More than half the executive of the Honiara City Council have left for Malaita Province to hold urgent talks with the Malaita Provincial Government.
Supervising Mayor, Gwene Tegulu informed Solomon Times that an issue of great concern that will be up for discussion is looking at ways to decrease urban drift that is currently on the high in the country.He said the increase on urban drift is putting pressure on the Council to meet challenges and demands on services to offer to citizens residing in the capital city.
"The provinces are increasingly sending their students to come have their education in town, so the Council has to hold talks to explain that demands cannot be catered for in terms of work, school and medical services.
Mr. Tegulu said that the Council executive's visit is an initiative of the national government as part of its developmental plans for the provinces.
He revealed that it will not only be Malaita Province, but similar visits will take place to other provinces to address developmental issues to help improve infrastructure and services to cater for the rural areas, and create job opportunities in the provinces.
The meeting will also look into solutions to help curb issues such as that of urban drift, and how to best address rural development that would be beneficial for the provinces.
"The Council will, in the meeting, be able to identify current problems and discuss ways to address them," Mr. Tegulu said.
He said that once people understand and have the right attitude towards development, "it will be effective and even though it will not happen overnight, there is going to be a positive outcome".