Pacific

Solomons govt withdraws traditional governance bill

15:44 pm on 14 December 2018

The Solomon Islands government has withdrawn controversial legislation seeking to establish a single traditional governance structure for the thousands of unique tribal communities in the country.

Solomon Islands parliament Photo: RNZ/ Koroi Hawkins

The parliamentary bills and legislation's committee conducted a review of the Traditional Governance and Customs Facilitation Bill of 2018

It identified a range of issues including the need for wider consultations and a thorough anthropological study of the country's many varied traditional governance systems.

Transparency Solomon Islands has welcomed the bill's withdrawal its chief executive Ruth Liloqula said it was a dangerous piece of legislation that would have disempowered Solomon Islanders.

"In our submissions we think that it should be abandoned in its entirety and they should be looking at existing laws that are in place and see how they can work with those to bring about what it is that this bill is trying to do but with provisions for disciplinary [action] and monitoring."