KEY POINTS:
New Zealand will contribute $7.5 million in new funding over two years for tsunami recovery work in the Solomon Islands, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said yesterday.
The islands were hit on April 2 by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake followed by a tsunami, which left 52 dead and thousands homeless.
In Honiara, Mr Peters said the money would fund a major tsunami recovery programme in the Solomons' Western Province.
"April's earthquake and tsunami devastated coastal parts of the western Solomons. Fifty-two people died, 9000 were affected and about 6000 homes and other buildings were damaged or destroyed," he said.
"Three months later, 4000 families are still living in makeshift camps. Basic infrastructure, especially health clinics, water, sanitation, housing, roads, bridges and wharves, needs to be rebuilt."
The task was "monumental" and the Solomons Government needed New Zealand's help to return people's lives to normal, Mr Peters said.
"New Zealand gave $950,000 in immediate aid after the disaster and now, over the next two years, we will provide a further $7.5 million to help restore education, rebuild lost livelihoods and repair homes and transport infrastructure.
"Rebuilding educational capacity and lost livelihoods is a natural focus for us. NZAid already gives priority to the Solomons' primary school sector.
"This has allowed it to develop the knowledge and relationships that can be applied effectively to this work."
About 170 schools were damaged, with 20,000 students affected. Teaching materials were lost and families affected by the tsunami struggled to pay school fees.
"Fisheries were also hit hard," the minister said. "The environmental impact, such as reef destruction, is believed to be severe in places. Some communities face a decline in reef fish, which are an important source of food and income, and the problems have been exacerbated by a loss of confidence in the sea as a safe place."
Mr Peters said NZAid had been working to help the Solomons improve sustainable livelihoods in fisheries.
"We will help replace lost canoes and equipment; fund a campaign to rebuild confidence in the safety of fishing and assist community-based recovery plans for areas where fisheries and reefs have been affected," he said.
After the tsunami, Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said people felt their friend the sea had turned against them and were afraid to return to fishing.
Mr Peters said NZAid would work with the Government to repair wharves, bridges and roads, damage to which was hampering the access of rural people to markets and social services and impacting on tourism.
Mr Peters' delegation will next visit the Marshall Islands and Samoa.
- NZPA
