BY JENNIFER KUSAPA
CENTRAL Islands premier Stanley Manetiva has voiced the need of an additional constituency for the province.
This call has been one ruminating under successive provincial governments of Central Islands, and Mr Manetiva is putting this desire at the foot of prime minister Manasseh Sogavare.
Manetiva said Central province’s population has grown and the challenge current MPs are facing cannot be undermined.
He said the provincial government has passed an Assembly paper to recommend to the boundaries commission for an additional constituency for central province as there is a need for “an additional constituency for Ngella Islands Russell a standalone Constituency Savo and Buen Vista Sandfly and the remaining to be Ngella constituency”.
“The province will be following up its Assembly passed resolution with the appropriate commission but I am raising the flag now,” Manetiva said.
“Leaders and people of Central Islands Province in 2009 already called on responsible national government authorities to create two additional constituencies to help address inadequacies in the distribution of government funded projects in the province.”
The province has two constituencies; Ngella and Savo/Russells, with an estimated population of more than 30,000.
