RSIPF conducts forum on urbanization in Makira Ulawa province

Officers of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) at the Kira kira police station in Makira Ulawa province have conducted a public forum on urbanization as part of the Crime prevention strategy on 15 April 2021.

The forum is to allow participants to know the basic information about what is urbanization, its positive, adverse effects and possible solutions.

Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Makira Ulawa province Superintendent Peter Sitai says, “Many leaders including village chiefs may not understand well the pulling and pushing factors of urbanisation that said to have contribute to the drifting or migration of people from rural areas to urban centres. The issues have led to affect the crime prevention strategy and village governance as many people move from rural areas to urban centres like Kirakira to Honiara in each year.”

PPC Sitai says, “The participants were thought on the definition of urbanization as a process whereby population move from rural to urban areas, enabling cities and towns to grow. It can also be termed as a progressive increase in the number of people living in towns and cities.”

“Participants have challenged each other on what should they started doing as already there are evidences of adverse effects of urbanisation in Kirakira town like housing problems, overcrowding, unemployment, development of squatters, water and sanitation problems and increase of crime rate.”

“Some identified solutions are to get all ethnic group leaders to help police to control the unwanted influx of rural youths to Kirakira town and also to get resource owners to open up developments in their rural villages,” says PPC Sitai.

He adds, “I appeal to all participants to take on board what they have leaned and work together with other stakeholder to identify way forward to implement it. It is not easy task as it requires hard work, effort, resources and time to make it eventuate.”