High Level Government Delegation Tours Temotu

High Level Government Delegation Tours Temotu Province

By George Herming in Lata

A high level government delegation led by Minister of Commerce, Hon Peter Shanel and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Patteson Oti is currently in Temotu Province on a 4-day information gathering and sharing mission on the government’s bottom-up-approach policy.

The delegation included Permanent Secretary of Commerce, Jeffery Wickham and Permanent Secretary of Agriculture, Israel Wore and divisional heads within the Ministries of Commerce and Foreign Affairs.

The delegation held discussions with Temotu Premier Johnson Levela and his Provincial Executive on various rural development needs of the province which will assist the Central Government in implementing the bottom-up-approach policy.

Issues discussed in a meeting today included agriculture, fisheries, infrastructure, immigration and customs, tourism and trade – which have huge untapped potential in the province.

The meeting also focused discussions on government-supported activities in the province which remained non-operative over the past years.

One of the major issues discussed is the revival of government accommodation in the provincial capital Lata, which is viewed as one of the urgent needs of the province to house government workers intended for the province.

Mr Shanel and other government divisional heads said the government had allocated money in this year’s budget for the revival of housing needs in the province – saying provincial administrators must work closely with responsible ministries in Honiara to urgently address accommodation needs in the provinces.

ENDS

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