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"Bring us the evidence" is the public message on corruption from Sandi Peisley, commander of ramsi's Participating Police Force. "No one is above the law." The earthy and lean Peisley, an assistant commissioner in the Australian Federal Police who doubles as deputy commissioner of the RSIP, has just returned from the historic swearing-in of the first new-era police recruits, more than half of them women. Frontline officers speak about the 400-plus purge from the RSIP without regret; they are now working alongside 260 police from around the Pacific who are mentoring both old and new officers. There are fresh uniforms, absenteeism is down, and citizens are beginning to respect the force again. "The only way we are going to build trust and make Solomon Islands safe and secure," says Peisley, "is through working closely with the community, taking time out and talking with them, living and working within the code of ethics." Although she's upbeat about RSIP reform and the wider PPF work in ridding the country of guns, Peisley admits there are criminals still at large and much work to be done in identifying, investigating and apprehending the culprits. Some outlaws resent the vigilance: in October, two Honiara police officers were shot at. "Is it a real peace?" asks Father Brown. "Or is the fire just smoldering beneath the surface?"
For the rescue squad, it's slowly sinking in that the size of the rebuilding task is much greater than was planned for. And the to-do list keeps growing. To the current development-speak goals of "capacity building," "improved governance" and "budget stabilization" must be added infrastructure, communications, shipping, electoral reform, media and resource monitoring. In what order should they be tackled? On signal issues like land ownership and use - key to the country's economic security - the visitors won't be stepping in. "Land will remain the core political issue in our lifetimes," says Batley. "It requires attention and resources and a lot of work to manage. It's one area where foreigners can help, but we don't have the answers." Home-grown solutions will also have to be found to the custom of seeking compensation, which is now about cash, instead of redress; and the age-old wantok system of patronage and social security. Successful ministers and public servants "are riding a wave of change," Batley says. "We don't want to become an overt political player. Across the board all politicians understand that it's still a matter of national recovery, and that is beyond politics."
Catherine Walker is ramsi's development coordinator. It's her job to oversee repair of the "machinery of government," get the economy going, make sure the courts and prisons are functioning, and liaise with ngos and aid donors. "The scale of the work to be done is enormous, and it keeps growing - which is simply a function of learning more about the way things are done and what isn't being done," she says. For instance, an expert study into the workings of provincial governments has uncovered a system in crisis: poor financial management, a lack of administrative skills and inability to deliver services. With 85% of the population living outside of Honiara, repairing this situation is crucial - and delicate. "The rural people have not felt the real ramsi program," says John Stephenson, the 31-year-old premier of southeastern Makira province. "Most initiatives are centralized," he says. "Sometimes the line of responsibility between the national government and provinces is not clear. Managing resources and exercising authority in my own community is difficult."