BY CAMPION OHASIO – DIGITAL CREATOR
Have you ever walked deep into the bush, stood on your family’s customary land, and felt the immense wealth beneath your feet? In the Solomon Islands, we do not need to look at tall skyscrapers or massive foreign banks to find our country’s true treasure. Our real wealth is in our soil, our pristine forests, our deep rivers, and our rich oceans.
But here is the most important part: this wealth does not belong to the government. It does not belong to foreign logging or mining companies. It belongs to you. It belongs to our tribes and customary landowners who’ve guarded and cared for this ground for generations.
Yet, if you look back at our history since independence, a sad pattern emerges. Why is it that our people are still struggling to pay simple school fees and clinic bills, while our country is sitting on billions of dollars of natural resources?
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: past governments have repeatedly failed to find an honest, respectful way to work with our tribal groups. Instead of treating landowners as equal partners, leaders often made deals behind closed doors, leaving our communities with nothing but ruined forests, polluted rivers, and broken promises.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁.
Our tribal groups do not need to look far to see the dangers of bad deals. We’ve got painful reminders right in front of us:
‘𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝘂𝘅𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴:’ Our families in Rennell and Bellona have watched massive ships carry away our rich bauxite soil. In return, they’ve been left with deep red scars in the earth, destroyed roads, and very little real development to show for it.
‘𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀:’ Endless court battles and community divisions have dragged on for years because the right processes were ignored, leaving local tribes feeling cheated and disrespected.
‘𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀:’ The constant shutdowns, environmental worries, and arguments over royalties at Gold Ridge remind us how easily things can go wrong when local interests are put last.
These are not just stories in old newspapers. They’re loud, daily warnings. They remind every single tribe in our country to be extremely careful and mindful whenever a politician or a developer shows up with a pen and a contract.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗽 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗿𝗮: the government must change the way it behaves. It’s time to stop treating our resource owners like obstacles to be pushed aside. The government has a legal and moral obligation to protect tribal interests, secure fair returns, and ensure our ground is never plundered for quick cash.
𝗗𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲.
Can we finally break this cycle? There is real hope that the current GREAT Coalition government can see and do things differently.
For the first time, we have a national policy statement that explicitly puts our local traditions and people at the absolute centre of development. The coalition’s “𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻” principle is built on the idea that our local knowledge, custom rights, and institutions must lead the nation forward.
Even more promising are the specific reforms the government has put on paper:
𝟭. ‘𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆:’ The coalition’s planning to amend our land laws to entrench and protect tribal ownership of both land and sea rights forever. No more sneaky acquisitions or losing your birthright.
𝟮. ‘𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀:’ They’re reforming revenue systems so that the financial benefits of any development go directly back to the tribes. They want to ring-fence tribal trust funds so the money actually reaches the community, not just a few middlemen.
𝟯. ‘𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀:’ By reserving all alluvial mining strictly for indigenous Solomon Islanders, they’re ensuring our golden minerals stay in local hands to improve daily livelihoods.
𝗔 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀
The road ahead is not easy, and our tribes are watching closely. We don’t want more pretty pictures or fancy brochures. We want a government that listens, speaks the truth, and respects the sacred relationship between our people and our land.
Power is a temporary trust, but our customary land is forever. We challenge the GREAT government to stand strong, honor their written promises, and build a new partnership with our tribes. Let’s work together to protect our environment, respect our chiefs, and ensure our resource wealth finally serves the children of the Solomon Islands! 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝘆 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀!
