Dear Editor – The acclamation about the discovery of minerals at Nende, Santa Cruz, is a child play, cynical, holds no water and utterly rubbish.
Minerals can be found anywhere in the world and for somebody to say to you mineral is in your land and you started towing and pounding here and there is grossly foolish.
This can only reflect a shallow minded person who thinks only about the monetary value and the prospect of becoming rich with disregard to the livelihood of the people and the unique bionetwork of Nende that has been enjoyed not only by humans but the entire creation that has inhabited there from time immemorial.
The revelation comes from a desperate person who needs to meaningfully define the word development that is profoundly tormenting him.
Development in essence is progressing in all aspects of human co-existence.
It is in general perspective, living in organized clean and well landscaped villages, good housing structures, having proper toilets and good sanitary, creating a good participatory community and conducive environment, establishing good professionally and technically managed farms, creating good and sound protective legislations, managing our resources in a sustainable way, developing a good infrastructure plan, establishing a good revenue system that is unprejudiced, having simple, well educated and sensible citizens like me, etc.
Mr Miner you must be reminded that unless the very fertile land of Nende that you wanted to destroy is not producing Kumara, Pana, Yam, Lopra and the famous Selfish Taro for me, I would also in no way nearer to supporting your lucrative but destructive development.
As a Nende citizen I deplore and stand defiant to such undertaking.
I think I haven’t said enough in making some justification on the determination to stand opposed to your development.
The few of a little research can do, but here is a little message; becoming a leader or professing to be one is not determined by your professed good plans, but by how you understand the makeup or overview of your community, which includes the population, the land mass, the uniqueness, the cultural norms and traditions, the education, the health, food security, civil or social security and the prospect of tapping into non destructive economic development projects.
However, Mr Miner Nende has a population of more than 22,947 people and the land mass of approximately 505.5 sq kilometers, the highest point on the island is 549 meters (I owned that point) .
We have the potential of investing into these sectors: agriculture or farming, fisheries, tourism, forestry or timber and possibly mining but not when I’m alive.
In above brief analysis we still have a lot land to fully utilize for less destructive developments, and for such, investing on developments based on above areas.
I believe these areas if fully utilised can bring maximum benefits to the land owners, let alone corrupt governments of Solomon Islands.
Your mining has a lot of negative impacts, socially traditionally, you name it.
One interesting one is the finding of (CSEC 2007) on Rennell where teenage pregnancy was prevalent due to the presence of Asian men there.
LEONARD MENESENG
Lower skyline
