IMPLEMENTATION of the recommendations contained in the ‘Honiara Short Bus Route’ report now falls squarely on responsible authorities.
Parliament yesterday deliberated on the report after it was introduced by former chairman of a special select committee established to look into the issue, Moffat Fugui.
After some heated debate, the recommendations were passed.
Short Bus Routes is a practice introduced by public bus owners in Honiara and has become inconvenient for Honiara citizens.
The Young Women’s Parliamentary Group (YWPG), a group established under the auspices of the Speaker of Parliament, brought the issue through a petition to Parliament according to Parliamentary Standing Order section 16, on behalf of the residents of Honiara after a public outcry made in the media on how this short bus routes adversely impacts people’s daily lives.
YWPG after consultations with Honiara City Council and other relevant authorities thought it would only be proper to take up the issue to the legislative level as provided for in the Parliamentary Standing Orders stated above, where national leaders will deal with it in a more organized and effective way; thus, the group collected more than 4000 signatures and formally presented them to the Member for East Honiara Constituency, Douglas Ete on behalf of the residents of Honiara.
Mr Ete in the previous sitting of Parliament presented the petition where it gained majority support from members.
A Special Select Committee was established to look into the issue and get recommendations from stakeholders and the public.
The recommendations were presented to Parliament through the Committee’s report.
This report seeks responsible authorities to implement the recommendations gathered from witnesses and are compiled by the committee.
By EDNAL PALMER
