. SIDT's eight Report Cards over a twenty year period makes it clear that people's quality of life issues are at the heart of their concern. Project funding, at the expense of people's fundamental quality of life issues, is going the wrong  way.

 

# Myth 3

 

A member's best chance of winning back his parliamentary seat lies in his ability to distribute well and much development aid as possible. Other works--passing worth while national legislation, keeping government on its toes, monitoring government policies in the field and bringing to parliament strong views--are all seen as secondary, almost redundant, to many members of parliament. The poor attendance record by many parliamentarians and the thinness of their debate on matters of national interest over the past four years indicates where their hearts are.

 

Facts:

 

Although development funds handed out to members of parliament have substantially increased over the past few years, regaining one's seat in parliament has become more and more difficult. As mentioned above, on average, more than 44% of all sitting members lose their seats in  any national election while in two recent elections--1997 and 2001--the failure rate soared. Come August this year the nation will witness even more members failing to carry their seats in spite of literally millions of dollars dispensed for projects by members.

 

Many of our parliamentarians do work hard but they focus their energies on the wrong things. They have not been elected to act as project coordinators/managers, certainly not to work as social welfare officers handing out funds for school fees, travel fares, medical visits, etc. and walking around like Automatic Teller Machines dispensing money to their constituents.

 

The nation's problems have much more to do with reducing poverty, creating more jobs especially for youth, strengthening our resource base of agriculture and fisheries and by adding value to our food and fish production. But these goals are not addressed by focusing on project funds for development as needed as it is. But dynamic and creative members of parliament could make a major dent in working for new job  opportunities. For example, pushing for and insisting on overseas employment chances--fruit picking in New Zealand and Australia, home care in Canada, Taiwan and others should be the 'bread and butter' of parliament and its work. 

 

Our members have been turning aside from these works and substituting other kinds of work which, as important as they may be, are not parliament's first task. The well being of the nation is and that's in the hands and hearts of our members.

Myths drive our politicians!

J. Roughan

7 June 2010

Honiara   

 

It would do parliamentarians and those running for high office a great deal of good for themselves, but especially for the nation, if those seeking to be Members to thoroughly study why so many act the way they do. National elections, due this August, will probably vote in more new  Members than old ones who are looking to come back to the House. This is the time, then, for all of them to take stock of their motives for seeking high office.

 

A myth is a notion that has some truth inside it but it is so surrounded by half-truths, falsehoods and errors, that it is often hard to separate the good from the bad. A popular myth in the beginning of the last century, for instance, had it that the Whiteman was better than those of an other color. Such an idea is understood as nonsense today but it did have its believers for a while. Our parliamentarians also carry around in their heads a set of myths which when deeply studied turn out to be false or at least misleading.

 

# Myth 1

 

A successful MP is one whose first task is to properly handle the RCDF funds (as well as the other money schemes:e.g. Rural Livelihood, Millennium, Special Mini Projects, Parliament Mini Project Funds).     

 

FACTS

 

Although development monies given to Members have increased a great deal over the years--$400,000 in 1993 when the scheme first started to today's $2 million--the number of parliamentarians returning to the House after an election have gone down in number not up. At each national election, approximately 4 out of every 10 members are never re-elected. That number has stayed the same over past national elections. However, in the 1997 and 2001 elections, more members than ever lost their seats, although funding administered by Members had grown substantially, more and more of them have lost their seats in parliament. In 1997, 51% never returned while in 2001, the number of Members losing their seats rose to 64%!

 

If development funds were so critical to voters to help them gauge whether their member was doing well, one would be forgiven for thinking that the Members should easily gain back their seats because this development fund base was increasing, not decreasing. But as stated in the above paragraph, that has not been true.

 

Of course MPs mismanagement of development funds has become part of the current political picture. Some constituencies are already calling in the Courts to demand that their Member show how and where all the funds given have been properly accounted for.These cases have not come to trial as yet but when they do, it will show that properly handled RCDF funds is a two-edged sword--able to cut two ways.  

 

Unfortunately, managing development funds has become, in the minds of many members and not a few of their voters, the most important aspect of judging whether the person is a good parliamentarian or not. Out the window has gone the idea that a member is first and foremost a law maker, keeps the government on its toes and guides sound policy for the good of the whole nation.

 

Isn't this why so many parliamentarians have been failing to turn up in chamber and when they do decide to be present hardly say a word in the debate which they are voted into office for? Transparency Solomon Islands recent study of Members poor daily attendance at Parliament was shocking. But worse still was the fact that few Members had anything to say about the laws that were past.

 

Next week I want to uncover a few more myths which are driving our politicians to act the way they do. No one is saying that proper care should not be given to development funds. But that's not the job of Parliamentarians. Their duty is much higher: to be our representatives in the highest reaches of government. Leave project management, social welfare work and acting like walking ATMs for those who are better prepared.

Competion is good for the soul!

 

J. Roughan

31 May 2010

Honiara

Last week's essay--The Solomons biggest problem: Honiara--explained how our fastest growing, mega city has been driving the rest of the country down the wrong path for more than 30 years. That essay made it clear that Honiara will not easily change its ways, nor cease  demanding more and more resources to feed its life style and will never be shy about pushing its weight around to make sure that things stay that way long into the future. 

 

It would be wonderful, however, to report that with the new bunch of MPs elected into their positions in the up coming national poll in mid-year and marching off to the Big House on the Hill, things would indeed change. Don't hold your breath! It's not that this new crop of MPs are bad people, only out to fill their pockets and give little attention to the small people. It's the system! More than words are needed to bring change. That's why a healthy dose of competition could make a world of difference.

 

What kind of competition? Our nation has 50 constituencies, the backbone of our political system. Up to recent times, however, the monies and resources given to individual MPs have hardly made any lasting impression in their home grounds. In most places, it would be hard to take a  photo of anything new or special in any of the constituencies. It seems that the $2 million a year pumped into these constituencies should have worked a miracle or two by now.  $2 million yearly is a whole lot of money and if wisely invested in each of constituency, it could begin to make a big difference in how this country could be run for the health and welfare of the majority of our people.

 

Take for instance people's desperate need in these rural outposts to have a fair access to a phone service, banking facility, an information centre, a fully equipped medical outpost staffed by a doctor,  a thriving food centre, etc. to bring to rural people some of the very services we in Honiara take for granted on a daily basis. Our people, on the other hand, must travel great distances, pay high ship fares and spend serious time away from their families for the simplest of services we in Honiara take for granted.

 

Other countries already boast of setting up these services in places called GROWTH CENTERS.  Yes, villagers do like to come to Honiara but usually its for a distinct and clear purpose. They simply don't travel on uncomfortable ships for hours at a time costing a high price for the sheer joy of coming over to town. Usually these people time their journey visit so as to check in with a doctor, fix up their eyes/teeth/ears, do a bit of banking, find out about the extended family, check a child's progress in school, etc. etc.

 

If, however, many of these same services were firmly imbedded in a local GROWTH CENTRE, fewer and fewer of our people would be forced to travel long hours, on expensive, uncomfortable ships and then seek a place to sleep at the end of their journey. Part of the problem of why Honiara grew more than 30 times over the past 50 years, was it never really faced any kind of competition from the provinces. If a villager needed medical assistance, information, understanding, there was only way to achieve it:: travel to Honiara or do without the assistance.

 

And the time for the establishment of provincial GROWTH CENTERS seems to be well timed. Our new bunch of parliamentarians would be open to new, innovative ideas since the old method of MPs doling out bits and pieces of money but seeing little difference in their people's life style has gotten them nowhere. beMobile, the newest telephone company, will be rolling out its mobile phones about the same time as our new parliament is taking root. What better time than to make a deal with this new communication giant to be at the heart of any GROWTH CENTRE.  

 

Of course a centre which brings together 'under one roof', as it were, information technology, banking, medical and other services also becomes by definition a job centre as well. Yes, some of these higher services would require specialists but at least half of all jobs--building,  plumbing, electrical trades, food outlets, trucking, markets, accommodation, etc. would have to root in such centers. Up wards of 50-70 new jobs could be created by the formation of such centers.

 

In past years, an MP thinking along this line of drawing together many services for his people, ran into a fundamental problem: where does the money for this growth come from. Now that each and every MP is on the receiving end of a large grant, surely, over a four year period, large amounts of these grant monies could be focused on building up a service base which our people so desperately need. Once these centers begin to root, for the first time in Solomons recent history, Honiara would face stiff completion which would make it less and less attractive to the rest of the country. Perhaps then, MPs would truly make their own constituency their home base, NOT Honiara!

The Solomons biggest problem

J. Roughan

25 May 2010

Honiara      

Honiara was my port of call--planes landed at Henderson only once every other week--when I first arrived in the Solomons in 1958. At the time, Honiara was truly a small town. It boasted of 2,300 people, about the same number that visit Central Market on a busy Saturday morning. Our 2009 Census hasn't come out with its report as yet but don't be surprised to read that this urban centre has reached the 80,000 mark. The last 50 years has seen tremendous growth, from a small town to a mid-sized city. In five decades, then, Honiara has increased its population about 35 times.

 

But our country is a Nation of Villages! 8 out of 10 citizens actively live village life. The basics of normal life--food, shelter, medicine, water, recreation, etc.--are found in the village. Not so in Honiara where the almighty dollar reigns supreme. A villager at home can go a whole day without ever buying a thing but it's next to impossible to live in town without deep, full pockets.

 

But give credit where credit is due. Honiara's rapid growth over very few years has helped Solomons people to become a nation. No other town--Auki, Kira Kira, Buala, Gizo, etc.--could have accomplished this work. But our current independence has come with a price tag, a rather high price tag.  There has been an over centralization, over concentration of goods, services, wealth and influence in this one part of the nation and it has come at the expense of the rest of the country.

 

Honiara has not only become big but some would say fat and bloated. More than 90% of all commercial activity takes place in the tiny area between Henderson in the East and White River in the West. While favorable arguments for this fact can be made, the outcome for the nation has been less than helpful. The village is too often seen by Honiara's political elite as something foreign while the real Solomons is here in town. In other words, we are seeing the growth of two kinds of Solomon Islanders: those living in Honiara and the rest of the nation in the village.

 

But that type of growth was never part of the our Founding Fathers original vision. Our first years of independence--1978-1982--focused on establishing a workable state with the election of parliament members, passing laws, setting up ministries, etc. Nation building, it was thought, would come quickly enough once the trappings of statehood were firmly in place.

 

Unfortunately, however, by the mid-1980s some of the more powerful leaders of the time had another vision, round tree logging exports. This type of development was suppose to bring great material advances to those most in need, the villager. But just the opposite happened. SIDT's 8  Report Cards dating back to 1989 and stretching into 2009, twenty years of surveys, showed that from the people's point of view government after government was failing them. Services of quality education, strong medical attention, resource assistance and availability of money were growing weak and in many cases becoming non existent.

 

As Honiara grew, became more important and more dominating in Solomon Islanders lives, the village, the backbone of local society, was weakening and growing poorer. For example, the annual average revenue given to all 9 provinces between the years 1995-2000 was $96.6 million out of a national  annual average of $336.3 million. Honiara alone absorbed almost $240 million each year. Honiara's domination of national wealth had resulted in a 70%/30% split with the lion's share going to the city. No wonder that provincial advancement has proven to be so difficult.

 

But this type of domination happened again last week. The World Bank plans to pump into Honiara almost $24 million over a five year period to tackle youth unemployment. Great! Good! But youth unemployment is a national issue and must be fought in all the provinces. If only one place--Honiara--gets funding then youth will simply flood over to town to get a job. Honiara's poorest people will then to asked to pick up the pieces since many youth will lodge themselves with their wantoks who already find it hard to feed and care for close family members. The last thing they need is another few mouths to feed and care for on a daily basis.

 

Parliament is the primary source of those who think that if Honiara grows bigger and fatter, it means that the country is also thriving. In parliament's last session in April, for example, it tried to increase its membership from 50 to 67 but fortunately did not succeed because the extra funding needed for these seats didn't exist. But this is the kind of strict diet which the country must use more and more. Honiara's tendency is to demand more and more without fully realizing what such demands do to the rest of the people of the nation.

The Respect Ruler: Early Warning System?

 

J. Roughan

18 May 2010

Honiara     

An early lesson Solomon Islanders taught me many years ago was about the importance of showing proper respect. Of course the customs and traditions of my own people also put great weight on the need to show respect for the other. From my earliest days, then, even as a child, I was taught to say thank you, please, pardon me, etc.etc. Not to do so, failure to say thank you when given something, for instance, showed a serious lack of respect.  

 

In other words, courtesy, good manners and hence, respect were shown to others--those older than myself, my playmates, in fact all other people --were respected both in my verbal as well as my outward behavior. Not to do so was considered a social 'sin' and in some cases, simply rude and not to be tolerated. 

 

However, in a Solomons context respect for the other, as I continue to learn, covers much more than mere public courtesy and certain social expressions. Respect means something deeper and more profound than saying some proper words and showing certain gestures.  Respect for the other, his culture, relatives, history, was something that went deeper and had much more profound meaning than the mere saying "Sorry!" when another was hurt by words or a "Thank you!" for the unexpected gift. 

 

Respect goes to the heart of how we publicly accept the other. Mere words, no matter how well said, hardly touch the core meaning of respect in the local context.  It's made up of our whole approach to the other and our very life style which speaks much to our understanding of what we mean by showing  respect to another.

 

But these words are not being written here to present a lesson on courtesy, public conduct and respect but something much more important. It's about our up coming national elections which will be upon us by the end of July or there about. Are we ready for them or not?  Our 2006 election went off well, no violence and the nation conducted a 'free, fair and valid' election. But right after a calm, correct election came the 18/19 April 2006 Chinatown Burn Down, when a riotous mob burnt Honiara's Chinatown to the ground. 

 

What special things has the nation done in the past four years so that such trouble won't befall us once again. If I could only point to a government sponsored Youth Employment Bill which had been created to produce thousands of jobs yearly, I would sleep a great deal more peacefully. But since 2006, I can't pin point one government initiative that would make this up coming election period a safe and secure one. Just the opposite!

 

Over the past few months,  I have been using my own Respect Ruler to gauge how well or how poorly our young people have been acting in public space to conduct themselves. I have a feeling that our next riot will come from our young people who have been so pushed to society's sidelines. Most of them are desperately looking for work, even low paid jobs, but in our present economic slowdown, even such jobs are few and far between. As in the 1989 Riot, bored and discouraged youth are prime candidates to seek trouble. As one youth I interviewed back in 1989, said when asked why he had joined in the riot, "Nothing to lose and a good chance to pick something up worth while!" 

 

Little things like poor public actions at Honiara's Main Market, stoning cars driving along the road at night, verbal abuse in Honiara's streets, jumping bank lines to get first, car/bus/taxi driver conduct along Honiara's roads, blocking back roads to force drivers to pay a 'road tax',   etc. have been chosen for my Respect Ruler. All these actions are socially negative, cause unneeded publicly distress and are far from friendly.

 

These actions and others like them, I find, are on the rise and are making an appearance on my Respect Ruler.  Are these actions fair examples showing that youth and the not too young are leaning towards trouble come election day? Perhaps there are more important early warning signals of trouble to come but I'm sure our authorities should be sensitive to them and preparing themselves if and when serious  trouble raises its ugly head.

Cats can't talk because they have no eyebrows!

J. Roughan 

11 May 2010

Honiara      

An early lesson Solomon Islanders taught me when I first landed on Honiara's shores many years ago is that the locals are fond of using their eyebrows and the rest of their face to send messages. Of course, people here use many languages, more than 60 at last count, but their ability to use their facial muscles to send out messages is second to none. 

 

Strangers to these isles soon find that answers to questions come more often than not from the flick of an eyebrow, a lift of the brow or a widening of the eyes. In a real sense, then, the lift and lowering of eyebrows and widening of the brow acts like another language.  It's a  language, however, that the eye alone catches but the ear misses completely.  In the Solomons, then, one needs to pay great attention to the many messages sent by the eyebrow and face as well as those spoken out loud by the tongue. Shouldn't the nation employ this rich resource to the fullest?

 

Unfortunately, however, our political masters place much more emphasis on the overseas poll watchers rather than recruiting citizens right under their noses. In 2006, approximately 50 overseas personnel, using a budget of more than $3.3 million, parachuted into our country to be present at the national elections. Our leaders didn't seem bothered at all that these overseas personnel didn't speak a single local language, knew hardly a word of Pijin and were quite ignorant of our customs. Of course they never heard of the islanders' ability to communicate through eyebrows, eyes and face.

 

Yet, at the end of the day it was this team of overseas experts who verified that our 2006 election was 'free, fair and valid' having visited only a handful of polling stations and being present a few hours at the most in any single polling station.    

 

It seems only sensible, then, that when polling date rolls around in the middle of the year, that local people with their language skills should be  the major part of the monitoring system at each and every polling station across the nation. The nation has thousands upon thousands of people, young and old, men and women, who look forward to be part of the up coming national election, so vital to the country, if given a chance.   

 

In 2006, for instance, just before our last national election, SIDT organized more than 140 young people who were primed and trained to be present at a handful of polling stations. With no budget, not even enough to give these volunteers bus fare, to help them turn up at SIDT's weekly training session, these young people were eager to assist at polling stations to insure that the election went off 'freely, fairly and validly'.

 

This time around, however, we hope things will be different. To prepare for this election, SIDT has submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs a project proposal to train up approximately 2,000 local poll watchers. In the 2006, there was 970 polling stations but with the increase in population the number of official polling stations will probably rise to something close to 1,000. 

 

The project proposal plans to place two locals--one man and one woman--in each polling booth station who would remain at post for the  complete 10 hours while voting takes place. These poll watchers would be drawn from their own area where their language abilities--both verbal and non verbal--would come into play. As important, the funding sought--$2 million--would be supplied from outside donors and not  burden the government of the day. 

 

There is little time left to get this work on the way. Of course, bring in outside poll watchers but have them team up with local people who are already at post. Final reports coming from a combination of local and overseas personnel would carry the necessary weight verifying that the election was indeed, 'free, fair and valid'. Solomon Islands citizens with their great language skills, both those of the tongue and body, would out perform any overseas expert on their own and be a whole lot cheaper. Unlike cats, however, Solomon Islanders with their eyebrows and all could do a marvelous job in keeping this next national election on the right path.