TODAY the country turns 44th since its birth as a country after gaining independence from the British Government in 1978.
As a young nation that is still developing, that journey to nationhood has not been easy.
Solomons has come a long to ensure it can stand on its own feet and support itself.
Always referred to as the ‘Hapi Isles’ this nation had come along way to where it is now.
We nearly lost their tag during our darkest hour during the conflict period.
But through our quest to live in peace and unity once more, the country was able to recover with the help of RAMSI.
Today, the journey continues but a slow pace.
Because looking back our journey, it is being riddled with a lot of challenges from, ethnic conflict, disasters, lootings and rioting, political instability and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 outbreak early this year was the most challenging one because it had hard hit hard on our economy, many businesses have come to a stand-still, locals have lost their jobs, our children could start their academic year early and borders which have also closed which denied so much services for our people.
Sadly some of our good our citizens left us after losing the battle against COVID-19.
As globe continues to face challenges in the area of food, fuel and health, this country will continue to face challenges.
On the political side, our relationship with the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) has seen some positive results with the sports infrastructure project now taking shape in preparation for the 2023 Pacific Games.
There are major projects taking shape such as the upgrading of the Honiara International Airport, Tina Hydro Project and the Kukum Highway project funded by the Japanese Government.
These projects are game changer for our capital. Lets embrace the change and support it.
The journey to achieve some of these developments does not come easy.
Thus, we can be thankful for the hard work by past governments for these achievements.
However, as a country with diverse cultures and background, its one of the unique countries in the Pacific.
Despite our differences lets continue to take pride of our nation.
Let’s continue to support its growth by working together to build it.
This means, resource owners must also let go of their undeveloped land and allow it for sustainable development.
This is to ensure we can have more investors coming in to develop our country.
Our people especially youths need jobs to support themselves and their families.
Our growing youths remains a challenge if issues facing them are not addressed.
It’s a challenge which our leaders and other stakeholders should take on board to ensure we do not continue to face social instability in our nation.
As we celebrate today, lets take stock of what needs to be done to ensure our nation continues to enjoy and stability.
Happy birth day our ‘Hapi Isles’ and may God bless Solomon Islands from shore to shore!
