The Malaita Provincial Premier Daniel Suidani on Monday publicly launched the historical ‘Malaita Provincial Government Auki Communique.’
The launching was conducted at the Auki central market.
The communique was produced following last week’s the leaders’ summit between the Malaita Provincial Assembly and senior Malaitan Members of Parliament.
Premier Suidani said he was humbled to release the important document and said Malaita should be proud to once again rise up to the occasion to set the course straight for protection of human liberties against tyrannical forces.
“Our forefathers after the second world war believed in the need for people to be treated fairly, the need for personal liberty, for brotherly respect and of course the right to self-determination. Today, it is our turn to stand strong for those same values,” the Premier said.
The current Malaita provincial government believes that lack of development on Malaita is a national problem as it affects all part of the Solomon Islands as a country where he said the previous governments have not made a meaningful effort to address this issue.
The outspoken premier said the victims of development have always been blamed yet no meaningful plan had been implemented to alleviate the problems on Malaita.
He maintains the priority is still development on Malaita and not chasing after diplomatic ties to gloss over the national leadership crisis.
The premier maintained that the recent decision to switch diplomatic ties from ROC to PRC was a diversion to blame the diplomatic friends for the lack of development in the country.
“Over the last 36 years ROC had supplied financial and technical resources that if used wisely could have already advanced the country, yet the lack of leadership in key policy and implementation areas has left the country impoverished,” the premier stated.
“Not only is it a bad decision, it is adding salt to injury, when a government makes a bad decision without consulting those that are affected,” he said.
The Malaita for Democracy (M4D) movement had also petitioned the premier to ceded Malaita province from the rest of the Solomon Islands to protect them from what they perceive to be erosion of their democratic rights with the exposure of a communist partner in PRC.
He said as a responsible premier he had lend his ear to his people’s call and the leaders have dealt with this responsibly by committing to a process under the Communique.
The communique covers many areas including the Malaita Vision for 2050 ‘Malaita and MOI – Who we are and where we want to be.’
“It also sets out Malaita and MOI core beliefs and freedoms which they demand to be preserved.
“It also calls on Malaitans not to undermine the hard work of their fellow Malaitans but to apply their efforts in ways that advance the livelihood of their fellow Malaitans.
“It also demands that Malaita and MOI resources must be used for the common best interest of Malaita province.
“It also strongly sets up the safeguards and standards whereby others are able to engage with the Province and the minimum standards which cannot be violated,” the document highlighted.
The communique concludes by outlining the areas of cooperation the Province is immediately willing to engage with willing partners on.
Suidani stated, “The immediate plan now is to consult his people in the next 40 days to agree on the priorities from the communique and to set out the strategy and an implementation plan which would manifest the broad aspirations as set out in the communique.”
With that, he called on Malaitans everywhere to educate themselves on the aspirations and to assist his provincial government pass to work towards those aspirations in order to pass on on a better legacy to the next generation.
People who gathered and witnessed the official launching yesterday cheered as the Malaita provincial premier made his remarks.
Some members of the public found time after the launching to share their views and congratulated the premier with handshakes showing their support for Premier Suidani.
Mr Suidani said his government is establishing an office in Auki to allow Malaitans to come forward and share useful ideas as Malaita is seeking a way forward to develop its province and achieves its goals.
By WILSON SAENI
In Auki
