To'abaita Authority for Research & Development (TARD)

[P.O Box 13, Honiara, Solomon Islands/ Email: tar_development@yahoo.com/ Tel:+677 7424025]

Welcome to the TARD Homepage...{Sore lea tale oe uri fula lamu mai la biu ne'e TARD}...TARD is To'abaita's rural voice on the web

Friday, August 03, 2007

PM Sogavare receives Western Province State Government prep report

By Deli Oso, Press Secretary to the PM

Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare this morning received a ‘Summary Booklet of Official Reports on State Government 2000-2007’ from the Western Provincial Government.

Western Province Premier, Alex Lokopio handed over the document in a brief presentation ceremony in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Mr Lokopio said the document was a summary of the work done so far by the Western Provincial Government in its preparation for the federal state government system.

He said Western Province like Choiseul Province never accepted the current system of government imposed by Britain because they felt that structure was unsuitable.

“What is put into our constitution is based on the colonial and the London sort of thinking and not what the majority, the grassroots people of Solomon Islands think.

“We want to develop under a system that is homegrown rather than operating under a top- down governing structure,” Mr Lokopio stressed.

The Premier said work on the report and its compilation cost almost $8-million.

Prime Minister Sogavare in response told the premier that the government really appreciated the document and all the effort put into its production.

He said the amount of money spent on the report manifested seriousness by the Western Provincial government in adopting the federal state government system.

Mr Sogavare assured the premier that his Grand Coalition for Change Government is fully committed to implement the new governing system during its term in office.

He said work towards adopting the new governing system at the national government level was well in advance and the establishment of the national constitutional congress was another step forward.

The Prime Minister said Solomon Islands entered into independence without fully knowing where it was heading.

He said ever since independence Solomon Islands had encountered a lot of problems which basically pointed out the unsuitability of the governing system it adopted but the government never took heed of that underlying message until the nation collapsed in 2000.

Mr Sogavare said should the government continue to ignore the provinces calls for federal state government then Solomon Islands would be bound for another disaster.

Copyright©2006-2010 To'abaita Authority for Research and Development (TARD). All rights reserved