The push by some provincial governments to quickly adopt a federal system of government is gradually fading, Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele says.
The Prime Minister made the remarks after Provincial Premiers and representatives from the nine provinces met with him in Honiara on Saturday, 31 January, and agreed to pursue a review of the Provincial Government Act 1997 instead.
Speaking at his first press conference on Monday, PM Manele said discussions over the past decade had focused on addressing legislative gaps, technical issues and implementation challenges within the existing Act.
He said a draft document addressing these issues is already in place.
“However, what was discussed is an overall review of the entire Provincial Government Act,” PM Manele said.
He explained that while previous approaches focused on specific amendments or “quick fixes,” the Premiers expressed a preference for a comprehensive review of the legislation.
PM Manele said he met yesterday morning with the Minister for Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening and his officials to brief them on the outcomes of the meeting with the Premiers.
He said a paper will be submitted to Cabinet for consideration, and any decision to pursue a full review would amount to a policy shift.
“That will mean deciding whether we continue with quick fixes, which is the current position, or move towards a broader review, which could take another ten years,” he said.
The Prime Minister said all Premiers understand that progress toward a federal system will be gradual and that, in the meantime, provinces will continue to operate under the Provincial Government Act while strengthening their institutional capacity and resource base.
“That understanding is there,” he said.
“In the past, five to ten years ago, some of the signals coming from certain provinces suggested that they wanted to become federal almost immediately. That thinking is no longer there.”
PM Manele said there is now a much better appreciation of the processes involved in constitutional and governance reform.
He stressed that the Premiers did not meet with him to push for immediate federalism but to focus on reviewing the current Provincial Government Act to improve provincial governance.
By EDDIE OSIFELO
Solomon Star, Honiara
