OUR Party has assured the people of Guadalcanal of its commitment to addressing the issues behind their outstanding bona-fide demands to the national government through its strategic development policy.
Interim President and Opposition Leader, Manasseh Sogavare said the political party fully appreciates that the issues contained in the bona-fide demands a different kind of challenge that the national government cannot overlook in its endeavours to develop the country.
Mr Sogavare was speaking at the Guadalcanal launch of OUR Party in Tetere last Sunday.
He said the demands were basically a protest against the negative effects of the highly centralised development strategy the country adopted from the colonial British administration which sees all major development activities concentrated on Guadalcanal.
The interim president and opposition leader said with due respect to how others may want to see this issue, the social unrest was a wake-up call for Solomon Islands to review its development strategies in light of the issues raised in the bona-fide demands.
“It is easy for one to be bogged down in the demands on the face value and lose sight of the real issues that drive them,” Mr Sogavare said.
“We have a choice whether to identify the underlying real issues and address them or be bogged down in the demands and be disappointed because we may not be able to achieve our objectives which will only fuel anger and frustration,” he said.
Mr Sogavare said OUR Party believes if it is to successfully address the problem, its development policy must be strategically designed to address the following issues:
• The underlying issues of the ethnic crisis
• The people’s struggle against the centralised, top-down, donor-driven and foreign-controlled development strategy
• Ownership of decision-making and the economic system
• Disrespect of custom and culture
• The people’s struggle against the injustices of the colonial land policy
• The outstanding issues carried in the Townsville Peace Agreement
• The effects of the ethnic conflict and post conflict developments and
• The continuing marginalisation of Solomon Islanders
OUR Party interim president and opposition leader said the strategy must also entail the provision of economic opportunities in other provinces to reduce pressure on Guadalcanal and Honiara created by the influx of people seeking economic and employment opportunities.
Mr Sogavare also acknowledged what he described as the tremendous contribution of the people of Guadalcanal to the country by hosting the majority of development activities the country depends on to sustain the important functions of the government system.
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