BY TRANSPARENCY SOLOMON ISLANDS (TSI)
Transparency Solomon Islands Condemns “State Capture” of Mineral Wealth: Private Companies Replacing Public Accountability.
Transparency Solomon Islands (TSI) today expresses its gravest concern and strong opposition to the “GREAT” Government’s recent formation of private mineral holding companies.
By centralizing the control of national mineral assets into the hands of Prime Minister Hon Mathew Wale, select government ministers and politically aligned officials, the administration has effectively sidelined the customary landowners who own 90% of the nation’s land and violated fundamental principles of transparency and public accountability.
A Conflict of Interest at the Highest Level
Report in the print media Island sun (20/08/26), Company Haus records reveal that the government has incorporated Solomon Islands Mineral Holding Ltd (SIMHL), with Prime Minister Mathew Wale as a 50% shareholder, and Ministers Gordon Darcy Lilo and Derek Manuari holding 25% each.
The sole director of this entity is the Special Secretary to the Prime Minister. Furthermore, the subsidiaries—SIMH-Exploration Limited and SIMH-Mining Limited—are directed by high-level Permanent Secretaries.
“This is not a reform for the people; it is the privatization of our national heritage,” says TSI’s Executive Officer Ruth Liloqula. “When those who create the laws also act as shareholders and directors of the companies mining our resources, the line between public duty and private profit vanishes. This is a clear case of conflict of interest that leaves the public’s resources vulnerable to capture.”
Ignoring the Customary Owners
Despite rhetoric regarding “reforms” and “state equity,” the GREAT Government has failed to conduct meaningful public consultation. In a country where 90% of land is under customary ownership, any mineral framework that bypasses the consent and direct input of landowning communities is illegitimate.
GREAT government ignores the Customary owners of these customary resources, the people who entrusted their political power to them. It is looking at legislation to regulate these customary properties so that it has complete authority disowning citizens of their right to consultation, right to object etc.
TSI also warns against the “false hype”, (with no balancing of this against the environmental costs) created by external agencies like the World Bank and others. While mining promises a windfall, the current private company structure ensures that potential profits will be siphoned off by operational costs and private dividends rather than flowing into a secure, transparent National Wealth Fund.
TSI’s key concerns are around the following:
• Lack of Succession Planning: What happens to these private equity stakes if these ministers or officials are voted out or reshuffled? The current framework lacks legal clarity on the transition of power, threatening the stability of national assets.
• Personal Enrichment: Because these are private concerns, there is no legislative guarantee that the revenues generated will serve the public. These companies are positioned to act as middlemen between the earth and the national treasury.
• Erosion of Trust: By placing the control of resources in the hands of three politicians rather than an independent sovereign fund, the government has undermined the very values of integrity and accountability it claimed to uphold.
Transparency Solomon Islands calls for the immediate dissolution of these private mineral holding companies. People demand:
1. Transparency: Immediate public disclosure of the articles of incorporation and the operational mandates of SIMHL and its subsidiaries.
2. Independent Oversight: The creation of an independent, arm’s-length National Wealth Fund, managed by non-political experts with strict oversight, to manage all mining dividends.
3. Genuine Consultation: A halt to all mining-related legislative reforms until the voices of customary landowners are fully integrated into the policy-making process.
The wealth of the Solomon Islands belongs to its citizens. It must not be held, managed, or profited from by a small circle of political elites under the guise of “reform.”
“It is deeply troubling that leaders, both past and present, campaign on a platform of integrity, transparency, and accountability while in Opposition, only to abandon these values the moment they ascend to the Office of the Prime Minister”,
“Behind a facade of convincing rhetoric and promises of hope, these leaders systematically discard their principles. In practice, they often emerge as the greatest obstacle to the nation’s progress, jeopardizing our natural resources, economic growth, and the collective well-being of the people of the Solomon Islands.”
