BY JOSES SAREN
Rennell and Bellona Province will receive SBD 3.6 million this year from the Provincial Capacity Development Fund (PCDF).
Minister for Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening, (MPGIS), Alfred Lazarus Rina announced this at the province’s 33rd Anniversary and Second Appointed Day celebration yesterday.
Speaking at the Town Ground Rugby Stadium as Guest of Honour, Minister Rina said the increase was largely due to changes in the PCDF allocation formula and a review of the fund’s modality.
He said more than SBD 12.9 million has been transferred to Rennell and Bellona Province since the fund began, financing approximately 27 completed development projects across the province, funded through the SIG-PCDF, IEDCR-PCDF and UNCDF-LoCAL PCDF programs.
“These projects are not just statistics on paper,” Minister Rina said, describing them as improvements to essential services, community infrastructure and the province’s social and economic development.
The announcement came directly after Premier Erick Saueha used his own address to lay out a long list of unresolved infrastructure problems facing the province.
Saueha said Tigoa and Anua airports are in deteriorating state and need urgent rehabilitation to accommodate the Dash 8 aircraft, given the backlog of cancelled flights and high airfare and freight costs, and called for a feasibility study on a proposed East Rennell airport.
On wharves, he thanked the national government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for funding the Ahanga wharf on Bellona, but said the Lavagu Wharf project remains unfunded despite SIIP and DFAT having already surveyed possible sites.
He also said that roads to Lake Tegano and Lavagu Port need further maintenance while Rennell and Bellona’s shipping service — already strained before the sinking of MV Anjeanette forced the province to scale back its own anniversary celebration.
Saueha also raised the absence of a police post on Bellona and East Rennell, deteriorating schools and health facilities, the lack of sports infrastructure, and urban drift driven by residents leaving the province in search of education, healthcare and jobs.
Minister Rina acknowledged the challenges and said that connectivity remains one of the biggest obstacles to development in one of Solomon Islands’ most remote provinces, and that the loss of cargo aboard MV Anjeanette had further highlighted the vulnerability of our island communities and the urgent need for reliable shipping services.
He said the ministry will continue to work with relevant ministries, development partners and the Provincial Government to address the issues within available resources.
On the Premier’s call for greater decentralisation and revenue-sharing, Minister Rina said continued access to PCDF funding depends on the province maintaining compliance with the financial regulations approved by the Rennell and Bellona Provincial Assembly in 2018, describing accountability requirements as a reflection of good governance rather than an imposed obstacle.
“Good governance is not an obstacle to development; it is the pathway to development,” he said.
Minister Rina also announced that through the Provincial Governance Strengthening Program and other donor-funded initiatives, Rennell and Bellona Province is now fully staffed with the technical expertise needed to drive its development agenda, including planning, project implementation, monitoring, financial management and engineering services.
Photo credit: Island Sun
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