Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare says the government is looking for support from members of the business community during this four-day lockdown.
In his nationwide address on Monday, PM Sogavare said this to help reduce the Covid-19 transmission in the country.
“I ask the Solomon Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the business houses to assist the government in implementing this lockdown so that we can reduce transmission and contain and control this epidemic.
He said the government needs your support on the following areas:
- Provision of vehicles (either sponsored or even on a borrow-basis to be returned) to support the logistics needs of health, police, NDMO and livelihood and protection teams.
- We need up to 25 Hilux-type vehicles, 6 x 3-ton trucks for food drop offs and heavy logistics, and 6 buses [15 – 30 seaters] for our health surveillance, swabbing and contact tracing teams.
- The vehicles can be provided as your sponsorship to the fight against COVID-19 or on a borrow-basis to be returned after the COVID-10 containment and control operation.
- Provision of food supply to the NDMO and Livelihood committee. This would be Rice, Taiyo, Noodles, Tea, Sugar, salt so we can distribute to communities during the lockdown period.
- I ask members of the Chinese Association of Solomon Islands to please provide support to enable the lockdown to occur for the longer period.
He said his office will seek a meeting with the SICCI executive later to discuss and formalise their partnership to support the lockdown operations.
He also asked all shipping operators to respect this lockdown.
“Unfortunately, it is the ships sailing from Honiara, both cargo and passengers that are spreading the virus to the provinces already,” he said.
He also pled to all the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to please assist in our moment of need and support the implementation of the lockdown by providing logistics with vehicles and food rations not just for Honiara but to stockpile supplies that can go to provinces if they implement hotspot lockdowns.
“I ask our development partners to support our operation with logistical support like vehicles and food packages that can be dropped off to each household so we can look at a slightly longer lockdown,” he said.
PM Sogavare has called on all residents in Honiara, businesses across the country, and our development partners for a united effort to help us contain and control the rapidly unfolding Covid-19 epidemic in the country.
By FOLLET JOHN
Newsroom, Honiara
