THE Member of Parliament (MP) for East Honiara Douglas Ete says a model to support the country’s sovereign fund is the only way forward for the country to sustain itself during this pandemic situation as a result of the COVID -19 threats.
Ete who is also the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) made the comment when contributing to the state of emergency motion moved by the prime minister in parliament last week.
He said though the government has laid out a model on financial support strategy through the donor support and budgetary support of around $137 million out from the development budget, there’s more to be done to support the sovereign fund.
“If the Solomon Islands is a rich country, we should not touch that development budget but leave it aside as it has to be used somewhere in this fiscal year,” he said.
Ete said the four engines of growth which are consumption, foreign investment, public expenditure and loss of revenue are the key challenges in 2020.
“In terms of consumption, the government has handled it well and I am happy with the invocation by the finance minister especially on the price control.
“However, it would be good that the price control also applies to other areas such as fuel and electricity,” he added.
Ete said the foreign investment of the country will likely come to a stop or minimal.
He added public expenditure will be shifted here and there but by large, there’s going to be a loss in revenue this year which is a major concern of this country.
“Most likely the export and import of the country will be affected largely to an extent only the Ministry of Finance knows.
“We will lose our export through fish, copra and logs and other marine products to a certain percentage during the stage of emergency,” he added.
Ete said the government should also draw a formula to support the private sector but must do it on a level playing field.
He added that the economy has slacked down since 2000 and the government has led the way to improve the economy these past years but with little success.
“I suspect with COVID-19 pursed through 2020 -2021 fiscal year and at the same time we are slow to create wealth in our country and continue to rely on the government’s budget and those existing industries, then we might face a big problem,” he said.
Ete said that calls for the country to create wealth through the redirection of its investment in the mining, forestry and fishing industry.
“I am saying this because of the prediction that the COVID-19 has just started and we will have to learn a lesson hard to store up resources for the bad and challenging time.
“A model to support our sovereign funds is the way forward for this country,” he said.
By IAN M.KAUKUI
