An East Malaita man Edwin Gani has urged people from the area not to sell gem stones from the area to any foreigners, until proper and legal procedures of the country are followed.
Mr Gani make this call following reports that people in East Malaita and West Kwara'ae have been selling gem stones collected from rivers and land to an expatriate in the past few weeks.He says as someone from Tafisaulafi land they have set up a group to ensure no stones are taken out of their land until legal procedures are followed with the landowners, Malaita Province and the national government.
Mr Gani says any foreigners who want to take any resources from Solomon Islands must go through the right channel so that all parties involved in any business deals benefit.
He also urges both the Malaita and national governments to investigate the foreigner who is buying gem stones from the people.
Last week, East Malaita man William Gua also expressed concern about people from Adiadi land in East Malaita collecting stones and selling them to an expatriate.