THE Malaita Provincial Government is calling on the national government to take action on the MV Taimareho sea tragedy in April that killed 27 Malaitans at sea.
In a statement, Premier Daniel Suidani said he has been closely following the issue since day one and urged the government to act quickly to settle the matter once and for all.
He said following the tragedy, the government conducted two separate inquiries but pointed out the outcome of the inquiries are still kept in the shadow.
The premier said the incident marked the largest loss of lives in a single tragedy in Malaita.
Tuesday next week June 2nd will mark two months after the incident and Suidani said the government should take action and support the families of victims.
“As the Premier of Malaita province I have followed closely the various public statements made by the prime minister and the government,” Suidani said.
“One of which was for the government to set up a humanitarian committee to be coordinated by the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet,” he added.
“The Committee is tasked to consider what and how best the Government can support families of the missing passenger as a nation, as a people, and as a government.
“It is my understanding that an attempt by the committee to visit the affected communities was unsuccessful.
“I call on the Prime Minister to inform my people of Malaita especially those affected to act quickly in addressing this tragic matter.
“For Malaita, this is the biggest loss of lives inflicted on Malaitans for sometimes.
“I call on the prime minister to work closely with the Member of Parliament for West Are’Are and the province to speed up any relevant work to bring closure to the families affected by this terrible tragedy.”
The Solomon Star understands that a team led by Premier Suidani visited families of the victims as well as attended a funeral service.
Following the visit by the Premier, a team from the national government was sent to meet the families of the victims.
But a chief turned back the team.
By WILSON SAENI
in Auki
