Over the many weeks, the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee held consultations among various villages in the lead up to review the RAMSI Facilitation Act.
Hon. Laurie Chan, Chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee and Member for West Guadalcanal, in his statement in Parliament said that there were some confusion amongst the people of Solomon Islands about the work of the RAMSI in the country.He said that people should understand that the role of the committee was to seek public engagement following the Facilitation Act enquiry.
He stated that it was never the responsibility of the Foreign Relations Committee to educate Solomon Islanders on RAMSI and its work in the country while undertaking the enquiry.
However, Hon. Chan said that the Foreign Relations Committee is calling upon submissions from any person to address the terms of reference in respective of how much they know about RAMSI.
He also told the parliament that he is very pleased to announce that after 30 years of Independence; Parliamentary committees such as the Foreign Relations Committee are now reaching out to the people in the villages.
"The Foreign Relations Committee is very proud to be the first to take the Parliament to the people," said Mr. Chan.
He also announced in Parliament that a total of 34 written submissions have been received by the committee. He also acknowledged those who supported the committee and who had testified before the committee.
The Review on the Facilitation Act is ready to be tabled on the 15th of May, 2009.