Chief of Klousuu Patterson Divasia is calling on the national government and provincial leaders of Guadalcanal to seriously look at the need of highland people of North East Guadalcanal to have a separate constituency from people from the coastal areas.
Speaking to the Solomon Star Divasia recently, the chief said, people of Kolousu’u from the interior of Paripao ward, ward 21, which is under North East Guadalcanal Constituency strongly request both province and national government to consider merging of Kolousuu, Kolokarako ward and Vulaolo ward as one constituency under the government’s plan to add new constituencies next year.
The Methodist Church Pastor said people from the highlands in Guadalcanal have common interests and familiarity among themselves, which is different from people of the coastal areas, hence they want separate constituency for highland people, so that it is easy to govern their own people and develop their land.
He added, people from the interior of Paripao ward of Guadalcanal have difficulties in approaching their Member of Parliament (MP) to discuss development issues for the highlands, since people of the coast have the advantage of electing their preferred candidate and concern only for development in coastal areas, while Kolousuu highland remain undeveloped and their inhabitantsfelt unrepresented in parliament.
Chief Divasia claimed highlanders from interior of Paripao ward always have social conflict with coastal settlers as well, thus he said they were denied the right to vote freely, as they claimed coastal settlers always threatened them with road blocks, denied them health and education access, once they fail to vote candidates that people from the coasts prefer.
He further claimed that combination of highland people under one constituency will be good, seeing that they share the common understanding, interests and more importantly blood-related, whereas combination with coastal people make life complicated, as they are different in terms of origin and background and worse to that is they are hostile towards highlanders.
Merging of Kolokarako ward of East Central Guadalcanal, with Vulaolo ward of Malango constituency and Kolousuu that is under political territory of Derek Sikua will be welcoming news for the highland people of those widely stretching region.
By AATAI JOHN
