Western provincial executive had endorsed the action plan to ban single usage of plastic in the province last Friday 3rd May.
This was revealed by the Premier David Gina following an endorsement made by his executive on a white paper prepared by Dr Transform Aqarou and David Boseto both of whom are members of the Western Province Environment Network.
Premier Gina stated they are aware of the challenges and the resources they would need to enforce this ban, adding they stand with the growing chorus of opposition to tackle this problem.
“The world has taken notice of the problem and the international community is calling for action.
“We are not going to wait for the national government to take action and therefore we have taken it upon ourselves to lead the country,” he added.
He said that the next step after the adoption of the white paper is to have a series of public consultation including business houses and members of the public before the ordinance is passed by the full assembly.
“We all need to act and work together,” he added.
“We are now going to reach out to the Ministry of the Environment and Secretariat of the Pacific Environment Programme to provide technical support for the implementation of the ban,” he concluded.
The proposed plastic ban was initiated by the former Wayne Maepio led government.
By Ulutah Gina
In Gizo
