Friday 4 November 2011, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Noumea, New Caledonia – Commending the work of SPC in economic development, Pacific Island governments have reaffirmed full support for the continuation of energy, information and communication technology (ICT) and transport services delivered by SPC’s Economic Development Division (EDD).

The reaffirmation comes from governments that have gathered in New Caledonia this week for the 41^st Meeting of the Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations (CRGA 41).

Members acknowledged the importance of the three key drivers of economic growth — energy, ICT and transport — in enhancing economic development and SPC’s efforts to add value to national efforts in these three sectors in the Pacific region.

EDD was established in January 2010 under the Regional Institutional Framework (RIF) and consists of three programmes – Energy, Pacific ICT Outreach (PICTO) and Transport.

The meeting noted the support provided to Pacific Island countries and territories by the three programmes this year, in particular the verification and development of petroleum product pricing and standards, the ongoing renewable energy project in the North Pacific (North-REP), the construction of energy balances and charts, the improvement of safety in domestic shipping through the Pacific Islands Domestic Ship Safety Project, the conducting of maritime compliance audits, the review and development of national ICT policies, and the provision of ICT training and advice to national parliaments.

The meeting also noted EDD’s concerted efforts on data collection; the development of energy, ICT and transport results-based indicators for service delivery; and economic analysis of project performance evaluation.

‘The low priority given to data collection, analysis and research is a serious constraint for planning and managing the sectors,’ John Hogan, Director of EDD said, outlining the challenges faced by the three sectors.

‘The translation of many grant-aid projects into handouts of hardware equipment without considering capacity or expertise to maintain them has not helped to advance the sectors. Economic analysis needs to underpin all future projects.’

Solomone Fifita, Deputy Director EDD (Energy), drew attention to the heavy reliance on petroleum products and the related economic and environmental impacts of this.

‘When the price of petroleum products goes up, the cost of food production, food transportation and food preservation goes up too. This has an impact on the affordability of food for vulnerable sections of our communities,’ he explained.

‘Climate change is caused by the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, most of which comes from the combustion of fossil fuel. Fuel substitution with renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency must, therefore, be encouraged.’

Siaosi Sovaleni, Manager of EDD’s PICTO Programme, highlighted the importance of addressing cyber safety issues in light of the growing use of ICT in the region.

‘With the growing adoption of ICT in Pacific countries, it is important to have appropriate cyber safety programmes and legislative frameworks in place to minimise the risks and ensure that countries can address emerging issues and threats,’ he said.

‘Currently, most countries do not have such programmes or frameworks and have identified them as regional priorities. One of PICTO’s key deliverables is to support countries in establishing a national cyber safety programme and enacting cybercrime legislation that criminalises the misuse of ICT.’

The meeting also noted the continued support provided by EDD’s Transport Programme to addressing the shipping issues of small island states (SIS), particularly in improving feeder shipping services.

‘Irregular and costly shipping services have affected the socio-economic development of Pacific Islands for many years. This issue is more significant among SIS,’ said John Rounds, Acting Deputy Director (Transport).

‘As a result of the request from members, SPC, with support from SIS and Kiribati Shipping Services Limited, has implemented an interim shipping agreement to address this issue. The Central Pacific Shipping Commission will be a long-term solution, based on the successful Micronesian Shipping Commission concept.’

CRGA 41 endorsed the division’s strategic plan for the period 2012–2017 and approved the proposed work programme for 2012.

 For more information, please contact: Avnita Goundar, Information Officer, Economic Development Division, SPC (email: Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. )