THE Vura Ward Advisory Committee have requested the government for a serious dialogue over a proposed satellite market within the ward.
It is understood that the location of the satellite market is at the Holland Complex, just before the Naha Police Station.
During a committee meeting at the Honiara City Council (HCC) headquarters yesterday, the group drafted a letter which will be submitted to the Covid-19 oversight committee.
The proposed market was identified by the national government based on the State of Emergency (SOE) measures imposed; however, the proposal has met certain challenges.
According to the Ward’s Advisory Committee, the move has prompted a wide range of discussion amongst ward dwellers about the lack of official information sharing concerning useful issues that are surrounding the proposed site.
This paper was also told that the same site is also being eyed by the Ward to build a Multi-purpose hall in a long-term strategic development plan.
“As per the government’s proposal, I am compelled by the residents of Vura Ward to further negotiate the already progression we made in our Ward Strategic Plan to build a Naha multi-purpose hall.
“However, due to such immediate intervention by the national government, we would like to propose a meeting to be held with the relevant authorities who deal directly with the project and the Vura Ward residents.
“This is purposely to further enlighten ourselves of the current regulation enforced by the government to counter the immediate threats of the Covid-19 pandemic in our country,” Cr. Ngati said.
To clarify, Cr. Ngati stated that the residents of his Ward anticipated that proper impact assessment coupled with site and building plan should be further generated for discussion by both parties.
Whilst some members of the Ward have agreed with the government’s proposal, others were not in favour of the project due to current issues experienced by the Honiara City Council (HCC) and its weak management and policing of illegal market vendors, lack of proper coordination and networking.
“We seek a roundtable discussion with the government so that we can voice our opinion that will craft for a better future,” the Committee said, in the submission.
Meanwhile, Cr. Ngati highlighted that the idea of building satellite markets around Honiara City is one of HCC’s long term plan – that is to decentralise market facilities.
Therefore, it is better to plan ahead for the future, he said.
The Vura Ward Councillor added the proposed Satellite market is just a short term plan by the central government with a timeframe determined by the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the Naha Birthing Health Centre and the proposed multi-purpose hall facilities are long term development initiatives for the Vura Ward.
“Which type of development is better, a short term or a long term development proposal? With this question in mind, serious dialogue is a must,” Cr Ngati said.
