The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Meteorological service has called on key government ministries, stakeholders, and development partners to give priority to solid waste management.
The call was made in light of the opening of the Ranadi landfill site on Friday by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Dr Melchior Mataki.
“The Ministry of Environment, in the next few years, plans to continue collaborating with all partner stakeholders to address this challenging environmental issue of solid waste management,” Mataki said.
“I therefore call on the national central ministries and development partners to also give priority to waste management in general,” he added.
Mataki added that waste management is for everyone living in any society because it will only reflect what kind of a society we are living in.
“We must give priority to waste management, because if we have a well-educated society, but still practicing littering it does not reflect well on a state of being an educated society.
“Similarly, if we have the best hospital, and clinics, but wastes are improperly disposed off or not treated, we will only stand to see droves of sick people putting additional pressures on our health workers such as doctors and nurses.”
Mataki pointed out that in the past years, New Zealand and Japanese governments in partnership with their development partners have been very instrumental on solid waste management in Honiara and in the provinces.
By CHARLEY PIRINGI
