The Solomon Islands Govenrment is overhauling its cash strapped Commodities Export Marketing Authority, which been engaged in the country's oldest export earner, the copra industry.
George Atkin in Honiara has more.
"the Commodities Exporting Marketing authority has already made redundant the majority of its workers and has also started selling its assets. The authority has sold its three ships which had been engaged in transporting copra and cocoa from the rural farmers to Honiara. The state enterprise will keep some of the assets but out of more than twenty of its workers it is keeping but only six. A source from the ministry of commerce says the state owned company no longer needed the ships cause it will no longer be buying copra and exporting copra and cocoa as it has been doing in the past. He says already about eight local companies most of which operate in the provinces have been licensed to take over copra and cocoa buying and exporting. The source says the functions of the Commodities and Exporting Marketing authority are being reviewed but definitely they will be down graded and salary levels to be paid to the new staff that will be engaged by the revised authority will be reduced"
