In Solomon Islands, logging has given rise to a political culture often characterised by the increasing participation of state leaders in the forest industry, and the adoption by state leaders of a double identity, as state leaders and landowners—a kind of schizophrenic professional commitment. The most well known of these state leaders was the former Prime Minister who owns a logging company, Somma Ltd. His company also enjoys a 100 per cent export tax exemption on round log exports. It is interesting that in August 1998, when I asked the then Finance Minister why he awarded a tax exemption to the Prime Minister, he replied that he did not give it to the Prime Minister, but to a landowner.

Corruption has also been widespread in the logging industry, from the village level to the highest offices of the state. In November 1995, five government ministers were alleged to have received SI$7 million in bribery money from a logging company and this has resulted in court proceedings which are currently under way (Solomon Star, 19 November 1995). In another case, two government ministers were charged with receiving favours from Marving Brothers, the logging company involved in the controversial Pavuvu logging disputes. In 1995, a local newspaper, the Solomon Star, reported that an accountancy firm had uncovered an internal report that a Malaysian company had paid SI$17 million to government ministers and officials, and named the then Minister for Commerce, Employment and Trade, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Home Affairs, as well as the former secretary to the Foreign Investment Board (Pacific Report 8(21) November 20, 1995). The Ombudsman cited the funding of election expenses by timber companies and evidence that members of Area Councils deciding on applications from logging companies were given ‘Negotiation Fees’, employment and hotel stays when in Honiara (Solomon Islands 1989:10–11). There is also increasing concern over the distribution of logging revenues and whether it has contributed to socioeconomic development in the country.

Corruption in the forest industry has become a major concern in Solomon Islands today. The concern centres around the fact that corruption may become the culture of the forest industry. There are fears that we may reach a situation where we can no longer talk about getting rid of corruption from the system because it may become the system.

For politicians, what is regarded as corruption in the conventional sense is, in fact, the essence of survival. In a society where a Bigman’s wealth is measured, not so much in what he accumulates as in what he distributes, it is important that a Bigman finds a means of acquiring wealth for distribution. Logging provides that means. A politician needs the logging money in order to stay in power. This is because of the nature of patron/client relationships that characterise our traditional culture—a norm that has suddenly been labelled as corruption. Wealth accumulated and kept.