7 Nov 2006

New Solomon Islands data will allow development of new policy

7:20 pm on 7 November 2006

The Solomons Ministry of Finance and Planning is to use some of the first comprehensive data collected since the ethnic tensions to develop policy for the future.

The Household Income and Expenditure Survey was carried out primarily to provide information to set up a national Consumer Price Index as the current index is only for Honiara.

But it has also indicated a population topping half a million.

The Permanent Secretary of Planning, Jane Waetara, says the growing population is a plus in terms of manpower, but families also need to understand the implications of having more children:

"When you think you think about it from a context of the provision of education and health services now that are going towards a tendency of user pay approach that also has an implication in terms of not only the national budget but it comes down to some extent on familiy units to be fully aware of what the implications are like in terms of having bigger family."

The Solomons Permanent Secretary of Planning, Jane Waetara