PREMIER of Malaita province Hon Peter Ramohia encourages more forums to be held in Malaita communities, which increases awareness and working together.

He shared this last Friday during the one-day discussions in the Faumamanu community in East Malaita.

Ramohia said, “I see this forum is very important that government dignitaries, NGOs and other stakeholders have come down to the communities to share with the people their needs and plans where I believe it is the missing link between people and the government.

“The Malaita provincial government (MPG) supports this kind of approach where forums have been organised in communities like this.

“This is when we can know the basic needs in our people in our communities.

“For Faumamanu community you have a great privilege to have this kind of occasions organised in your community.

“This is one of the priority areas that MPG is working at through helping our communities around Malaita province depend on availability of funds.”

Premier Ramohia urges communities to keep working together with NGOs, MPG, national government and the SIDT, with their programmes and plans.

Ramohia also raised the land recording issue during the forum – that all lands in Malaita province must be settled for development purposes.

He said, “Land is the key area that most of our national projects have been holdt because of land issues.

“Only 10 percent of land around Malaita is registered while the other 90 is still customary own by various tribes.

“I appeal to you people of Faumamanu to come together to settled your lands, set up your geologies well so that you may know well your people and you may have ownership of your own land and continue on with your developments and other plans will be succeed.

Fredrick Fa’abasua, director of the governance unit Ombudsman Office, explained in the forum that the office of the Ombudsman is mandated to investigate issues that affect development.

“If teacher’s absenteeism then our children affected with having no teachers where the teacher was paid under government’s payroll, the office of ombudsman is here to help you to investigate and deal with those issues.

“That’s how we work to deal with issues that affect developments in any sector,” Fa’abasua said.

Various representatives from other NGOs including OXFAM, Save The Children RDP, Voice blo Mere, and Police and World Vision also have their presentations during the programme.

The NGOs presented their involvements with communities especially with their work plans in their structural strategies.