DEAR EDITOR, the issue of concern being raised by some prominent leaders of this country pertaining to the revitalization of the Development Bank of Solomon Islands (DBSI) as a “STATE LEAD BANK” or “PEOPLES BANK” to be free from foreign Banks dominance power of influence on the national economy is a fundamental prerequisite that need to be seriously considered in the process.

Obviously, the Honourable Premier of Guadalcanal Province, Hon Anthony K Veke; and former Premier/MP of Choiseul Province, Mr Clement Kengava with their political comrade the Honourable Premier of Malaita Province Hon Peter Shanel Ramohia have stood their grounds against such controversial power of monetary influence that has severely affected our peoples interests to have the opportunity to access monetary investment and development facilities with ease and affordable requirements.

It is a clear manifestation of their leadership concern in affording our people greater access to monetary investment and development facilities that could potentially empower us to venture into commercializing and industrializing our subsistence economy.

Thus, their call and support towards the National Governments Policy Initiative of the lead Democratic Coalition for Change Government (DCCG) to revitalise and capitalise the defunct Development Bank of Solomon Islands is overwhelmingly expressed and supported by our people as resource owners of the very natural resources extracted to sustaining our economy.

Henceforth, the collective view of concerns as expressed by our prominent leaders is a means to avenge against the monetary power of influence aided by foreign monetary institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) along with the foreign owned commercial banks operating in Solomon Islands.

The shared views of our prominent political leaders are reflections of leaders vested with core leadership stamina mentality rooted in the sovereign affairs of our people and nation. Their views must be heated to avenge against the dominance economic power of influence by this foreign fraternity.

The core elements of the Democratic Coalition for Change Government’s Development Policy Strategy Document need is the DBSI revitalization, thus, recent consultation forums held to have covered some of the country’s peripheral provinces by the DBSI Consultation Taskforce/Committee is a rainbow approach scenario of the National Government of Solomon Islands policy intentions.

Our National and Provincial peripheral leaders who have steadfastly sustained their support for the revitalization of DBSI as a “State Lead Bank” or “Peoples Bank” without any element of foreign banking’s dominance power of influence that clearly constrains the monetary power of our resource-based people and country to access financial development and investment objects at ease is a fact that need to be applauded, advocated and supported.

Apparently, our country’s rural-based resource owner’s frustrating state of affairs over the existing foreign commercial banks stringent development and investment policies and facilities is beyond reprimand, thus, DBSI revitalisation as a sovereign institution must be regulated to advance the economic aspects of increasing the financial affordability of our people to maximise their wealth and potentials to venture into entrepreneurship.

The suppression of our people’s rights to be accorded equal investment and competing opportunities with any direct capital financing support means from this foreign commercial banks remain an issue of concern for ourselves and people for decades. We have witnessed this foreign dominance power dilemma for long enough.

In fact, the apprehensions rendered by these foreign banks undermines furthering opportunities for the creation of industries, investments, developments, employments with gained purchasing power sustainability in improving our people’s socio-economic wellbeing and livelihoods, therefore, the civilisation trend that remain with us since condoning the era of modernisation and globalisation to persist as it may so wishes need to be retraced and refocused with a balance that resource owners investment and development interest is foremost to be first served to be defaulted to serve foreign investment interest.

DBSI revitalisation process need to incline to sight that these foreign banks can say a thing at the expense of our people because the money lend at their disposal is to serve their own interest than our indigenous wealth interest. However, unless we incline to sight that we can say a thing as we have the resources rightfully owned, harvested, processed and marketed without their monetary input, we will remain to be ignorant of the fact that money system was designed to be created out of thin air to be regulated as a medium of exchange for goods and services produced and transferred on a balance to give and take on a reasonably agreed basis.

Our State Statutory Institutions must be reminded that whether it is money, goods or services availed therein in any monetary society, these are all objects of exchange, equal in power of importance. If money created out of thin air is valued through regulation, regulation must value the input of our services to produce goods as State Productions without any external influence that seeks to undermine our affordability.

An important area that our politicians will do justice to our people and country is giving the DBSI revitalisation the State Lead Bank or Peoples Bank the ultimatum regulation to be the central commercial lending institution that is solely to satisfy the consumption demands of our people as resource owners of our land and sea.

Our people expect their Government and Bank to accord them total satisfaction than a disarray of frustration on the current trend where the foreign commercial banks forfeits customary and rural-based perpetual land title of ownerships as not a bankable commodity, or of less potential in comparison to urban-based Fixed Term Estate (FTE).

The reality is, the foreign commercial banks don’t appreciate the fact that our rural informal sector based fishermen and farmers productions and earnings far exceeds those of us in the formal sector, and even though the country’s controversial logging and mining, as well as our timber saw milling and fishing industries are situated with our people in the rural areas, our people are still excused from footing their million dollars rural-based industry development initiative and interest.

All that these foreign banks are interested in, is to advocate for our people to invest with them to lend to satisfy their own interest, and influence the noble intentions of the government policy to provide easy financial access opportunity to its people as classically noted in the MSME Loan Guarantee Scheme being tugged to advance their own ends meet.

The existing foreign commercial banks sabotaging trend on our informal sector resource based people thus far, obviously, is an undeniable fact to our ordinary people, therefore, our people mass demands of expectations to be resurrected from such realised economic turmoil through the soon revitalisation of Development Bank of Solomon Islands is a must thrust call of fulfilment by their sovereign Government.

Such economic diminishing plight of our people’s wealth can surely be secured without the intrusion of foreign rooted economic culture mentality of the World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and their foreign Advisors.

The notion that we are part of the global economy is a mere perception to starve nations economically and make us to remain dependent on foreign conspired ideology that are guided from a central pool of few foreign brains of self-entered interest people and institution, therefore, the ongoing realised soaring economic struggle trend where our people will continue to utilise our domestic resources to advance the creation of more foreign entrepreneurships opportunities will remain a deepen catastrophe to our existence.

It does not make any sense at all that an ordinary man is left to struggle with the survival of his family, sweating the heat of the sun and freezing in the rain and dew of every morning and evening, brushing their coconut and cocoa plantations, picking and de-husking coconut and cocoa fruits, copra drying the nuts, fermenting and drying cocoa beans, extracting and carrying heavy burdened cubic of timbers from their forest to their coastal sceneries, diving the depth of their waters to collect snails, and paddling the calm and stormy seas for fish, and guess what comes next?

Next thing is, we find ourselves being forcefully persuaded under the pretext of the global market price index        scenario, and that whether we like it or not, a central pool of few foreign brains of self-entered interest people and institution are at the helm of mastering our voyage to live in poverty amidst plenty, therefore, the chances of any resource owner to venture into Export Business Industry (enterprising) is maintained to be resuscitated as and when they so desired our need.

Solomon Islands National Provident Funds (SINPF) Act amendment to accommodate the informal investment affordability of our resource owners is a welcoming chapter reflective of the wishes of its members to take ownership of their to be revitalised monetary institution, the Development Bank of Solomon Islands (DBSI) as a State Lead Bank or Peoples Bank of the People, by the People and for the People. The formal and informal sector contributors of the SINPF need to be encouraged to pledge with DBSI.

The view of any Solomon Islanders who are known to furthering the alliance of this foreign interest at the expense of our people must be excommunicated from the process of re-establishing the Development Bank of Solomon Islands.

We have capable elite Solomon Islanders as advisors and experts that makes us to be no more dependents on this foreign masters and their institutions. It’s time that we trust ourselves to drive our own destiny to economic survival and prosperity.

On the contrary, any Solomon Islander defaulting his or her opportunity to invest, borrow and repay with deliberate wilful intentions or acts to deny other potential recipients of the Peoples Bank or State Lead Bank must not be condoned at all costs, henceforth, we must take ownership of these investment and lending opportunities that comes with the DBSI Revitalisation as is for the good of all citizens of Solomon Islands.

 

Thomas Nukuafi

Honiara

Mobile: 7568751