THE Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which was signed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL), with the Western Provincial Assembly was branded as a way forward for the development of the province.
On Monday, the Western provincial government and MAL have signed a deal for oil palm plantation development in the province.
Speaking in a press conference at the Honiara Hotel yesterday, MAL Permanent Secretary (PS) Jimi Saelea said, that the signing is truly a way forward not only for Western province itself but other provinces also.
“This looks like a way forward for us to address issues in terms of development in the provinces.
“From the Ministry’s perspective, we have to implement such projects in the provinces and not Honiara; this means that the provincial government must get involved in the beginning.
“So having this type of partnership with Western province, it’s like we’re working together to address whatever issues that relates to agricultural development.
“Since this current MOU is only for palm oil, we can also do a similar one for other commodities,” Mr Saelea said.
As the Provincial Minister responsible for agriculture and livestock in the Western Provincial Government, Deputy Premier Wayne Maepio also shared similar sentiments.
“The provincial government is also looking at establishing similar MOU in different Ministries within its government.
“This is to maximise what is being earmarked for the province in terms of development.
“With that, both the provincial and national government can report on the same issue,” he said.
According to one of the Western Provincial assembly members, the way forward for the government is to prioritize the provincial government to implement the government policies instead of overlooking the work of the agency that it puts in place.
