Clark announces $1 million aid to Solomons

5.00pm

New Zealand will contribute $1 million towards the cost of providing a reliable electricity supply in the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara, Prime Minister Helen Clark said today.

She made the announcement from Honiara, where she is being briefed on the situation in the Solomons and the work of the intervention force.

"The restoration of a reliable electricity supply in Honiara is a priority," she said.

"Without electricity the economy and society struggle to function effectively, and the quality of health and education services suffer."

Helen Clark said the supply in Honiara had deteriorated over the last few years and there were daily power cuts.

Power was particularly important in Honiara where the National Referral Hospital provided services for all the islands.

A recent assessment estimated the cost of restoring a reliable supply in Honiara at about $2.5 million.

Helen Clark and Defence Minister Mark Burton arrived in Honiara early today, flying on an air force Hercules transport aircraft.

New Zealand has about 230 military personnel and 35 police on the islands, part of the Australian-led force that went to the Solomons in July to restore law and order.

The Solomons was torn by ethnic conflict for years which brought it to the verge of bankruptcy and economic collapse.

"The economy has been ruined, society has been under very considerable pressure," Helen Clark said before she left.

"What I want to see out of this intervention is the ability of the Solomons to get on with organising its own affairs."

One of the issues she will be examining when she meets Prime Minister Sir Allan Kamakaza and other leaders today is how long the international force will need to stay in the Solomons.

The New Zealand deployment was for an initial 90 days.

More than 2000 personnel from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Papua New Guinea are serving on the force.

The Prime Minister and Mr Burton are due to leave Honiara tonight.

- NZPA