BY CAMPION OHASIO โ DIGITAL CREATOR
Why a tuck shop rule like โ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ, ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑโ has no place in our mining laws.
Imagine youโre standing in a long line at a local bakery in Honiara. You wait patiently for your turn to buy a fresh loaf of bread. The rule there is very simple: first come, first served. The person who gets to the counter first gets the bread. Itโs a fair and easy way to run a small shop.
But what if I tell you that this exact same tuck shop rule is written into the mining laws of the Solomon Islands?
Yes, you read that right. In our national mining laws, thereโs a concept known as โ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ, ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑโ. It means that if a foreign mining company runs into the government office in Honiara and files their paperwork first, they get the priority rights to explore and dig up the gold, nickel, or bauxite on customary land.
How on earth did such an idea find its way into our national laws? How can a foreign company get first priority over land they donโt own, just because they filled out a form first in the capital?
This is absolutely no sense in a country where over eighty percent of the land is held and owned by our tribal groups. This tuck shop rule completely ignores our culture, our traditional boundaries, and the absolute rights of our customary landowners.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ต ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ง๐๐ผ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ๐
To understand how this happened, we have to look at the massive clash between two different systems. On one side, we have our ancient tribal system. For thousands of years, our tribes have held the land, the forests, and the rivers in perpetuity. Our land is our identity, our life, and our future.
On the other side, we have the Westminster legal system. This system loves paperwork, permits, and central offices in Honiara. Under the old laws, past governments treated ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฝ ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎโ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น. They allowed foreign companies to bypass the tribes by securing priority rights under the โfirst come, first servedโ rule.
Weโve already seen the bitter fruits of this lazy approach:
โ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐ฒ:โ Where local landowners watched their rich red soil get scooped up and shipped away on giant foreign vessels, leaving behind ruined gardens and very little real development.
โ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น ๐ก๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐น:โ Where foreign claims and priority fights dragged tribal groups into endless, painful court battles that divided communities.
โ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ:โ Where royal disputes, environmental scares, and constant shutdowns keep reminding us of what happens when we put Honiaraโs paper deals before tribal interests.
These examples are loud warnings. They tell our tribal groups to be incredibly mindful when dealing with government officials and foreign mining bosses. They also remind the government that it has a sacred duty to protect the interest of the tribes, not the pockets of foreign companies.
๐ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ.
This is why the current Government for Reform, Empowerment, Accountability, and Transformation (the GREAT Coalition) trying to do things completely differently is like a good breath of fresh air. In their policy statement, they explicitly recognize that our mineral wealth must stay in our country to benefit our own people.
They have laid out an exciting path to dismantle the old, unfair systems:
๐ญ. โ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ-๐ข๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐:โ The government wants to set up a Mining State-Owned Enterprise and a Mineral Holdings State-Owned Enterprise. This means the country, alongside the land-owning tribes, will have a direct share in mining operations rather than just letting foreign middlemen take all the profits.
๐ฎ. โ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ:โ They want to establish a central bank (CBSI) Gold Trading and Buying Scheme so that our gold is traded honestly and transparently.
๐ฏ. ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐น๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐:โ Crucially, the policy commits to reserving all alluvial gold mining exclusively for indigenous Solomon Islanders. This guarantees that our local youth and family groups can work their own resources and keep the returns in their villages.
๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐.
The โfirst come, first servedโ rule is a lazy, outdated way of managing a countryโs wealth. It treats our sacred tribal lands as if they are just items on a supermarket shelf.
If our leaders are truly serving the interest and good of the country, they must complete the legislative reforms outlined in the policy statement. We need a system where tribal consent is the very first step, not an afterthought.
Let us hope that our Members of Parliament can look past the current political game of musical chairs in Honiara. We donโt need more political instability that derails these vital reforms. Our future is not a game. Itโs time to protect our customary wealth and ensure that the treasures of our land stay in the hands of the people whoโve owned them. GOD BLESS ALL OUR TRIBES.
