SIG,  Australia and World Bank team Open New Upgrades Around Auki

A government delegation alongside donor partners has opened seven new community infrastructure works under the Government of Solomon Islands’ Community Access and Urban Service Enhancement (CAUSE) project, which is funded by Australia and the World Bank last week.

The sites include a new wash block for Aligegeo school, providing new washing areas for over 200 students at the school, an ablution block, isolation ward upgrades and new footpaths at Kilufi Hospital, that will make sanitation and hygiene easier for staff and patients at the hospital while importantly upgrading access to the physiotherapy ward for disabled patients. The sites also include sanitation systems at Auki clinic, and community walkways and Jacob’s Ladders in Kunu and Fulikaomae, providing better access to markets, schools, and jobs for families in the communities.

The delegation met with workers and representatives around Auki and visited the clinics, schools and communities that received the upgrades built by CAUSE workers.

“We are very pleased to see the real impact CAUSE is having on the ground here in Malaita – meeting with students, nurses, patients and, of course, the CAUSE workers themselves, makes clear how the project is changing lives and leading to real improvements for people,” said the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, Stephen Masieola, who was part of the delegation.

The CAUSE project operates in Guadalcanal, Malaita and Western Province and improves basic infrastructure and services while providing skills training, short-term jobs and income to set the workers up for more opportunities in the future.

The delegation also included representatives from Australian Aid, the World Bank, and members of the CAUSE Project Steering Committee (PSC) headed by Co-chairs Permanent Secretary Stephen Maesiola and Honiara City Clerk Justus Denni (HCC).

The CAUSE Project has provided skills and job training for 1,000 Malaitans and provided short term employment for 800 people in the province. Speaking to the delegation the Premier Daniel Suidani of Malaita Province said “CAUSE has had many achievements here, it has engaged communities and the street cleaning has lifted the face of Auki in terms of waste management and tidiness. It is very encouraging help for Auki, and there is a feeling of ownership and pride in these projects. I hope the project continues into the future.”

Implemented by the Honiara City Council and Ministry of Infrastructure Development in partnership with Provincial Government Authorities, CAUSE is funded by the World Bank and the Australian Government through the PNG and Pacific Islands Umbrella Facility Multi-donor trust fund.