With only a week left in his three-year contract, Commissioner of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, Matthew Varley has been doing his ‘finals’ this week but not the farewells just yet.
The farewells have been reserved for 29 November 2019 before he and his wife Nikki and two children depart Honiara the next day 30 November.
But for this week, it was a time for the ‘finals’.
Commissioner Varley chaired his final meetings of the National Management Team (NMT) and Joint Management Forum (JMF), addressed his final weekly parade and held his final media conference.
NMT and JMF are the two executive level committees that Commissioner Varley established to monitor the implementation of the RSIPF Capability Plan and the governance of the organisation. It comprises of members of the RSIPF executive, and the Australian and New Zealand advisory programs.
In his final word to both committees Commissioner Varley said: “I want to encourage all RSIPF Executives to keep these important committees going. You must impress upon your officers to keep up the progress reports of the implementation of the various projects under the Capability Plan. This is the only way RSIPF will track the success of these projects.”
“It’s been a privilege leading these weekly parades. These parades are an important part of our tradition as RSIPF officers. They show that we are different from other organisations. It shows our discipline and professionalism. It brings us all together as comrades. Please keep it up,” said Commissioner Varley as he inspected his final weekly parade at the Rove Police Headquarters.
It’s not just within the RSIPF that Commissioner Varley has been doing the round of finals. He also held his final media conference with the local media.
“I would like to thank you for the great support I have received from the media during my three years as Commissioner. The RSIPF considers the media as an important partner in performing our mandated duty to provide information on policing and security for the people of this nation,” said Commissioner Varley as he outlined some of the highlights of time with the RSIPF.
Commissioner Varley encouraged the media: “Continue to hold organisations like the RSIPF and other public institutions accountable by asking the hard questions on behalf of your readers, listeners or viewers. As a police force, we should always strive to be transparent and accountable to the public and the media has an important job to do in that regard.”
A representative of the media, who was at the final media conference, Robert Iroga commented: “We welcome your availability to journalists during your term as the Commissioner. You have become one of the major news makers in Solomon Islands. The RSIPF has become a more transparent organisation during your time.”
That ended another round of ‘finals’ as Matthew Varley enters his final lap in the Commissioner’s position. His term ends on 29 November 2019.