issued at different face value to help with pricing of goods and services. a 10 cent represents 10 % of the one dollar, 20 cents 20 % of one dollar, and a 50 cent represents 50 % of one dollar. in other words prices can fall as proportion of one dollar and we required coins to set the level of prices and receive correct change when we buy goods and services. my message to all of you therefore is simple. our new coins are meant to serve the solomon island economy for the next 30 years. to ensure that these coins play their role in the smooth operation of our pricing and payment system you must circulate the coins. the new coins have added benefits that you the people have told us to incorporate in the new coins. they are smaller in sizes and much lighter weight. and i am sure the new coins will not put holes your pockets when you carry them to make payments. i therefore invite you all to use the new coins when making small payments. finally, honourable prime minister and the good people of solomon islands, may i on behalf of the board of directors, the governors, the management and staff of central bank, congratulate the government and people of solomon islands on achieving and celebrating 34th year of our country ’ s independence. congratulation! may god bless solomon islands and long live its currency, the solomon islands dollar. thank you all. bis central bankers ’ speeches

gane simbe : the role coins play in the solomon islands ’ payment system speech by mr gane simbe, deputy governor of the central bank of solomon islands, at the launching of the solomon islands new coins, honiara, 4 july 2012. * * * [ i have a message for you in my speech this afternoon. and the message is this : “ coins are important for proper pricing of your goods and services and therefore you must actively use the coins in your daily transactions and not to store coins away in wooden boxes! using coins as medium of exchange will bring much benefit to you and help our economy grow ”. ] the honourable prime minister mr lilo ; members of diplomatic corps who are present with us this afternoon, ceo of royal australian mint, mr macdiarmid, distinguish guests, the good people of solomon islands now listening, ladies and gentlemen. good afternoon to you all and thanking for being part of our celebration this afternoon. first let me on behalf of the board of directors of the central bank of solomon islands and the governor, thank the honourable prime minister who has allocated his time from his busy schedules to come and officially launch the new coins, as the legal tender coins for our vibrant country, the solomon islands. and i am pleased that our prime minister is given this honour to launch the new coins, because the decision that solomon islands should have its own currency as one of the key symbols of an independent state of solomon islands, was a major political decision made by our political leaders in early 1970s ( the alternative was whether to continue use the australian dollar as the currency for the independent state of solomon islands ). looking back at the historical journey of our country, the decision to issue our own currency in my personal opinion was a correct decision. our currency remains a symbol for our independent state and having our own currency has contributed to the management of our economy, especially in terms of balance of payment management in times of economic stresses. these new coins i am sure will continue to play their roles in the daily trading activities in solomon islands for many years ahead of us, so long as we choose to continue to live the dreams of our pioneering political leaders to have one country, one people, one nation, one national budget and one currency to symbolize our independence. secondly, i thank the ceo of the royal australian mint, mr macdiarmid for his kind words. as the chairman of the currency steering committee, i appreciate the relationship that we have developed with royal australian