Australia assures commitment to Bina Harbour
According to the Island Sun newspaper, Australia is sticking with the Bina Harbour project.
High Commissioner Dr Lachlan Strahan made the reassurance this week during a handover of a hilux and 40 laptops along with their accessories to the Afutara and APSD technical institutes.
Dr Strahan said on Tuesday his team visited Bina Harbour – the site of the national project which has taken many years to materialise.
He said a lot of work needs to be done to make that project become a reality.
Dr, Strahan added that if the project kicks off it will create hundreds of job not just in the Tuna factory, but in many other businesses which would be associated with the factory.
“To be very frank, many know in Solomon Islands today there is not enough jobs.
“More has to be done in the productive sectors of the economy to create more jobs, and primarily this is the job of the private sectors.”
Dr. Strahan said because in the end, companies here have to generate more economic activity which will create more jobs.
He said that would create a circle where people will have more jobs and in turn creates more economic activity. And that leads to more people being employed,
However, Dr.Strahan said government has a role to play; they must create a right framework to allow the private sectors to create jobs for everyone especially for young people.
“So I must say that over the coming years I see a major challenge for the country is to expand the formal economy.
“Formal economy is where people have proper jobs, wage and condition.
“So it’s important that over the coming years many different partners to do everything we can to make the private economy work better and expand,” he said.
Dr.Strahan said Australia, New Zealand and the United State are very committed to working with the national and the provincial governments to make this critical game changing nation building project of Bina harbour work.
He said this is the kind of project all of you need to work towards because it will create jobs in substantial numbers.
“I can reassure you that Australia will continue to support Solomon Islands in the education, infrastructure sectors and in the economy.
“So that at the end it will give you people skills but ultimately and hopefully will give you jobs.”
Source. Island Sun newspaper
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
