Public funds in Solomon Islands should not be disbursed by MPs - Transparency

Transparency Solomon Islands says MPs should not have direct control over funds for their constituencies.

Solomon Islanders go to the polls on the third of April and campaigning around the country has begun in earnest.

Many policies and promises are being touted by political parties and independent candidates.

But all of them have a recurring theme.

What to do with hundreds of millions of dollars in Rural Constituency Development Funds or RCDFs, which MPs have full discretion over.

Transparency's chief executive Ruth Liloqula says many voters in Solomon Islanders think change will come from electing new leaders.

But she told Koroi Hawkins true change can only happen if the power over the Rural Constituency Development Funds is removed from parliamentarians.