This morning, Hatanga and BY Group had the opportunity to meet with Hon. Prime Minister of Solomon Islands Jeremiah Manele, at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Present at the meeting was BY Group Managing Director Malcolm Devin as well as Design and Innovation Manager Robert De Brincat, and from Hatanga Ltd, Managing Director Jay Bartlett, Project Manager Anthony Iakoba and Finance Manager Rachel Ramoifuila.
In the discussion, they shared about the progress so far and the contributions the BY Group Hatanga partnership has brought to people and communities in Solomon Islands. This partnership ensures:
- More local jobs are created and sustained
- More expenditure locally on suppliers and building materials
- More skills & training delivered locally.
The team also discussed a raft of policy and legislative measures that can help support the growth and development of the local construction sector among other important measures, including:
1. Local Content Policy
2. National Building Code of Solomon Islands
3. Procurement of Multi Lateral Funded Projects.
By Group’s Malcolm Devin also had the opportunity to share their experience with the Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP) in Australia and how that has benefited indigenous businesses over the last decade. The primary purpose of the IPP is to stimulate Indigenous entrepreneurship, business and economic development, providing Indigenous Australians with more opportunities to participate in the economy. This policy has helped to increase the number of Indigenous businesses awarded a contract and, in increasing the volume as well as the value of contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses. Similar initiatives led by the government of Solomon Islands will bring a substantial boost to the local construction industry.
Sincere acknowledgement to Hon. Manele for prioritising time for the visit and especially in recognising the importance of such partnership, in support of our collected efforts to develop policies and legislation that will foster the growth of our national construction & infrastructure delivery capabilities.
All images: Hatanga Media.