BY BEN BILUA
Gizo

PREMIER of Western Province, Billy Veo, has firmly rejected recent comments by Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele suggesting that provincial support for a federal system of government is fading, saying Western Province is not backing down on its long-standing ambition for statehood.

In an interview yesterday, he said Western Province remains fully committed to the federal system and its aspiration to become a state.

“We want to know which provinces are backing down on the federal system ambitions. To tell the truth, we are not one of them,” Veo said.

He said the pursuit of statehood has been a shared and historic commitment of Western Province, dating back to the efforts of the province’s founding leaders, and remains a key aspiration of the current leadership and people.

“Statehood for Western Province has been fought for by our founding fathers, and present leaders and our people will continue that fight,” Veo said.

He said his government will follow the path laid by past leaders and work collectively with current leaders and stakeholders to achieve statehood.

“We will continue to pursue statehood while we are leading the province,” Veo said.

He said Western Provincial Government has formulated a 10-year development strategic plan, with one of its key goals being the push towards statehood.

Veo said the strategic plan is expected to be endorsed by the Provincial Assembly next month, after which it will become a guiding document for the province’s development direction.

“I must say that Western Province is not backing down on its ambition to become a state of its own. We are not among those provinces that are backing down.

“Western Province will continue the fight, even if other provinces are opposed to the idea,” he said.

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