Ministry of National Planning and Development Coordination:Honourable Rexon Ramofafia

From: The Minister, Honourable Rexon Ramofafia , the Permanent Secretary, Ms Susan Sulu , Management and Staff of the Ministry of National Planning and Development Coordination.

To:

His Excellency the Governor General of Solomon Islands, Sir David Vunagi and Lady Vunagi.

Prime Minister Honourable Sogavare.

Honourable Speaker of National Parliament Patterson Oti and Madam Oti.

Honourable Chief Justice Sir Albert Palmer and Madam Palmer.

Opposition Leader Honourable Mathew Wale and Madam Wale

Leader of the Independent Group, Honourable John Dean Kuku and Madam Kuku.

Honourable Members of National National parliament and their spouses

Constitutional Post Holders

Heads and Members of the Diplomatic Missions

Development Partners & Business Houses.

Honourable Premiers, Provincial Assembly Members, City Mayor, Honiara City Councillors

Non-Government Organisations and Faith Based Organisations

Church Leaders, Chiefs, Elders, Community Leaders and all Good People of Solomon Islands

Our heartfelt and warm Christmas greetings to you all, both at home and abroad as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let us thank Him for His unfailing love, guidance and protection.

This year has been a challenging one for the Ministry of National Planning and Development Coordination, marked by the pandemic and associated lockdowns at the start and unforeseen challenges towards the end brought in by the recent 7.3 magnitude earthquake.

However, with God’s grace, the Ministry continue to deliver according to its mandated role as custodians of the national development budget and National development planning.

The announcement of the angel to the shepherds in Bethlehem proclaiming the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 2:10 – 11 is a good reminder for us: “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

This Message of Christmas is timeless, may its true spirit shine in our hearts and light our part as we continue to develop resilience moving on to the new year.

As the central government agency responsible for national planning, we will continue strive and address the Government’s priority policy areas – both short and long term – through strategic collaboration across all sectors to achieve the development needs and aspirations of our people.

We continue to value and appreciate the support of our development partners on this course, for with their support, we continue and deliver services to our people, while making our economy, development approach and livelihood more resilient and sustainable.

Let us look ahead and enter 2023 with hope and determination for a better year. Wishing you all and your loved ones a joyous Christmas celebration and a prosperous New Year 2023. A challenging year ends, a new year begins with hope.