FUNDS to construct an official residence for the Prime Minister has been secured, the process now is to await the Central Tender Board to approve a small variation to the construction drawings by the architect.
After consultations with the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (OPMC), the architect has been advised on small changes and such require a variation to which CTB will look consider.
The Prime Minister Honourable Jeremiah Manele MP, has assured the National Parliament that OPMC will liaise closely with Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MOFT) and CTB to expedite the approval process so that the architectural design is reverted to OPMC for eventual construction.
“I am also happy to inform Parliament that the site of the official residence of the Prime Minister, which is adjacent to the Forum Fisheries Agency’s headquarters, has been fenced, and UXO clearance and GeoTech studies have been completed,” PM Manele stated in parliament.
The tendering of the project will take place once the architectural design is completed and the bill of quantities finalized thereafter.
Meanwhile, the Official residences for the Heads of the Legislature- Speaker of National Parliament and the Judiciary- Chief Justice, concept designs for both residences have been completed.
Prime Minister Honourable Jeremiah Manele told parliament that the OPMC will soon undertake consultation with both offices to finalize the preferred designs before OPMC will take the lead in seeking funding for the residential projects.
“I am also happy to inform Parliament that we have secured resources for the preparatory work on these two official residence to ensure the design processes, fencing, UXO and GeoTech work are done concurrently when the Prime Minister’s official residence is being constructed,” PM Manele informed parliament.
The Prime Minister stated that the site for both these residences have been identified and OPMC will proceed with the fencing, UXO and Geotech work on both locations.
As for the Tier 2 Official Residences, the PM Manele informed parliament that the concept designs for the official residences for the Deputy Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition, the Leader of the Independent Group and the Attorney general has also been completed.
The Prime Minister stated that the sites for these residences have been identified and that OPMC will commence consultation with the four offices before finalising the designs and seek resources for the fencing, UXO and Geotech work for the residences.
In qualifying the need to have state residences, Prime Minister Honourable Jeremiah Manele stated that Solomon Islands is the third largest country in the Pacific by population and second largest by land mass and yet the country do not have official residences for the heads of the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary.
PM Manele added that other Pacific countries smaller than Solomon Islands have state residences at least for their heads of the different arms of government- it is in that regard that OPMC is prioritizing the state residences project.
The Government for National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) is prioritizing the state residences project in its 100 days program- it involves government’s plan to design, seeking funding and build the state homes.
The residences come in two tiers, tier 1 involve state houses for the Heads of the three arms of government namely the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. Tier 2 involves the state residence for the Deputy Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Independent Group.
PM Manele made the policy updates on the state residences in parliament today, 09th September 2024, when moving the motion for Parliament to respond to the speech from the throne delivered by His Excellency the Governor General, David Tiva Kapu.
The motion reads “That an address be presented to His Excellency the Governor-General as follows: ‘We, the National Parliament of Solomon Islands here assembled, beg leave to offer thanks for the speech which has been addressed by you to Parliament on 12 August 2024’.”
