BY BEN BILUA
Gizo
DEVELOPMENT of South East Vella constituency Economic Growth Center is progressing well and is expected to go into full operation before June next year.
Island Sun was invited to visit the growth center with Member of Parliament for South East Vella, who is also the Minister for Commerce, Fredrick Kologeto, and officials from the Prime Minister’s office yesterday.
Construction workers were busy with five new buildings that will house some of the important services at the center.
Kologeto said two buildings will be for coconut processing and refinery, Kava and seaweed buying center.
He adds that one of the buildings will be a police post and two other buildings will accommodate police officers who will be posted at the center.
“This development is part of the government’s pilot project to decentralize services and at the same time bring the services closer to the people,” Kologeto said.
“South Vella constituency Economic Growth Center is one of two pilot projects under the program,” he added.
“Another project is awarded to North Malaita Constituency.”
Kologeto said the coconut refinery, kava, cassava and Seaweed buying center are part of the constituency’s long term development plan, aimed at encouraging long term benefits for the people of the constituency.
He added that the Police Post and staff houses are his top priorities as security is important.
“I’m of the view that security must be guaranteed before any development can progress because we need law and order to be present so that people can actively participate in the economic activities,” he said.
Kologeto stressed that his overall objective is to turn the growth center into an industrial site where other developments such as tourism, agriculture, fisheries so as other essential service like Bank can be established at the center.
He said the first phase of the development is valued around $5 million and he is relying on the Rural Constituency Development Fund (RCDF) to fund the project.
Kologeto salutes his team for driving the development on the ground.
