A CHURCH academic is launching a new political party and leading it into the coming National General Election.
Rev. Milton Talasasa, who hails from Munda, Western Province, is founder and interim president of the newly established Rural Peoples Congress Party.
Its official launching is schedule for May 2010, at Vonavona Lagoon.
“I am going to launch the party among the mangroves and under the coconut palm tress to be witnessed by rural women, men, chiefs, children whose lives and livelihood are at stake as a result of uncaring and unloving political leadership in the last decade,” Rev. Talasasa said.
He said his party shares equal concerns with other political parties, for the people of Solomon Islands.
“But a priority focus is based on the Election Platform, the alarming rate of ‘rural poverty’, “ he said.
“There are other alarming issues that the party seeks to address. But high in the list is rural poverty. Political leaders may have talked about it but no tangible impact.
“Many aid donors claim, they are putting money in projects that would enhance rural communities and improve standards of living,”he said.
However, Mr Talasasa said this is a fallacy, a lot of aid money goes to finance the official bureacrats, very little to rural communities when aid donors funds a community hall, a school classroom, a water supply, official claims they are improving the livelihoods of rural communities.
“No, it has very limited positive impacts on the communities,” he said.
“If rural community standard of living is to be improved, the entire rural community Infrastructure ought to be revolutionised.
“When a child is taught in a new EU RAMP funded classroom but then returns home and finds no food, cannot pay her school fees, no money to pay for petrol to seek medicine, living in a poor house, no proper toilets, water supply, and the list continues, then the new classroom does not make the child any better,” he said.
“The so much talked about EU Rural Advancement Micro project is no way near in advancing rural communities. An Aid donor cannot advance any rural communities, when a donor only selects a classroom, or a community hall to build. This is 0.0% of rural advancement.
“As I said earlier, aid donor comes with their highly paid technical officers, eating more than 70% of so called aid money to Solomon Islands, leaving the aid scrumbs under the table for rural communities.
“I call aid money given by donors as ‘Surface Aid Money’. This aid money only touches or heals the surface of rural poverty. And have yet to burn the indepth pain and struggle of people in rural communities.”
Rev. Talasasa said his party has the vision to reach and touch the core roots of rural poverty, to lift them out, and more people forward to peace, progress and prosperity.
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