A developing country such as ours cannot hope to achieve prosperity without first ensuring stability to build a buoyant and growing economy to create jobs and prosperity for our citizens.
Minister for Police, National Security and Correctional Services Lanelle Tanangada echoed this when she delivered her welcome remarks at the opening of the National Security Summit in Honiara, Tuesday.
“No responsible nation will ever deny this to its citizens therefore it is incumbent on the Government to provide this as a basic promise for its citizens to assure them of their security,” she added.
Mrs Tanangada said the NSS also seeks to provide the people of Solomon Islands with a first resort option to respond to any simmering threat.
“Speaking of threats we will be talking more about these at the Summit proper but perhaps it suffices for me to highlight the fact that our beloved country is relatively secure,” she added.
She further stated that Solomon Islands shouldn’t worry too much about possibilities of terrorism or invasion by another State.
“But our real security concern is climate change followed by the onset of the non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
“The lack of economic opportunities too is a threat because of the distress caused on our citizens
“Distress if not managed adequately can lead to tensions which we know can be destructive,” Mrs Tanangada said.
She added that none of these require investment in military arsenal.
“What we need is sensible and well-targeted policies to improve our resilience against climate change, deal with NCDs and foremost and a robust economy that is capable of creating opportunities for our people,” she added.
But she further pointed out that the country must have a minimum arsenal capacity especially to safeguard our maritime borders and EEZ and also deal sufficiently with criminal activities especially involving mobs.
“As responsible Minister I’m so proud to confirm that God willing, we will have our own National Security Strategy, the first time in forty years that Solomon Islands will be endowed with one,” Mrs Tanangada confidently said yesterday.
By ANDREW FANASIA