BY JOY OFASIA
Former Culture and Tourism Minister and Gela MP Hon. Choylin Yim Douglas has challenged the government to turn its policy commitments into practical results, particularly in the tourism and culture sector.
Speaking in Parliament during debate on the Speech from the Throne at the opening of the fourth meeting of the First Session of the Twelfth Parliament, Douglas said the government should ultimately be judged by what it delivers to communities.
Douglas said she chose to focus on tourism and culture because the sector directly affects the daily lives and livelihoods of many people she represents. She also drew on her experience as the former minister responsible for the portfolio.
“I do not come here pretending the sector was in good order when I left it,” Douglas told Parliament.
However, she said her time in the portfolio had given her a clear understanding of the sector’s weaknesses and the cost of failing to address them.
Douglas welcomed the government’s stated programme of reform, empowerment, accountability and transformation, but cautioned that ambitious promises must be supported by action.
“Government will ultimately be judged not by the eloquence of its promises but by the discipline of its delivery,” she said.
She said Solomon Islanders were looking for practical improvements in their communities, including functioning clinics, medicines, teachers in classrooms, better roads and bridges, reliable shipping services, affordable electricity and employment opportunities for young people.
She also called for fair returns for communities from resources taken from customary lands and seas.
Douglas said government commitments should be translated into funded programmes, legislation, measurable targets and clear timelines.
“The true test of this speech will not be the applause it receives in this chamber,” she said.
Douglas said the Opposition would assess the government against fiscal honesty, constitutional integrity and the conduct of foreign relations.
She added a fourth measure of accountability: the test of delivery.
“I do not rise to oppose the aspiration. On this side of the House, we share it,” Douglas said.
