PRIME Minister Honourable Jeremiah Manele MP has revealed the ambition of the Government for National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) which is to transform Solomon Islands into a country that is united and self-reliant over time.
PM Manele expressed this aspiration when delivering his keynote address at the opening of the Donor Roundtable Event led by the Ministry of National Planning and Development Coordination (MNPDC).
“Ladies and gentlemen, today, I invite you all to join hands with (GNUT) in a renewed partnership that demonstrates trust and genuine intent, durable and lasting friendship, and a stronger relationship based on our shared values and respect each other’s sovereignty,” the Prime Minister underscored.
Prime Minister reaffirmed that “the Government of National Unity and Transformation, as the name suggests, is no longer about a ‘business as usual approach’”.
The Prime Minister strongly affirmed that the GNUT’s “… agenda is about doing things differently, to promote national unity and to transform Solomon Islands to a country that is united and self-reliant over time”.
He added that government wants to transform Solomon Islands into a country that is strong, united, secure, peaceful, progressive, and prosperous whose people are educated and healthy, and manage their resources in economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable ways to leave behind a legacy we can be proud of to our future generations.
Prime Minister Honourable Jeremiah Manele pointed out that to achieve this, the GNUT policy statements are grounded on four pillars namely; economic transformation, national unity and stability, infrastructure development and human capital development.
PM Manele further expressed that to achieve the pillars, the government would need the dedicated and genuine support of all development partners.
The Prime Minister, however, admitted that successive governments have been lagging in their contribution to development financing and GNUT is no exception. This placed more funding responsibility on development partners.
PM Manele underscored that government is working on a resilient strategy that will see government contributing bigger share to the development financing over time. Adding that it needs time for government to fully develop and implement the strategy.
Amongst important points raised by the Prime Minister, he called on development partners to jointly explore new forms of genuine and durable partnerships, and new modalities for financing such as budget support for our development priorities.
In an assurance note, PM told development partners that the GNUT is committed to developing and implementing the resilient financing strategy which will see government’s contribution towards development financing will increase over time in a consistent and sustainable manner.
Prime Minister Manele added that such an increase will enable government to become the major financier of the country’s development priorities.
