The permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Mr. Jeffrey Deve Sade sanctioned MHA ‘s project stakeholder consultation team consisted of the Deputy Secretary Mr. Freddie I. Otaáu (Project Manager) and Principal Accounting Officer Mr. Patrick Dulekana (Project Facilitator) to meet Western Provincial Secretary and Sports development officer in Gizo on 27th July 2021. The purpose of the consultation involved buying-in for sense of ownership by WPG, and to seek WPG gives three areas of support as enabling services for successful delivery of two projects (a) a change shower block at Noro Tuna Park Sports facility & (b) the boxing hall at Korovou in Shortland. the three enabling services desired from Western Provincial Government involve (1) That WPG through office of its Provincial Secretary pledged to facilitate a consent for the project. (2) that the Provincial Secretary indicated working in partnership with the Ministry, allowing its sports development officer and technical officers on the ground in Shortland to render necessary supports to MHA project agile team as and when is needed. (3) that WPG administration indicated willingness to integrate with the ministry in preparing to facilitate a ground-breaking ceremony for the project.
These provincial Sports facilities will enable competency and readiness of our provincial sporting athletes bound for 2023 Pacific Games. MHA through National Sports Council strategizes in delivering sporting facilities to the provinces following talent-based identification. For example, most of our Boxers have been hailing from Choiseul and Shortlands, therefore, a boxing hall delivered to that end will enhance boxing talents in years ahead and those to represent the country in Team Solomon in 2023 Pacific Games.
Although the facility (boxing hall) to build may seem costly in figures, however, practical reckoning needs reality. That is, the project budget planning reflected that the specific projects to execute in remote and distant project sites such as that at Korovou in Shortland will definitely inflate. Huge portion of cost estimates will involve freighting of materials and machinery to the project site.
Noted that DCGA through Home Affairs considers Western Provincial Government (WPG) the key stakeholder to its two Projects. The Province is the perpetual title holder of the government land at Korovou in Shortland. As such, MHA sent its project agile team to harmonize stakeholder’s interests and accord the province with that honor and respect.
The project site identification recently carried out by project technical support team including Ministry of Development Planning & Aid Coordination and the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, accompanied the Minister for Home Affairs and the Permanent Secretary in mid. June 2021.
The DS Mr. Otaáu re-modelled project portfolio in MHA to create specific project Management Organization (PMO) within the ministry. At the apex of this PMO, the Permanent Secretary will represent DCGA as the project funder and endorsing authority for MHA’s five micro and medium scale projects. A project Governance Team established to ensure compliance with SIG procurement procedures and tender processes and its country project manager being the Director for Sports Mr. Selison G. Faisi. For each of the five projects will lead and manage by Specific Project Manager supervising a project agile team delivering the projects. The Project Management technical guidance will be provided by the DS Mr. Otaáu. In this configuration, MHA in principle reserves and will avoid the costs for project Management services.
The DS Mr. Otaáu also leads and manages two new Sports Development projects in Shortland (WP) and Guadalcanal. His project scoping for the two projects confirms that the services in the project schedules as preliminary requirements in phase (1) needed prompt execution to drive accomplishment of phase one are as follows;
Construction proper phases will roll-over to Annual Development Budget in 2022. Project costings determined in the architectural designs and Bills of Quantity delivery will help inform the next bidding process of the Ministry for Additional funding through the National Development Budget in 2022.
-MHA Press