The Opposition is calling on Finance and Treasury Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo to ensure the remaining appointments to the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund (SINPF) Board strengthen its financial, investment and commercial expertise.
The call follows Lilo’s appointment of Dr Phillip Tagini as the new SINPF Board Chairman and Ronald Dive as Deputy Chairman.
Both are lawyers and bring valuable legal experience to the Board, the Opposition said.
“However, SINPF was not a law firm or a regulatory compliance committee,” the Opposition said in a statement..
“It is the custodian of the retirement savings of Solomon Islands workers and one of the country’s major institutional investors,” it added.
“Any remaining Board appointments should therefore be used to broaden the institution’s collective skills and experience.”
Tagini replaces Dr Jimmie Rodgers, who chaired the Fund for about eight years.
His appointment was made by Lilo under the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund Act.
The Opposition said SINPF has significant commercial interests.
These include a 97.32 percent shareholding in Solomon Telekom Company Limited and full ownership of South Pacific Oil Limited, Solomon Housing and Solomon Finance Limited.
The Fund also has significant interests in SolTuna, Solomon Islands Submarine Cable Company, Heritage Park Hotel and Loloata in Papua New Guinea.
“An institution with this level of financial and commercial responsibility needs a Board whose collective expertise goes beyond legal and regulatory knowledge,” the Opposition said.
“It needs people who understand investment strategy, corporate finance, economics, risk management, business performance and commercial decision-making.”
The Opposition said SINPF currently has five directors, while its governance framework provides for up to eight.
It said the remaining appointments presented an opportunity to address gaps in the Board’s collective skills and experience.
The Opposition urged Minister Lilo to consider a transparent call for applications from suitably qualified Solomon Islanders.
It said particular consideration should be given to candidates with proven experience in finance, investment, business, economics, risk management and commercial governance.
“Let the best qualified Solomon Islanders put themselves forward,” the Opposition said.
“Give the Minister a broad pool of people from which to identify those with the skills and experience needed to complement the existing Board.”
The Opposition acknowledged that the Finance Minister retains the authority to make the appointments.
However, it said opening the process to qualified applicants would provide a broader pool of candidates.
It would also strengthen public confidence that appointments are based on qualifications, experience and the ability to protect SINPF members’ interests.
The Opposition said the retirement savings managed by SINPF were hard-earned money belonging to Solomon Islands workers.
“These are the hard-earned savings of Solomon Islands workers, set aside for their future,” it said.
“They deserve a Board with the right combination of competence, experience, integrity and commercial judgement to protect and responsibly manage those savings.”
The Opposition said strengthening the Board’s expertise was particularly important given the scale of SINPF’s investments and its responsibility to protect members’ retirement savings.
