THE Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Dr. Samson Viulu has applauded all constituency officers for their diligent efforts in implementing the government Constituency Development Fund programme in all the 50 constituencies.
PS Viulu conveyed this when he delivered his official remarks to officially open a two-day Constituency Development Refresher and Update workshop which commenced today (Wednesday 8th) at the Mendana Hotel in Honiara until tomorrow, Thursday 9th March, 2023.
PS Viulu said despite the challenges and hardship especially on the geographical settings of our country and other work-related challenges, officers has continued to prove their determination to implement their priority programs and deliver services to our rural people towards improving social and economic livelihood of everyone.
“I believe majority of our rural people have benefited from Constituency Development Fund (CDF), despite the many criticisms.
“It is not easy to implement the CDF program, for I have visited some of our rural constituencies myself and witnessed the many challenges faced by our constituency officers to serve our people. Therefore, I would like to thank you for discharging your duties faithfully. My respect and admiration to all of you,” he said.
PS Viulu also informed participants of the current reforms that MRD is undertaking which include the formulation of the new Solomon Islands Constituency Development (SICD) Policy.
“SICD Policy is a roadmap to guide the rollout of development in our respective constituencies through CDF and other funding mechanisms.
“The policy will also provide a framework to improve governance of the CDF program by regulating the CDF Act 2013,” he emphasized.
The workshop is part of Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) – Rural Development Division Annual Work Plan (MRD-RDD AWP) for 2023 to inform and update constituency officers on MRD 2023 priorities, key reforms and compliance with the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) programme to strengthen and improve service delivery at the respected 50 constituencies.
With the allocation of the CDF budget increasing each year, the need for this workshop is really important to ensure CDF resources are targeted to improve rural livelihood and socio-economic development. More importantly, this workshop will contribute to updating and redirecting constituency officers on necessary information based on the CDF program and processes.
MRD is organising the workshop with more than 100 officers in attendance.
