Minister for Communications and Aviation, Andrew Hanaria announced the appointment of Mr Bernard Hill, a senior executive of a Hong Kong based Consultancy Company, as the next Telecommunications Commissioner.
The Minister said Mr Hill will be responsible for the liberalization and regulation of the telecommunications sector and for the management of the Telecommunications Commission."The telecommunications industry is important to the future economic growth and stability of Solomon Islands," the Minister said. "The Telecommunications Commission has a challenging goal to ensure that Solomon Islanders have access to a wide array of affordable and high quality telecommunications service."
The Communications Minister said the government is delighted that Mr Hill has accepted the challenge and values the vast experience and expertise he will bring to his new role.
The Minister also applauded the work of the outgoing Commissioner, Nicholas Williams.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Evaluation Committee, and Governor of Central Bank, Denton Rarawa said, his committee was unanimous in proposing Mr Hill for the role and look forward to working alongside him in promoting the development of the local telecommunication sector.
Mr Hill was formerly Head of Competition Affairs at Hong Kong's Telecommunications Authority and has had more than thirty years' experience in economic regulation and competition law and a former senior partner in one of New Zealand's leading law firms.
Mr Hill will take up his appointment on June 16, 2011.