Transcript
JOHN PATTESON NGALIHESI: The traditional governance is a way in which we bring about our traditional means, our systems, traditional systems and practices to be formally involved, formally engaged with the governance system of the society and particularly in the rural area. And for this we are looking at chief empowerment, we are looking at empowering the chiefs a little bit more to be recognised as people who have the right and custody over their land and their people and they may be empowered even more to be involved in looking after their people in a formal way.
KOROI HAWKINS: Across the provinces the nine provinces of Solomon Islands, various different cultures totally unique languages how would you formalise one system to cover all those traditional roots or governance systems that exist in different cultures?
JPN: There will be no unified way, sorry one single way of saying this is the system. No it will be a little bit different according to each particular traditional governance system in each province.
KH: And what phase are you at now is it a policy is it just an idea?
JPN: At the moment we are on the policy , we have thought about it and we have written the policy and now we are implementing the policy and so the Ministry of Peace, National Unity Reconciliation and Peace has been out there talking about traditional governance, educating people regarding traditional governance. The main point here is when the become independent, when we have the provinces become autonomous, then they can, it will be very important for them to have a traditional governance system. That will be very particular, that will be very relevant and that will be very meaningful to that particular province.
KH: And when you say independent you mean if the federal proposed constitution comes into effect is that what you are talking about?
JPN: Exactly, when the federal system comes into play, you know how can you govern a particular place you don't use political systems outside you have to also to use the system from within and it will (be) very much meaningful and appropriate to govern the people by the way they have been governed. From immemorial time until now.
KH: One factor we are not considering which is quite influential in Solomon Islands is the religion. Christian values with all sort of different religions now coming into the country. Will they factor into the traditional governance system or be considered?
JPN: I don't think anybody will reject Christianity and that could be a balance check a safe guard against traditional systems. So that it balances the morality and ethical standing and all that. So Christianity will always be there but the traditional governance system is the way that we were governed. We have been governed by that system in relation to the role of women, in relation to land, in relation to resources, in relation the relationship itself with one another, with the tribe. Those protocols, those systems are important. We need to harness them and systemise them into the system that can operate for the good governance of our people.
KH: Would constitutional changes need to be made to implement this?
JPN: We still don't have the organic law here in the country yet like that of Papua New Guineans. What we are doing now is to look at institutional reform. And so the constitutional reform is considering that, it is also looking at that. So yes we are looking at that by way of constitution.
KH: Any final thoughts or insights into this policy of government at this stage?
JPN: The traditional governance is a way forward in terms of conflict resolution, also it is a way forward for people to be governed by systems that they are very familiar with, also traditional governance systems is a way of liberation from things that may not be traditionally, culturally valued, but to return back to actually the real culture, so that the wealth of information, the wealth of pastoral care and the wealth of what we have lost in the past can be readapted and used to move this country forward. The system of traditional governance is our system. The way we are governed now is something that is brought in. So we need to recognise that and process that and adapt that for the best of our country and the future.
