Dear Editor,

It seems Solomon Islands bid to host the SPG games will face tough competition from the other bidders. I understand that three other countries also bidding are PNG, Vanuatu and Tonga.

Looking at this line-up of bidders, it is plain that Solomon Islands will have a tough time getting support behind its bid from the Melanesian block, since our close allies are also bidding. Similarly the Polynesian block may also throw their support behind Tonga.

What then should we do? I think our bidding team should look towards the Micronesian block to support our bid. If the Government is serious enough, it should allocate a considerable amount of money to the bidding committee and let them travel to these countries to rally support for our bid. Likewise, we should proceed with the building of facilities now, and not wait until the bid is determine.

Its time we are serious about our bid. If you look at the history of SPG you will notice one thing with countries that have performed well in every SPG games; countries like PNG, Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa and Tahiti. What they all have in common is that they have all once or twice hosted the SPG and are now enjoying the basic facilities that were built as a result of those host years.

When will we be counted amongst those 5 countries?