The Government this week handed over eleven saw milling machines to rural recipients during a ceremony at the Ministry of Forestry and Research Headquarters in Honiara.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Forestry and Research, Jeffery Wickham handed over the brand new machines and urged the recipients to use the machines for sustainable harvesting of their forest resources.
He said the purpose of assisting rural communities with the machines is to encourage resource owners practice sustainable harvesting of their trees and to discourage large scale logging that could have negative impacts on the environment.
“As a government that is responsible for helping its entire citizens, this assistance will help the rural communities to sustainably harvest their forest resources. We encourage sustainable harvesting and development so that we ensure we have a clean environment,” Mr Wickham said.
He added that the National Government recognizes the needs of the people and remains committed to assist in such small ways.
Similarly, Director of the Utilization and Downstream Processing Division Julius Houria also urged Solomon Islanders to concentrate on sustainable harvesting such as sawmilling.
“Our people must use sustainable harvesting methods to ensure that the resources are sustained for our future generation.” He said.
Meanwhile, the Manager of Solomon Agent Ltd, Jennings Movopule acknowledged the Solomon Islands government for working closely with their company in supporting people.
“We acknowledged SIG and especially the Ministry of Forestry for working along with my company to assist our rural people,” he said.
Recipients of the sawmill project also commended the Solomon Islands Government for its commitment to helping rural people.
Source: Press Release, Government Communications Unit