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Solomon Mamaloni
Chief Minister, Prime Minister

From 1965, Island and Legislative councils had elected members, aid was increased and policies were controlled by committees of elected MPS. One of those was Solomon Mamaloni (1943-2000). Educated in Solomon Islands and New Zealand, he was elected MP for Makira and would later become Chief Minister (1974-76) and Prime Minister for three terms (1981-84, 1989-93, 1994-97). In an interview recorded in 1995, he told Ian Johnstone about his first career as a public servant and why he moved into politics.

Listen to the interview

Transcript of the interview

Mr Mamaloni: I moved [into politics] because the British were giving me a hard time. Normally, a public officer would enter the service, probation for two years, then get confirmed. I was never confirmed for five years.

Ian: So you were always a bit of a troublemaker?

To them, yes, because one time another uncle, great administrator, Silas Sitai, now a government minister…. I grew up in administration under the shadow of Silas Sitai and Sir Fred Osifelo. Once I did something wrong and Silas Sitai said "You know, my son, the best administrator is the one who gets very unpopular. If you are very popular you are not a good administrator".

That sums up my problem because I was a young officer placed in the field, going round villages in Guadalcanal, Russells and Savo to check on the everyday life of people, meeting headmen and reporting back to the boss. Every time I wrote very long reports which were not very sympathetic or sentimental – I couldn't bear this, you know, "Medical department have never been to this place…" so I think from that time they have already concluded that I wasn't a good administrator.

Eventually I took over as Clerk to the Legislature from Mr. Cochrane from England. At the time the Secretariat wasn't well equipped with stenciling machines. I think that was the real boiling point in my career as an administrator. As Clerk to the Legislature I had priority for the machine. The Financial Secretary's secretary was a South African lady and one morning when I was producing papers for the Legislature she came over and asked "Who told you to do this?" I said "These are my orders" So she pulled out my papers, and I swore at her.

I was taken up to the boss and he dressed me down "You are a very young officer. You shouldn't be doing this. You have big potential. We're going to send you to England, to Westminster for a course on being Clerk to Parliament". My boss, the Head of Protectorate Branch, seemed to hear about this little incident. As I was going down the ladder in the same building, he was coming up and he said to me "Good morning, Solomon" so I called him by the same name "Good Morning, Douglas". Now that was very bad – you cannot call your officers by their first name. He took me into his room and he said "You can't call me by my first name, I'm your boss. I've served HMG for over 24 years. I'm 45 and you must address me as "Sir".

At that time we are getting young officers from Scotland and England; one of these crazy Scottish officers was named McEwan – he was above me, no. 3, I think. He saw me crying and asked what had happened. I told him. This fellow from Scotland challenged me. He said "If you're from Makira, this afternoon when you meet him, say the same thing. You say what you want."

This fellow Douglas Freegard, when he walked he waddled a bit. In the afternoon I was waiting for him so when he came up he said "Good afternoon, Solomon" and I said "Good afternoon, penguin" I was reprimanded very severely – my wages cut, probation extended and that was when I started getting a hard time.

Was this because you were fed up with white officers… or you had this African influence?

I grew up to advance in the system. We were all working in the same office.

He was my boss, like John (Honimae) is the Director of Information. It's about etiquette. He's a senior officer, but I saw nothing wrong in calling him by his first name, and him calling me by my first name. I felt we were colleagues and I felt at that time I was in the office long enough, doing important work and taking big responsibilities to the extent that we could say, OK, we are fair and square, both important. I never had this anti feeling at that time. This anti-colonial feeling was probably something I got from the university students than creating it myself. Those incidents marked chapters in my career. I always recall them and make fun of them every time we have a function or party.

Would it be fair to say you felt no antagonism to the colonial system? I mean, you were part of it. It wasn't the system you wanted to get rid of. Would you have been happy for your country to have remained the British Solomon Islands Protectorate?

If it had remained longer as the BSIP, it may have been better, it may not have been much different, but you flow with the current, so to speak. This anti colonial feeling was very vocal among university students, both post-graduates and graduates. Every time they came home they organized public forums and seminars – and that's all they talked about. We all joined on the wagon without much thought.

Did you want to go to university as well, or were you happy to stay where you were?

I was happy – I thought college education was sufficient for me. I started at King George. I opted to take history, geography then English language and literature, mathematics – so when I went to NZ I broadened these studies to colonial history.

Where were you studying in New Zealand?

Te Aute College in Hastings.

Was that your choice, or were you sent there?

I was on a government scholarship. We had to go to NZ to go to Form 6 because here we only went up to Form 4. The biggest influence on my studies was a teacher called John Ballantyne, who taught literature and that, combined with world events like colonial history, fitted in very well. It was the only study I was interested in – like when you compare drama with the royal conflicts with the New World – like the Boston Tea Party, the French and English conflicts in Canada, people like Lord Delaware, people who were shaping the governments of the world. Reading about Lord Donalmore (?) and the black hole of Calcutta, this was where I met up with Gandhi. I got this library book and I read it and was so absorbed I even stole it and brought it back to Solomon Islands after I left school.

This is a book on colonial history?

No, on Mahatma Gandhi, his life. I got involved with studying how the British system was transplanted across the Commonwealth – like Australia, Canada. It gives you that broad-based understanding of constitutional changes, authorities and government.

What was it like with the British then? Did you have difficulties in negotiating the kind of constitution that would serve an independent Solomons? I gather there were problems about land ownership?

I think one of the most unfortunate things that happened was I didn't stay in politics to see the whole thing all the way to the independence talks and negotiations. Even when I was playing around with the idea of self-government and independence, I compiled some notes which I thought were sellable to England.

After I became Chief Minister, when the Assistant Minister of State, Miss Joan Lester, came down here, we initiated constitutional discussions on the timetable for Solomon Islands and she almost fell over "That early?" I said "Yes, this early, I think we can make it" I had two things in mind. First, the worst thing I'd like to see is Solomon Islands having to fight for its independence. I think that was one of my misconceptions at that time because, as I said, we were dominated by African affairs, you know, people fighting for their independence and I thought Solomon Islands, being what it was during colonial times, its cultural diversity and during the colonial era there were people who were seen as pro-colonial and those who were anti-colonial, because of Marching Rule. Those things lived on and we in the eastern parts like Malaita saw Western people as very pro colonial – we called them "Yes" people.

Was there also a suggestion, a threat, a movement that the Western people might secede from the newly independent Solomons?

That was during our time.

How did you handle that? Why did it happen?

What happened was that their main grievance was they weren't getting enough returns from their resources. Co-incidentally, this was a university graduate movement headed by Warren Paia. So, we told the Ministry of Finance and Natural Resources to calculate all the exports during the past two years and see how much came from each province.

We did some quick arithmetic, and I went to the West specially and there was a big demonstration at the wharf at Gizo so we sat down and I said "I think the idea of secession is not good, it will never work because when you go to the west, it's already a cosmopolitan place; you have everybody there, Malaita people, Makira people, so if it was west for west only, you can forget that idea, it will never work" At that time we knew there were no foreign influences or supporters with them.

And did that kill it?

We gave them better terms. I said OK, we'll get you a bit more in your copra returns.

So you bought them off, did you?

Not really, these were public funds – it was just a matter of fiddling with the percentages, specially for timber they were producing. All the timber, I think at that time, came from the Western province.

Did you look enviously at Bougainville – it's part of the Solomons in tradition - and think maybe we should make a request for the North Solomons to be returned to us?

Never. Bougainville has always been part of PNG and it was good because our people at the border, and even as far as Honiara, their business was thriving because of the Bougainville copper mine. A lot of people in Malaita go and trade shell money and bring back money and build ships. It was a natural type of existence which no-one should have interfered with, whether you've put in an international line or treaty.

There's been traditional movement between our people because ethnically there's no doubt western people are tied to the Shortland Islands and vice versa with the Bougainville people. When this thing blew up it was most difficult to handle specially in my government where at that time the Minister for Prisons and Justice was from the Shortlands with relatives in Bougainville – and the Head of State, who had land in south Buin and the Minister of Finance whose uncle is from Kieta and others like the Minister for Provincial Government. It was the most awkward position a Prime Minister would find himself in.

I said "If you want to shoot your mouth off about Bougainville, you do it, as an MP not as a Minister of the Crown".

You were Chief Minister and then came the election which would take you into independence.

That was in 1976. Peter stood as a candidate and I also stood. Only two of us. Peter won and I lost.

Sir Peter Kenilorea
Prime Minister

Former teacher Peter (later Sir Peter) Kenilorea led Solomon Islands into independence as first Prime Minister and held that post until defeated by Solomon Mamaloni in 1981. He led the country again from 1984 to 1986. Born in 1943, he founded the Solomon Islands United Party and after being Prime Minister, served as Director of the Forum Fisheries Agency (1991-1994) and Speaker of the Solomon Islands Parliament (2001-2005). Since 2000, he has chaired the Peace Monitoring Council. Like Mamaloni, he went to school in Honiara and in New Zealand.  This interview was recorded by Ian Johnstone in 1995.

Listen to the interview

Sir Peter: I’m a Malaitan, from the southern part of the island of Malaita, had the privilege of having high schooling on Malaita, before being fortunate to be given, under the Commonwealth Colombo scheme sponsored by the NZ government, a scholarship in New Zealand. I was in NZ for four years and came back home as a schoolteacher.

Which school in NZ?

I went to Wesley College then on to Wanganui Boys College and ended up doing teacher training at Ardmore College. Both in Wesley College and in Wanganui College we were in hostels and we had a lot of islanders, from Fiji, W. Samoa, Cook Islands and Vanuatu – and I rubbed shoulders with them.

This may be to one side, but maybe not. Was there talk of the future of your countries? Did you compare notes and say, in the Solomons we're happy with British rule, whereas others might have been more anxious to achieve independence?

There was some talk about independence then – because you might remember W.Samoa in 1962 had already had their independence and the idea of independence was around the school corridors and that sort of thing.

We take it back then: you came home and became a very successful public servant.

After school teaching I was asked to join the Public Service and in 1976 I was invited by my own people in south Malaita to run for the General Election to represent them.

This would have been the period of self-government?

Yes, we already had our self-government in 1974. At the time I was
Secretary to Cabinet and Secretary to the Chief Minister.

Interesting - you were under two prods, two requests. Your own people back home, who would be happy for you to become their MP, and also from your colonial superiors.

Yes, that's very true. In 1975 I was approached by my own people to stand for them in the 1976 General Election and I also received from the colonial administrators, my superiors, a letter asking me to go in for diplomatic training, because they were talking about independence and wanted me to look after our foreign affairs.

Then, given these two opportunities to serve Solomon Islands… I'm a Christian and I prayed much about these two important opportunities to ask if the Lord wanted me to serve the country or the state. I really put a please, I said well, if politics is your will for me to serve my country at this time, I'd like you to show it to me in a real tangible practical way, because at that point in time there were six people. I came into Honiara and asked if anyone else was interested in standing for my constituency, and a friend of mine said "There were six interested, but they heard you were also interested, they've all declined, all pulled out". So I took that as a definite lead and that's how I entered politics.

Yes, yes. A country of quarter of a million people with only a dozen or so (leaders) … the British hadn't done a very good job of getting you ready…

That's right. In the early seventies we were only about a dozen, and it's right too, in my view, with due respect in hindsight, it's obvious the British hadn't done very much at that time for Solomon Islands. Their main emphasis was on law and order, no emphasis on economic development – that was almost nil – they had only one school, most education was in the hands of all the churches. The colonial administration had only one school, the King George VI school.

Did you have a sense the British just wanted to wipe their hands of the place and move out?

Well, we didn't have to fight for our independence so you can take it from that that they had had enough of the Solomon Islands and just wanted to go away. I told them so during the independence constitutional negotiations in London. I said "We want this extra money, above what you've already agreed for, because you haven't done anything and we'd like to do something ourselves after you've gone".

They wanted to include in our constitution that anyone who had been here for a continuous seven years should have "belonger" status and equal rights to land ownership. I said that's not possible. Land is owned by tribes under traditional land rights and with belonger status some of our expatriate friends do not really feel and understand our customs about land ownership.

Did you have to fight hard for that?

Yes, I had to fight hard for that. It was a very important issue and I thought they were going to force it on us that other friends who would be our citizens here but were not indigenous Solomon Islanders might be given equal rights with us in terms of land ownership and that was just not on as far as I was concerned. They were also trying to make it very easy to have citizenship here and I said there's no problem in having citizenship but please do not relate that to land ownership.

So you were happy to grant, given certain conditions, that people could become Solomon Islanders, but land ownership is presumably to do with being born on this soil?

That's right. Land ownership is something to do with our own traditional affinity and affiliation to our own custom rights and traditions.

Just before we leave colonial days, Sir Peter, what about as individuals? Was there racism or were there friendly relationships between you and your white-skinned colleagues?

We were equal in terms of our designations and positions, but the attitude that "some are more equal than others" was always there. It was very obvious that there were certain places one was not able to go to – like the hotel – you don't go there, you don't have permits to drink – no bother for me, I didn't drink anyway. There was a sense of that attitude. You could see that. You know, your superior opens the door without knocking and bashing into your office. And when you do it to him, he doesn't like it. That kind of attitude. There wasn't mutual respect in that area. There was, in my view, at the official, professional level, but the element of colour, race, and differences in understanding was still very much there.

The British weren't very good… part of the pattern…

Well, they had some mature attitudes, but individuals, you know. We're talking about individuals, not about the system.

The only one complaint - we still hear it today – is about dealing with land… when the traders and colonial masters came and bought our land with empty bottles, a piece of cloth, a bush knife, that sort of thing.

Does this mean you had to found or join your own political party?

Yes. Since 1976 elections have been on party politics. There were individuals as well, our constitution provides for that, but mostly elections are on party lines since 1976.

Did you like that?

I see it as important for purposes of political democratic decision – you've got to make decisions somehow and if it has to be done along party lines, so be it. I think party politics isn't the real problem here. It's understanding the principles party politics operates on, and getting out of personality in politics. That's the area we need much more here.

Did you have a philosophy – other than Melanesian, being committed to land and so on - of government? Left winger or right winger, or do those things fit?

I personally am a conservative right winger. But knowing that we are in a Solomon Islands communal system, which also hinges on a socialist lifestyle – we live for each other, communally, so maybe I'm right wing in terms of democratic principles, I believe in democracy…

Freedom of opportunity and so on. Did living in NZ affect that? I'm not asking you say if you're a National party or Labour party man, but going to school there…

I think going to school in a free atmosphere situation must have given me reasons for my position. But essentially, it's my own Christian principle – every man is born free.

Was it hard changing from being a public servant to a politician?

Very important question. I was pretty young for leadership in our traditional society; leadership belongs to the chiefs and the old people.

I think we have not decried or denigrated our traditional leaders in any way because they themselves know their traditional leadership is confined to tribal respect for that leadership whereas when you talk in the context of the nation, quite honestly that is beyond the bounds of traditional leadership.

They should not feel they have lost leadership opportunities, they should continue to know they are well and fully respected in their own traditional situation. But at national level they must give way to people with some education who can think widely.

Were you conscious, as you moved into the time for the first general election, of the Solomons as a nation? Was there national unity?

We do have a lot of different island thinking and isolation which play against our national identity and feeling and views. It was difficult to think nationally at that time and that is why our national thinking has to be safeguarded in a written document, and we have tried to encourage that in our constitution because we know our natural differences in our islands, tribes and communities make it difficult; to create a nation out of these diversities it has to be guarded and allowed for in a written form. I thought we accomplished that in our written constitution.

Was it something you were aware of? Oh, they're looking… here's another Malaitan… big island, big powerful…

Yes, I was very much aware of that at that time. And I think, truthfully, island thinking is still true at this time.

So it's island and home first, Solomons second?

Solomons second, yes.

When it came to that first election, sir, what was it… you head to head against Mr Mamaloni? Was that the battle?

Yes, Mamaloni was Chief Minister then. He was also in the running for the leadership at that time. After he wasn't successful at that time he got into the Opposition side and eventually resigned, then came back in again after a term away from politics.

So when you became first Prime Minister you were ousting the man for whom you'd worked. What was that like as a human?

I felt very much for him personally. We'd been close together, went to NZ for schooling at the same time and then in our working life we were very close and just to oust him, he was my boss a month ago as it were and when the General Election included me as a politician we had to race against each other for the leadership of this country.

I'm sure as a person who'd been quite some time in government, he knew the competition was not personal competition, it was for the leadership.

A good deal of maturity required from everybody!

That's right. To have a sense of maturity is very important specially in terms of leadership. We have our personal relationships and affiliations, but in terms of leadership that is an issue that the nation owns and its not our property.

You must remember that first day of Independence. There you were, first Prime Minister of a newly independent state. What was going through your mind as one flag came down and the other went up?

It was a very joyous moment, but also a very challenging one. We had never been alone before, ever. There's always a fear of the unknown, the uncertainties of the unknown. But the leaders were very hopeful in terms of political independence now, or in future. You are as much prepared for it now as you will ever be.

There was no argument that it came too early, or too late?

There was no argument among the political leaders. The mass of people were saying "Are we doing the right thing?" There were comments and songs about "We're not ready" and "We don't have enough money" But I felt then that independence is not about money, but deciding about being yourself – which is your right. As I said, every human being is born free and to be shackled by a system which is outside of yourself is not human in my view.

As you went through those early years, where did you look for help? Other Pacific leaders?

New Hebrides – which was then a condominium - was very close to us and I was very close to Walter Lini. We wrote to support each other and I remember him ringing me up when his independence was coming up. "How did you do this?" and so on. And we looked to PNG because they had independence before us. And if Nauru, which is a smaller country, could have its independence in 1968, I didn't see why Solomon Islands, better blessed in terms of resources, couldn't go the same way.

Overall, in terms of resources, I think we have great potential and it's only ourselves, Solomon Islanders, who can spoil it for themselves. We'll either make it or break it ourselves now. We've been going now for 17 years and we're still together despite our diversities and it can be a very successful country. It has beautiful happy people and I think that's a great advantage for us and I hope we'll continue to build on that. It’s a strong aspect of a strong nation.

Solomon Mamaloni

Solomon Mamaloni, Chief Minister during self-government (1974 – 76) had not expected to be defeated by Kenilorea at the 1976 election.

Ian: What was your feeling then ? You'd done the hard work in some ways.

Mr Mamaloni: My feelings were mixed. On Independence Day I was looking after the plantation.

How well do you think the British had served you?

The only area – which is almost a common trend after British colonialism for smaller countries – is economic advancement. It's understandable in another way because the British, having been the masters of colonial systems, one of the greatest things they did was this Land Act, still the best act the British left behind – that the owners of customary land should not sell their land to foreigners. That is the best they left behind. I think this has stood the country in good stead up to now, although a lot of modern thinkers, specially developers, still feel it inhibits development or progress. Whereas some of us think otherwise because the customary land tenure system the British protected is the only thing we're hanging on to now.

We don't have a similar thing for the sea, and when people are under pressure for development, you imagine, had we had an act that said you can sell your customary land to foreigners, here, for example, west of Honiara, some crazy people, call them landowners would be selling plots of land for cans of beer in the Solomon Islands. At that time, because of Britain's commitments in Africa and elsewhere, I think the concentration was to set up social facilities, such as education, which they did very well, medical and health services, of course they must do a road for Malaita. I thought that was also smart, it was good, and then the court system and Christianity.

All these areas say the British have not done very bad here, they have done quite satisfactorily. They are not like the French and the Spanish where the French actually impose assimilation of cultures and therefore the people in that colony become francophones or actually become French in taste, everything and culture. I think what the British did was they left all our culture intact and said if you're going to become a modern nation you've got to improve health services, have more education, more exports and all that, leaving the culture and traditions to the people themselves.

Prime Minister, looking back, would you have preferred now to be a senior civil servant, as you'd have been if you'd carried on with your first career, or perhaps a businessman making a lot of money in the Solomon Islands? Are there regrets?

I'd have preferred to be a Permanent Secretary, rather than a politician… too much headache, too much headache, so politics isn't fun any more. So many times, despite what every political critic has been saying about me, I'd just like to be just an ordinary member or ordinary minister. It's happened that this lot has always fallen on me – and I don't know why. It's a crazy thing. I don't know what my real destiny is.

 

 

Hon. Solomon Mamaloni

Sir Peter Kenilorea

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