CURRENT DIRECTIONS AND FUTURE THRUSTS :

Progress Report on the Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development

Solomon Islands

 

 

By:

 

 

NESTOR M. PESTELOS

Chief Technical Adviser

UNDP-UNOPS Solomon Islands Development Administration

and Participatory Planning Program (SIDAPP)  

 

 

 

 

October, 2001

Honiara, Solomon Islands


MINISTRY OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT:

A REPORT ON CURRENT DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES

AND THEIR BEARING ON FUTURE POLICY DIRECTIONS

 

1.0      Background

 

Consistent with its commitment to help achieve balanced and equitable development amongst the country’s provinces and regions, the Ministry has been implementing two priority programmes since August last year:

 

 

 

The first initiative has been carried out through the organization of the Provincial Institutional Strengthening Development Unit (PISDU) and a National Task Force on the State Government System. The work of these two entities resulted in the following key accomplishments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

This paper will deal with how the second initiative, SIDAPP, the pilot programme on participatory profiling and planning, has been focusing on key concerns that will have relevance on the future policy directions of the Ministry and to the eventual adoption of a home-grown State Government System for the Solomons.

 

2.0      Re-focusing of SIDAPP and the Progress of Current Initiatives

 

In line with the policy direction of the Ministry under the new Government, SIDAPP refocused its activities to complement the thrust to evolve a State government system and to support current peace and development efforts.

 

Under the new Minister, SIDAPP provided technical and funding assistance to enable Task Force members to conduct consultations in the various provinces. It committed staff and some funding resources to the Millennium Conference of Premiers held in Buala in October 1999.

 

With the Minister’s request and direction, the project’s Chief Technical Adviser liaised with donor agencies, namely, ADB, World Bank, UNDP Suva, UNOPS Kuala Lumpur, and ILO to articulate the Ministry’s determination to pursue a more effective provincial government system.

 

The project funded a consultancy for an initial study on the financial and economic resources available in each province that can be tapped under the proposed decentralized State Government system.

 

The basic papers on the proposed State Government System were reproduced by the project and distributed to resource persons, political leaders, and representatives of communities, and churches to ensure a sound information base during provincial consultations. The SIDAPP teams and community networks were mobilized to stimulate discussions on issues pertinent to the establishment of the proposed system.

 

Moreover, in support of the new Government’s peace and development objectives, SIDAPP in August, 1999 recruited and trained 90 student volunteers from USP and SICHE and attached them to teams in constituencies all over the country.  These were students who could not go back to their classes on account of the Government’s severe cash flow problem.

 

The project also employed a number of faculty members from SICHE, as well as senior officers from other government agencies who were placed on leave without pay, to serve as trainers and coordinators of the Peace and Development Volunteers.

 

During the tripartite review of the project conducted in February this year by the Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the host Ministry – Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development, and the funding and executing agencies (United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Office for Project Services) approved the following recommendations:

 

 

 

 

 

2.1             National Integrated Rural Development Programme (NIRDP)          

 

2.1.1      Background/Justification

 

Over the last two decades after Independence, all the provinces have consistently articulated the view that a balanced and equitable development is needed to preserve national unity and ensure social cohesion of the country’s diverse ethnic and language groups. The recent ethnic unrest has brought national attention to urgent issues associated with this demand.  In response, the Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development has been pursuing in recent months a twin strategy to ensure that:

 

a)                 the country’s highly centralised system of governance will be modified to facilitate greater participation of provinces and local communities in political decision-making, as well as in the utilisation of their resources and sharing of benefits from such resources; and

 

b)                 each of the nine (9) provinces will be involved to assess its own development situation; identify its resources and potential; determine its comparative socio-economic advantage vis-à-vis other provinces; and formulate its own unique strategies for overall development and service delivery, taking into account the need to view these strategies within the national aspiration for “unity in diversity.”

 

Whilst SIDAPP as pilot project carried out in three (3) provinces will end by December this year, the National Integrated Rural Development Programme (NIRDP), agreed to by all Provincial Governments, will succeed it. It is expected to also be supported by  as a multi-donor programme and will complement current efforts to set up a more decentralized form of provincial government system. 

to cover all the country’s provinces. 

 

The new programme will build on SIDAPP’s accomplishments during the last four (4) years.  It will use the lessons learnt and after modification for local circumstances, modify the systems, procedures, training modules and other participatory methodologies that have been field-tested and developed by SIDAPP to suit the requirements of the proposed system and the conditions obtaining in each of the nine (9) provinces. 

 

The preparation of the initial 5-Year National Integrated Rural Development Programme (2002 – 2006) will mark the first time that the Ministry or, for that matter, the central government, will have a comprehensive approach to the need for balanced and equitable development amongst the country’s provinces and regions.

 

2.1.2   NIRDP Formulation Process

 

The following activities have been done so far:

 

§         Collection of data and information with bearing on rural development for all nine (9) provinces;

 

§         Preparation of 9 Provincial Development Profiles based on the collected data;

 

§         Updating of these profiles with political leaders, government officers, and local communities through provincial consultation meetings;

 

§          Formulation of core development strategies based on the updated profiles;

 

§         Preparation and printing of the Atlas of Solomon Islands, a collection of more than 100 maps indicating current resources and services available for rural development in each of the nine (9) provinces;

 

§         Restructuring of the Provincial Government Development Unit into the Rural Development Division in preparation for the implementation of the proposed National Integrated Rural Development Programme; 

 

§         Organisation of a 15-member National Rural Development Task Force to serve as “think tank” for policies, strategies and issues recommended to be part of the national programme;

 

§         Conduct of an initial study on the financial and economic resources in each of the provinces and preparation of terms of reference for a future study on how the provinces can effectively raise revenues and manage their own finances;

 

§         The establishment of the People First Internet Café, base station and one email station to test the simple and appropriate technologies being proposed for a rural information and communication system.


2.1.3   Key Strategy for Integrated Rural Development in Solomon Islands

 

Previous development strategies so far formulated and implemented in the country have assumed that one model will fit all the country’s provinces and islands.  They have been based on the assumption that all provinces are the same in resources, level of skills and status of infrastructure development.  The result is that so many investments have resulted in ineffective plans and programmes. Strategies based on this assumption have merely widened the gap amongst the provinces and contributed to the present lack of balanced and equitable development.

 

The Ministry will work closely with the Ministry of National Planning and Human Resources Development in formulating the NIRDP Indicative Plan for the period 2002-2006. The key strategy is to classify the provinces according to specific stage of development and to adjust service delivery and budgetary allocations in accordance with their development category.

 

Hence, in terms of their natural resources, level of available skilled manpower and status of infrastructure development, the nine provinces can be grouped as follows: 

 

Group A: Guadalcanal, Malaita, and Western Province. These provinces have relatively abundant natural resources; more skilled human resources; fairly developed physical and social infrastructure.

 

Group B: Central Province, Choiseul, Isabel, and Makira. These provinces have also relatively abundant, but unexploited natural resources; less skilled human resources; and less developed basic infrastructure.

 

Group C: Rennell and Bellona, Temotu. These provinces have severe limitations in natural and human resources skills; they have narrow market base; they are far from markets; isolated, fragmented and have largely undeveloped infrastructure.

 

Once these categories are accepted by the Government, development partners, provincial governments, Constituencies and local communities, the NIRDP will recommend the appropriate mix of assistance to ensure the maximum impact of plans and programmes to the development of rural communities and the province as a whole.

 

For instance, high-finance commercial investments can be encouraged in Group A provinces, but may not be suitable at the present stage to those in Group C. Group B will require relatively more assistance in developing their infrastructure and manpower prior to launching big commercial ventures. Group C, on the other hand, will need initially more of the micro-projects (costing SBD10, 000 or below) to cater to the urgent needs of isolated village communities until such time that they can build adequate skills and infrastructure level for economic projects appropriate to their resources and target markets.

 

2.1.4      Support Measures to Strengthen Decentralised Administration in Preparation for the Full Operations of a Federal/State Government System

 

Even prior to the adoption and establishment of the State Government system, the following measures can be undertaken to lay the groundwork for decentralized  public sector and financial administration:

 

§         Establishment of a rural based communication system, using low-cost information technologies, to facilitate the flow of development information amongst the various provinces, between provincial centers and the isolated islands and villages, as well as the Honiara-based government centre and the remote provincial areas, and thus ensure a sense of national unity and mutual inter-dependence amongst all parts of the country and its diverse social groups;

 

§         Upgrading of all provincial substations to improve the delivery of basic services (e.g. health clinics; kindergartens, primary schools; water supply and sanitation; agricultural extension, basic infrastructure, etc.) to rural communities;

 

§         Strengthening the Provincial Development Authority as investment arm of the provincial government with capabilities to:

 

-          support the expansion of existing small-scale enterprises;

 

-          support current government-funded business undertakings with sound with management advice and inputs;

 

-          tap new markets for village produce; and

 

-          link credit facilities to smallholders and new entrepreneurs, etc.

 

§         Improving the tax revenue base of each province and strengthening the financial management system to ensure the full success of the decentralization of government functions.

 

2.2      Organisation of the Rural Development Division at the Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development

 

2.2.1      Background/Rationale

 

The Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development established the Provincial Government Development Unit (PGDU) with the inception in November 1997 of the UNDP-funded (and UNOPS-executed) Solomon Islands Development Administration and Participatory Planning Programme (SIDAPP). Under SIDAPP, the PGDU served as the capability-building and training arm of the Ministry in implementing project activities.

 

Like other government units, PGDU operations were suspended in July 2000 as the ethnic conflict further intensified. As indicated earlier, SIDAPP modified its activities in response to the call of the new Government to reorient direction in support of peace and development efforts.

 

Thus, for the rest of last year to early 2001, SIDAPP launched new initiatives, including: the training of peace and development volunteers; the launching of a volunteers programme with SICHE; and the preparation and submission of rehabilitation projects for the support of donor agencies, such as Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, UN-Japan Human Security Fund, and the EU Micro projects Programme.

 

These new activities were implemented using ad hoc structures, such as the National Core Team of Trainers (NCTT), Provincial Core Team of Trainers (PCTT), and the teams of volunteers linked to project staff in each province. The PGDU has remained suspended during the period.

 

During the review of the project in February this year, it was proposed that instead of reviving the PGDU, the Rural Development Division (RDD) be established within the Ministry.  NIRDP needs to be institutionalized as the official national programme of the Ministry to take the place of SIDAPP, which is a pilot undertaking.

 

The recommendation was approved since a national programme would need a focal point from within the Ministry to ensure systematic coordination of the planning, implementation, management and monitoring of plans and projects involving all nine provinces. 

 

2.2.2  Key Task and Functions of the Rural Development Division

 

          Key Task

 

To plan, implement and monitor a national programme on rural development involving all provincial/State governments and local communities

 

          Core Functions

 

1)     To plan, coordinate and monitor a national rural development programme that will ensure balanced and equitable development amongst the country’s provinces and regions;

 

2)     To assist rural constituencies prepare development profiles, action plans and projects designed to facilitate effective delivery of development information and services to the rural villages and households;

 

3)     To recruit, train and mobilize rural development volunteers in partnership with appropriate institutions, government agencies, and NGOs;

 

4)     To establish and maintain a rural-based communication system linking remote communities to each other and to the country as a whole, as well as facilitate the use of information technology for village development;

 

5)     To provide efficient administrative, financial and logistical support to the planning, implementation and monitoring of rural development programmes and projects in all the provinces;

 

6)     To ensure the equitable participation of women in development activities. 

 

2.2.3      Current Status of the Division

 

Initial discussions were undertaken between SIDAPP and the Public Service Division on the concept paper, structure and staffing of the proposed Rural Development Division.

 

On the basis of these preparatory discussions, the Division was reorganized, the existing staff reassigned to sections based on the new structure and new positions proposed for inclusion in next year’s budget.

 

In August this year, an agreement was signed with the Japanese Grassroots Development Initiative that the RDD extend technical assistance in project development to village communities and to monitor Japan-funded projects in several provinces.

 

The Embassy of Japan has also funded water supply projects identified by SIDAPP in Isabel, Malaita and Rennell and Bellona.

 

Meanwhile, a draft Memorandum of Understanding is being prepared that will define the role of the RDD in the EU-funded Micro-projects Programme. A number of projects identified and documented by the SIDAPP team are now being considered for funding by the programme. 


 

2.3     People First Network (PFnet): A Rural-Based Information and Communication System as Vital Component of the National Integrated Rural Development Programme

 

2.3.1   Background/Rationale

 

The Solomon Islands consists of roughly 850 islands, mostly undeveloped.  Modern telecommunications only exist in the capital Honiara and a few provincial centres. Outside Honiara, Internet is available without the use of personal satellite equipment only in Gizo and Auki (currently cut off following the ethnic tension). There are no cable links to overseas or between islands.

 

Currently, most provinces remain very isolated from the main administrative and commercial areas of the country. Transportation is rare and expensive, sometimes irregular, and does not allow for systematic communication such as postal service, let alone information exchange in the form of newsprint distribution. The postal service largely collapsed and has stopped reaching poor and remote areas, due to the defaulting of payment by the postal authorities to the single airline company (Solomon Airlines) that ensures regular links to all provinces.

 

The main mode of inter-island (and within-island) communication is by HF (Short Wave) radio transceiver for voice transmission. Although such radios are widespread, there is usually only one channel available for an entire Province and the signal quality is often very poor due to the distances, mountainous terrain, and interference.

 

The whole of the population is affected by inadequate communication facilities. The Provincial HQs and other professionals such as teachers find it difficult to hear about and respond to notifications from central government in time. Tourism lodges are effectively at the mercy of inefficient central booking offices and cannot respond quickly. Likewise, business people offering investment opportunities and products find it almost impossible to contact from overseas.

Communicating about personal affairs and more urgent matters such as illnesses is always very difficult and unreliable. It is also costly; the standard charge to make a radio call on a private or Provincial Government radio is SBD$5 (US$1).

 

Rural development is obviously hindered by the communications problems. Field workers, for instance, cannot get data back to their central offices without arranging their own mobile systems. Businesses hesitate to move out to areas where there is no communication infrastructure. Extension services by agencies involved in rural development are hampered by lack of a nationwide communication system.

 

In addition, inadequate communication infrastructure also makes it difficult to build national unity. It impedes smooth flow of information and prevents understanding amongst diverse social groups.

 

There is, therefore, a need to establish a rural-based information and communication system to help facilitate development in the rural areas and the country as a whole.

 

2.3.2   Goal and Major Activities

 

The goal of this important component of rural development is to establish an information and communication system that will provide vital information management and support services to isolated islands and villages. It seeks to strengthen the capacity of Solomon Islanders to implement, manage and maintain such a system

 

The following are the expected key outputs of the proposed project:

 

§         Point-to-point communications to and from the remote provinces of the Solomon Islands by creating the capacity for establishing and maintaining a low-cost, self-sustaining email system with public access points in several provincial locations and the main urban areas of the country;

§         Rural development and peace-related information flows and knowledge building among all rural and urban social groups, using the potential of new information and communication technologies such as email, etc.;

§         Adequate provision of information by development and peace organisations, including policy makers, other government officials, development agencies, NGOs, the media, and other stakeholders.

Capacity Building

To enable the use of new information technologies for the sharing of relevant information, most rural development and peace agencies in the Solomon Islands still need extensive training. The first major activity will thus aim at facilitating networking through the capacity building of partners to deploy and use appropriate email systems, as well as electronic mailing lists and forums.

 

In response to the most pressing communication needs, and to improve point-to-point communication within existing networks (extended families, professional peers, commercial partners), the project will first emphasise training and capacity building of project participants for the deployment, maintenance and use of an email system based on technologies appropriate to the difficult situation of rural areas.

 

Through its network of volunteers and with the cooperation of the provincial authorities, the Ministry will assist partners to establish and operate rural email stations. This will include a participatory process of site selection, recruitment of volunteers, training and institutional capacity building, and community awareness raising.

 

The PFnet volunteers will operate the provincial rural email stations. The email station operators will be extensively trained to use and maintain the equipment (radio and computer), the email and other information software, and will provide the email and information services to the community. Many young people who attended schools in recent years have the necessary skills to operate such equipment. Due to the deteriorating peace and order situation in Honiara, some of these former students have returned to their villages.

 

Villagers do not need to operate the computers themselves, but will rely on the volunteer for typing, sending, receiving and printing emails, or for finding information available. This will promote broad access to email.  Knowledge of English is not required (messages can be sent in any language); literacy is not a factor to use the rural email service. The volunteers will handle everything.

 

In addition to email, the project will also train partners and information providers (government officials, development agencies, NGOs, media organisations, and other stakeholders) at using electronic conferencing tools, in particular the email-based mailing lists. Through this, the project intends to provide a facility to make possible the smooth interchange of information amongst and between people in remote rural locations, and between the people and professional organisations serving them.

 

PFnet will work closely with existing and potential information providers to raise their awareness and develop their capacity to manage information through electronic mailing lists and respond to the needs of the rural people. This will include training on emailing list maintenance, the building of question and answer e-forums, and the capacity to search other sources on the Internet to find information needed by the people.

 

For example, PFnet will assist government offices responsible for cyclone monitoring and disaster prevention and mitigation to use mailing lists in the broadcasting of warnings, discussions of appropriate measures, and rapid exchange of information on what is happening.

 

Information can be shared in similar ways, through simple email-only technologies, for other activities in the field of fisheries, small-scale manufacturing, trade, natural resource management and tourism.

 

The young people who operate the rural email stations will be trained as community journalists.  They will be trained to report on events from their remote villages to the national radio service, SIBC, Solomon Star and other mass media channels.

Rural Networking

To ensure accessibility to all social sectors, in particular in remote and poorest provinces of the Solomon Islands, PFnet will provide technical and capital support for the deployment of appropriate, inexpensive and community-controlled rural email system, largely based on two-way short-wave radios (HF) already in use.

 

This technology has been in used for over a decade, but at different levels of accessibility and cost. Now found in many countries, notably in sparsely populated and undeveloped areas of Africa, data transmission over HF radios has more recently become increasingly easy and cheaper to use.

 

PFnet will initially focus its activities where the weakest penetration of telecommunication and information is found to be, largely in the most remote provinces of Choiseul, Temotu, Makira, Rennell and Bellona, and the Weather Coast of Guadalcanal, with a target of 2 email stations per province.

 

Considering the social and political context of the Solomon Islands, with significant religious and clan (wantok) segregation in some cases, the project proposes to establish rural email stations in public facilities, where access is possible for all social groups without discrimination. Existing clinics have been identified as offering a good potential. Most clinics have working HF radio equipment, powered by solar panels, and are attended by clinic staff. They are also secure locales, respected by the communities, and open to all groups in the community.

 

Other rural institutions such as schools, provincial government sub-stations, or the training centers run by NGOs are also possible locations. PFnet aims to establish 25 rural email stations during the first two years of operation.

 

RDD staff and the Rural Development Volunteers (RDVs) will assist in the upgrading of those existing facilities where needed, add an inexpensive modem and computer, and train local volunteers that will operate the email service for basic allowance.

 

In turn, a systematic use of commercial sites, such as private HF operators or traders’ facilities, for the project purposes could limit the capacity of poor sectors to access the service. If such private initiatives are proposed however, the project may elect to assist them by permitting data transmission to be channeled through PFnet at actual cost, and support the initiative with procurement and technical advises on the deployment of equipment and training of operators. This would be done on the understanding that private facilities do not substitute for public ones, but address other and complementary needs (wider coverage, commercial or tourist use, etc.).

 

In terms of equipment, the project will procure low-cost computers and communication equipment for a limited number of sites. Each station, normally already equipped with an HF transceiver and antenna, will also need an HF modem, a 486-laptop computer (by now very inexpensive), and a suitable solar power system. Such equipment and its installation by the SIDAPP RDVs could cost approximately US$ 2500 per station, plus another $1000 for the upgrading of the facilities, when necessary.

 

2.3.3   Current Status of the PF Net

 

Despite limited funding resources during its final year, SIDAPP has been able to initiate vital start-up activities for the People First Network. These are as follows:

 

Website

 

SIDAPP launched in January this year, the country’s first and only rural development website, www.peoplefirst.net.sb. Almost 40,000 people all over the world to date have accessed information about Solomon Islands and its rural villages through this facility. It provides information on each of the provinces, their development profiles, plans and programmes and the projects identified by rural communities that are available for funding by donors and international NGOs.

 

The website also serves as an interactive medium for discussing issues related to NIRDP, PFnet and other projects.

 

People First Internet Café

 

Since February this year, SIDAPP has established in Honiara a self-sustained not-for-profit Internet Café. It offers email services at cheap rates.

 

The Ministry, through the RDD, and the newly-organised Rural Development Volunteers Association operate the Cafe. It is envisaged that in the future, the Internet Café, along with the rural email stations, will be run solely by the RDVA under the People First Net project. The role of the RDD will be on overall project management and monitoring.

 

The income from the Café now pays for the salaries of the staff (1 Asst. Webmaster, 3 Café assistants, 1 driver, 1 utility staff), part of the rental for a leased line from Telekom and the fuel for the project vehicle.

 

To generate more income, the Café has initiated the conduct of computer training for the public. It will also provide other associated services that will generate the income necessary for its financial viability. The Café has a special facility to enable the blind to use email or surf the net.

 

The Café has become popular with professionals, local and expatriate; students and lecturers particularly those who are doing research; and tourists. More than 30% of Café habitués are women.

 

The plan is that the Café will serve eventually as the electronic post office of the PFnet where messages from rural email stations in the provinces can be received and distributed to addressees in Honiara. 

 

Base Station and the Country’s First Rural Email Facility 

 

In September this year, the British High Commission provided funding to enable PFnet to establish a base station at the RDD and its first rural email facility in Sasamungga, Choiseul. 

 

More than 30 NGOs, business houses, development projects and other institutions have requested to be part of the PFnet. With the base station, it is now possible to service several rural email facilities. The Embassy of Japan has expressed interest in funding email stations in Ulawa, Makira and in Temotu. The Republic of China has provided funds to ensure a four-month extension of the Technical Adviser for PFnet.

 

SIDAPP has launched a vigorous campaign to raise funds for the implementation of the PFnet project. Proposals have been sent to Tokyo for consideration under the UN Human Security Fund put up with assistance from the Japanese government. The project document, prepared by an international consultant hired by SIDAPP, has been submitted to UNDP Suva for possible funding under the next UNDP programming cycle for the period 2002-2006.

 

2.4      Formation of the Rural Development Volunteers Association (RDVA)

 

2.4.1   Background/Rationale

 

Based on the experience in the recruitment, training and deployment of peace and development volunteers in all Constituencies during the crisis, SIDAPP saw the potential of forming the Rural Development Volunteers Association (RDVA). Through an Association, volunteers from amongst the young people can be systematically recruited, trained and assigned to provincial substations to do work related to village development.

 

The Ministry and SICHE agreed that something more permanent should come out of the earlier collaboration involving student volunteers. A volunteers programme is needed that will make possible the systematic involvement of students during semestral breaks that can be part of their practicum. At the same time, such programme can expose students to the actual conditions in the rural areas.

 

Based on this assessment, SICHE has made available its former Distance Education Centre as the office for such initiative. The rural development volunteers office was inaugurated in January this year with officials of UNDP, UNOPS, and the Ministry in attendance.

 

Both the Government and the donor agencies supported the idea that an organisation of rural development volunteers would be needed to keep track of the activities of the student and community volunteers and to systematically provide them with training and assistance.

 

2.4.2      Objectives, Membership and Structure

 

The organisation was formally named as the Rural Development Volunteers Association or RDVA. Its Constitution and By-laws were prepared and it was registered as an NGO in August this year.

 

Objectives

 

As stated in its Constitution, the objectives of the RDVA are as follows:

 

a.      to serve as a partner agency of the Ministry of Provincial Government and Rural Development, the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE) and the University of Southern Philippines (USP) and other entities involved in helping improve the quality of life in rural communities in Solomon Islands;

 

b.      to collect, update and maintain a database on rural development for each province and all constituencies as a basis for formulation of programmes designed to improve the situation of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in rural areas, such children, youth and women;

 

c.      to implement programmes and projects relevant to rural development in general;

 

d.      to articulate the will and aspirations of Rural Development Volunteers for discussions with government departments, private sector organizations, statutory bodies, non-government organizations, regional and international organizations and other stakeholders;

 

e.      to represent the views and opinions of Rural Development Volunteers in national and international forums pertinent to rural development in Solomon Islands;

 

f.       to serve as a forum for sharing ideas and experiences amongst Rural Development Volunteers; and

 

g.      to document achievements and identify measures to further enhance the roles and functions of Rural Development Volunteers.

 

Membership

 

          Membership of the Association shall be of four kinds:

 

1)     student volunteers recruited from SICHE, Rural Training Centres, USP (SI) and Vocational Schools initially, but later expanded to include students from other educational institutions;

 

2)     village-based volunteers comprised of knowledgeable and responsible individuals engaged to carry out projects in the rural communities;

 

3)     individuals from government departments, private sector organizations, statutory bodies, non-government organizations and others who subscribe to the objectives of the Association; and

 

4)     honorary members (non-voting members), for other nationals serving as development volunteers in Solomon Islands.

 

Structure

 

An eight-member Executive Committee holds office for two years. They are elected during the annual general meeting to serve as the management team to run the affairs of the Association.

 

A Board of Trustees is elected by the AGM to advise and support the members in the formulation of policies and rules.

 

The Association shall establish branches in each province whose members shall comprise volunteers indigenous to each respective province.  In each ward and constituency, local chapters can be established.

 

The heads of each chapter shall form the Executive Committee of each Provincial Branch.

 

2.4.3   Current Status of the RDVA

 

Starting October this year, the RDVA has become the partner agency of the Division in implementing the start-up activities of PFnet. It has signed an agreement with the Embassy of the Republic of China for the provision of technical assistance to enable the project to implement initial activities.

 

The Association was also one of four NGOs chosen by the Solomon Islands Government to conduct election awareness campaigns in the provinces. It was given a SBD240,000 grant.

 

The RDVA has been proposed as the implementing agency for a Schools Rehabilitation Project under the UN Human Security Fund assisted by the Government of Japan. Total project cost: USD300,000.

 

3.0      Policy Implications of the Ministry’s Current Development Initiatives

 

The Ministry’s current development initiatives will require policy and programme support measures to be in place so that they can be pursued more vigorously and effectively. These will easily include the following:

 

§         A Comprehensive Policy Framework that places Rural Development as the core concern of Government and provides a mechanism by which sectoral agencies can allocate budgetary resources to support priority programmes targeting specific cluster of communities in each province which require assistance to improve their situation and, thereby, contribute to improving the socio-economic status of rural villages in general;

 

§         A set of policy guidelines to define clearly the specific objectives, strategies and action programmes that will be contained in an Indicative Plan for NIRDP, taking into account existing initiatives and those in the pipeline of sectoral agencies;

 

§         A support programme to assist provincial governments to articulate clear policies and strategies in areas such as: provincial government share of the local economy; proposed provincial expenditure by function; and proposed expenditure within functions (governance, policy advice, social services, private sector development);

 

§         An assessment of provincial revenue and expenditure pattern to identify ways and means to improve the tax base and financial management system of each province;

 

§         A validation study on the suggested grouping of provinces for the purpose of formulating development strategies based on the specific socio-economic situation and comparative advantage of each of the nine provinces; and

 

§         A clear policy decision on the focal point for carrying out an Integrated Rural Development Programme and the setting up of an institutional mechanism in support of this focal point.

 

21 October 2001