1 October 2022
While the seasonal work schemes in place for contract work for Solomon Islanders (who are mainly engaged on fruit and vegetable farms) in either Australia or New Zealand continues and has to a small extend, eased the unemployment situation at home, there remains a high level of local unemployment.
The Labour Mobility Strategy was developed and endorsed by Cabinet in 2018 and developed in tandem with the Labour Mobility Policy Framework and together the documents outlined the Solomon Islands Government’s [SIGs] plans and system for growing labour mobility opportunities over the five year period (2019 – 2023).
Now less than 3 months before 2023, I question the mobility plans that were laid out In 2019 to see job growth at home and in particular what became of the so-called downstreaming plans to divest job creation in the rural areas of the country.
A Solomon Islands business which has helped improve the lives of many communities by supplying them with the tools to extract virgin coconut oil as part of downstreaming to create local jobs.
Kokonut Pacific said in the past its DME system, which consists of a press kit, grater kit, dryer and ancillaries allowed villagers to make the most of their valuable coconut resources.
It said this was done right in the village within one hour of opening a coconut.
Apart from Kokonut Oil having initially benefitted from dowstreaming might we be told of others who might have been given the opportunity of jobs and earning capacity by downstreaming plans once mooted by the government?
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
