WESTERN Province has requested a Movement Management Plan for our Country’s Western Boarder with the Autonomous Province of Bougainville.
Western Province Premier, David Gina is calling on the national Government to design a management Plan on the sea border that lies between the North Solomon’s Province of Papua New Guinea along with Western and Choiseul Provinces on the Solomon Island’s side.
Western Province communication Officer, Brian Beti relayed to the Solomon Star Gizo.
“A Management Plan needed is one which must ensure that the movement of people along the sea border shared between the three Provinces must safe guard the long term interest of border citizens.”
“Premier Gina explained that whiles the national Government is always at the forefront in border management, foreign affairs and Customs and Excise along with Bio-security which deal with goods trades and movement of people, ‘it’s time that western and Choiseul Provinces are delegated big role to assist the national Government in its day to day border work, monitoring and also management.” Beti conveyed to the Paper
“The national Government must therefore commit enough funds on border management and control and then western and Choiseul Provinces are invited along under a form of joint-border management team.
“This he said be the make-up for a border management Committee, something which can then be seen as effective in running Government administrative programs there in the Shortland side of the border shared with Choiseul Province.
“It time we meet and discuss this issue together or else we will be overtaken as not completing anything better than wasting a lot of precious talks un done over many years. The western is ready and I hope Choiseul do share these sentiments.
“We need to come up with something tangible or else we will be overtaken and left undone once Bougainville goes into a referendum which is to determine the future of the north Solomon’s Province,” said Beti.
He said,Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands officials conduct border talk every year. The dialogues have been going for long some very long while yet there is yet to be a workable management proposed as the best one.
Premier Gina wanted these talks to come up with one workable solution. He wants to see western along with Choiseul take a proactive in the management of the imaginary sea-border.
He urged Government officials on both side to design a workable plan in order that sentiments like officials of the two Governments are wasting a lot important fund raising.