BY SAMIE WAIKORI
Auki roads will be tar-sealed soon, Premier Martin Fini has announced.
In his keynote address speech during full assembly on Tuesday this week he said a team will be in Auki soon to begin work on the project.
“The tar-sealing of the Auki region roads is to commence shortly.
“An assessment team is expected to arrive in Auki soon to begin work on this infrastructure project,” Fini said.
“The infrastructure situation in Malaita is in dire need. We can no longer ignore this reality. Road, bridges, wharves and other major infrastructures are ruin and run down.
“Transportation is badly affected as a result of the run-down infrastructures. Roads are disconnected affecting reliable transportations to isolated communities to access essential services such as health, education and markets.
“Economic activities have been drastically affected. Our farmers are disconnected. Their products are also disconnected due to transport difficulty caused by run down infrastructure.
“Even some Malaitan businesses were also run down due to cashflow problems as economic activities are affected,” Fini said.
He said this has become challenges for ordinary Malaitans to make ends meet.
He said it is for these reasons and many others that MNGFR reached out to development partners to help in addressing the situation.
“As a province, we are taking a strategic direction by tackling our development issues and addressing these under the legal framework of our laws.
“We want to mend the bridges that have broken over the last few years so as to reconnect and build relationship and establish legal institutions to manage and engage resource owners’ participation.
“We want to ensure our resources owners are protected and become investors rather than fall to the bulling and skimming plans of foreign investors.
“I want to assure that MNGFR will carry out its mandated roles and executing all actions, activities within the roles, functions and boundaries of the laws with the objectives of creating financial opportunities, employment and reducing poverty for our people,” Fini said.
