HCC PASSED NEW RIVER BANK BUILDING ORDINANCE

The Honiara City Council has passed a new river bank ordinance.

The Honiara City Council has passed a new river bank ordinance.

The Honiara City Council has passed a new ordinance to create buffer zones along river banks within City Boundaries.

The new ordinance was developed in response to the severe destructions to homes and properties during last month’s flash floods.

The flash floods at Matanikau River had claimed the lives of over twenty people, mostly little children and women, and had left thousands of people homeless.

The new River ordinance requires people to take permission from the Honiara City Council before building homes or properties next to rivers within the Honiara City Council boundary.

The new ordinance also requires people to construct their homes or properties, 5 metres or 200 metres away from the river bank.

City Clerk Charles Kelly told SIBC News the new ordinance is to protect peoples homes and properties from future flash floods.

“I this why they came up with now is because of the flash floods we’ve been through a lot of experience where houses were taken away, people lost their lives and the Council think seriously that its people residing within the City boundary should be well protected where they are building their homes, so I think they’ve created this river ordinance within the city boundary from five to 200 metre, meaning it will be a bylaw that before building they have to get permission from the council to build at such risky areas.”

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