The new Mayor of Honiara says council employees in the city are among the worst paid in the country and he hopes a pay rise will encourage them to improve the services they provide.
Israel Maeoli, who was elected mayor of the Solomon Islands capital in late December, says a pay rise for council workers is his first priority.
He says the employees have not received a pay rise in about a decade and incentives must be provided to ensure they do their work effectively
"People look at them as low paid and when they do work, at the back of their mind they seem to say oh we'll just do it this way because we are not paid well. And that's why I think some of the things that contributed to their work output not being done properly."
Israel Maeoli says he believes the council can afford the payrise because of assistance it's received from the New Zealand government through the Commonwealth Local Government Forum.
He says he also wants to improve education and health services, and may look to provide housing to boost the morale of teachers.
The new city council will hold its first meeting on January the 18th.
