Europe has $157m aid package for Solomons

By KEVIN TAYLOR, political reporter

The Solomon Islands stands to benefit from a huge dollop of aid money from Europe.

The European Commission plans to plough €85 million ($157 million) into the Solomons over the next five years, the European commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, Poul Nielson, told the Herald.

Forty-four million euros would go to rural development, €22 million for education and €19 million for improving Government administration.

On a visit to New Zealand, Mr Nielson said he would sign a letter of intent relating to the education money with Associate Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Marian Hobbs on Wednesday in the Solomons capital, Honiara.

In October the Government said it would give $11 million to improve access to basic education services in the Solomons, one of the Pacific's poorest nations.

Mr Nielson, who will also meet Prime Minister Helen Clark today, said the commission's aid to the education sector would be done in close co-ordination with New Zealand's contribution.

He did not have details on how many children would benefit, but said appropriate tags would be put on the money to ensure it was properly spent.

Details of the rest of the commission's aid package was still to be determined but €44 million was reserved for rural development and a further 19 million for improving Government administration.

Mr Nielson said the rural funding would go to improving agriculture and local infrastructure.

Military and police forces from New Zealand, Australia and other Pacific Island countries restored law and order and worked at stamping out corruption in the country last year.

Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Phil Goff said in October the country went to the brink of social and economic collapse but the combined efforts of its neighbours had "brought it back from the edge".

NZAid, the Government's international aid and development agency, said fewer than 40 per cent of children complete primary school and adult literacy is as low as 22 per cent.

The economic crisis in the country of 400,000 has meant primary school teachers have been paid irregularly and no money has been available for basic materials such as chalk, books and desks.

In October Ms Hobbs said the $11 million would be spent on textbooks, a curriculum review, improving student assessment and improving the training, deployment and recruitment of teachers.

The money would also help pay for new classrooms and storage facilities for textbooks.

Mr Nielson will also meet Niue Government representatives today to assess needs following last month's cyclone.

He said money was available in a contingency fund, but the needs of the island needed assessing first.

"We will see what we can do," he said.

The commission is the second-largest aid donor in the Pacific after Australia.

Mr Nielson will move on to Fiji to meet Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase to discuss the political situation there.

Europe decided last November to resume development aid to Fiji without restrictions because the political situation had improved.

Five-year plan

Europe plans to pour 85 million euros ($157 million) into the islands over five years:

* 44 million euros for rural development

* 22 million euros for education

* 19 million euros for improving government administration

* Last October the NZ Government announced $11 million of aid for education.