The Solomon Islands Government has asked New Zealand to provide a public servant to head its Inland Revenue Department.
The Finance and Treasury Minister Snyder Rini has told Parliament that the Government has asked Wellington to help out because it could not find a suitable local candidate to fill a post that has been vacant since 2005.
Mr Rini says New Zealand has been providing an expert on tax affairs on an acting basis, but his Government wants to appoint someone for a five-year period, during which time Solomon Islanders would receive training both locally and overseas.
He says the post is enormously important as it handles government revenue collections.
Mr Rini says they will need someone well versed in Solomons' tax law, an expert administrator and diligent in collecting state revenues.
