BY BEN BILUA
Gizo
Western Province’s newly elected premier has called on the government to fast-track and immediately address the issue of federalism.
Christian Mesepitu made the call during his inaugural speech after his election yesterday.
He said Western Province is more serious than ever and is calling on the national government to seriously look into pending issues regarding the transition towards statehood.
Mesepitu stressed that Western Province is ready and should be granted statehood given that needed infrastructures have been present in the province.
“We have all the required infrastructures, the manpower and the resources to such demand and I call on the national government to immediately address the matter as it has been a long standing issue for the past years,” he said.
“I know that our forefathers have laid the foundation for statehood and I will continue to pursue their wishes to become reality,” he added..
“I want to make it clear that our time in the past has been wasted with negotiations, as such it is high time for more action,” he said.
Mesepitu said the recent rioting in Honiara indicates the need to decentralize investments and resources on all provinces.
He adds that the country needs to open up provincial developments and decentralize investments in provincial centers.
Mesepitu reiterated that federalism is important given the growing population of the country.
