A Country of about 600,000 and a Massive Bureaucracy!

Solomon Islands is a small country of about half a million people and with a massive government. The bureaucracy is ever increasing and so are the benefits that attach to it. More offices were created under Prime Minister Sogavare, others were created under Dr. Derek Sikua. The Entitlement Commission also increased benefits for Parliamentarians (serving and on retirement) and went through with little public protest. Interesting, however, is that the chairman of that commission is now the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands. And one of the major players in the increased benefits for Parliamentarians, Snyder Rini, is still a Member of Parliament and a Minister himself.

The latest from the grapevine is that this government has just created another "entitlement", and education benefit for MPs. Each MP will have an education fund of about $10,000 at his disposal, which means that despite the huge paycheck they take home on paydays, taxpayers and foreign aid money will also pay for the education of their children. If this is the case, Solomon Islands is heading down the toilet tube.

In 2005, under the government of Sogavare, education funds were diverted to universities in Australia and New Zealand where about a handful of children of MPs were studying. Critics argued that such fund would have educated at least 11 Solomon Islands under-privileged students at the University of South Pacific (USP).

This is just another example of the ever growing bureaucracy in Solomon Islands. The question is when will our leaders put the needs of Solomon Islands' first? When will they prioritize the country and not their personal needs and corrupt ambitions?

It is time for Solomon Islanders to rise against this massive expansion and give to the people what they dearly needed. Even if it means, an uprising of some sorts. Force the government to get rid of all these benefits and restore the trust of the people in their government.