SOLOMON ISLANDS estimated 20, 000 public servants will finally get their three per cent cost of living adjustment [COLA] this week.
But many, especially those at the lower end of the pay scale say the raise will leave them worse off.
“This COLA thing only raises the daily burden on our struggle to survive. COLA is a misrepresentation of the cut-and-paste approach the public service applies to addressing our plight,” they said.
“The problem is that no consultations ever took place with stakeholders before the COLA adjustment is announced because if they did, they would be given the factors that contributed to the daily hardships public servants endure. For example, the most many will hope to get from the COLA later this week is $60 as most would have been deducted for taxes.
“The $60 pay increase does not even cover the cost of a bag of 20kg rice. Prices of market produce have also shot up. The three (3) increases is a facade for their inability to address the rising cost of living in Honiara and other urban centres,” they said.
“Then, we have to pay for school fees and depending on where you live, you have to meet transport cost on a daily basis. The short bus routes only reinforce the hardships we endure on a daily basis,” they said.
According to published reports, the Solomon Islands has around 20,000 civil servants working in the public sector for the Solomon Islands Government around the country.
Many of these jobs require spending hours upon hours sitting down at an office desk
Solomon Islands’ economy is based on agriculture, forestry and fisheries, which together account for around 40 per cent of GDP and provide employment for the majority of the population.
The economy is considered “mostly unfree” according to the 2025 Index.
“Economic dynamism and development remain stifled by deficiencies that include poor governance and an inefficient public sector. Underdeveloped legal and physical infrastructure discourages the emergence of a vibrant private sector.
“The overall rule of law is relatively well respected in Solomon Islands. The country’s property rights score is below the world average; its judicial effectiveness score is above the world average; and its government integrity score is below the world average
The top individual income tax rate is 40 percent, and the top corporate tax rate is 30 per cent. The tax burden equals 21.0 per cent of GDP. Three-year government spending and budget balance averages are, respectively, 31.5 per cent and –1.5 percent of GDP. Public debt amounts to 20.9 per cent of GDP, according to the Heritage Foundation Economic Index for 2025.
The economy is considered “mostly unfree” according to the 2025 Index. Economic dynamism and development remain stifled by deficiencies that include poor governance and an inefficient public sector.
“Underdeveloped legal and physical infrastructure discourages the emergence of a vibrant private sector, according to the US-based Heritage Foundation.
Teachers collected their COLA last week. But they too – more than 11, 000 of them – are unsure whether the payment is the re-scaling of teachers, which the government had promised since June last year.
At the time the government announced that police and teachers would receive zero tax salary from April this year. It did not happen because the government has been unable to bring about the necessary legislation to do so.
It is unclear whether police have received their COLA.
By Alfred Sasako
