BY KHAMA LINCOLN
ISLES MEDIA FREELANCE REPORTER IN GIZO
WESTERN Province Premier Hon. Christian Burley Mesepitu has called for a collective Noro- Munda response Plan, as he confirmed that Noro has two corona virus cases.
“Solomon Islands Government must not overlook Noro in its Economic Response Plan should the fisheries sector is threatened for closure by corona,” The Western Province Premier said.
Mesepitu said that the health and livelihood of the people of Noro is being threatened by corona.
“Not only that but also the health and livelihood of the people of the Noro-Munda Corridor is under enormous threat due to corona.”
The premier further said that soltuna and national fisheries development employs 3000 employees. All of them comes from all parts of the country.
“So, you can see that Western Province does not only employ Solomon Islanders but we also feed our ordinary peoples, send our children to school and help our peoples to start small self-earning economic projects.”
He pointed out that, “Noro is not only the economic hub of the province but it also contributes grossly to the economy of Solomon Islands in many ways.
When retail and wholesale sector is down, fisheries sector keeps the economy of the country going. Noro contributes vastly to the gross domestic product.
“Noro hosts the second international seaport in the country. Therefore, the vitality of Noro cannot be underestimated when it comes to economic development in the country,” Premier Mesepitu continued.
Meanwhile, the Four days lockdown in Rukutu and Seghe in Marovo lagoon, and Noro, Munda and the provincial headquarter Gizo will be lifted at 6.00pm on Monday, 31 January 2022.
Western Provincial Disaster Officer based in Gizo, Danny Ruel said, locations identified for lockdown are highly exposed to possible transmission of COVID 19.
“…so the cases we detected in the western province are from vessels, the two recent cases are citizens of Noro.
“..and even the areas in which the crews interacted with people have high risk of transmission,” The disaster Officer said.
