HONIARA (Pacnews) — The Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands says political instability, vested interests and corruption are among the big risks that exists in the country.
RAMSI’s special coordinator Tim George said those risks can distort the economy.
Addressing the Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce, George said managing better relationship with key donors are all issues that require more work, commitment and reform from everyone despite the progress already made.
George said since the arrive of the mission four years ago, there has been good progress on the island economy.
He said this included successes such as the reform of the Foreign Investment Act and work with small businesses.
But George said there is still a long way to go in terms of locking-in long term sustainable growth.
“There still needs to be better planning based on options for future and sharper assessment of risks, while progress in reforms which remove impediments to growth is surely the smartest way to encourage broad economic growth,” George said..
Solomon Islands Western province Premier Alex Lokopio said an executive meeting has decided that Gizo must be rebuilt after the tsunami devastation on April 2.