The MAL land at Ranadi that was sold of by the HCC to a Malaysian logger. Picture supplied
MAYOR WELCOMES INVESTIGATION ON THE TRANSFER OF HCC LAND.
THE Honiara City Mayor has welcomed investigations into the sell of the Honiara City Council owned land used by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock at Ranadi, east of Honiara.
The issue has been making headlines this week after news of the sale drew condemnation and calls for investigation over the dealings of the council which continues to find itself on the wrong end of public scrutiny.
City Mayor Wilson Mamae in a statement confirmed that investigation is being carried out into the sale of Council Land at Ranadi.
He welcomed any investigation on the matter of transfer of the land used by the Bio-security Division of the Ministry of Agriculture.
“Following what has been published in the media, I would like to inform the public that investigation now has been carried out through responsible body,” he said.
“In the meantime, I would like to urge all parties, whether it be public or private stakeholders who currently occupy HCC land to come forward and show your continuance interest of using HCC land,” the Mayor added.
HCC will be conducting valuation of all the land it owns and is expected to be concluded by the end of this quarter.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Ethel Tebengi Frances said she is very disappointed about the action taken by HCC to sell off the land without consulting her ministry.
That piece of land houses the Biosecurity incinerator at Ranadi, east of Honiara.
“The land is used for destruction of all garbage remove from international vessels and aircraft coming into Solomon Islands,” Director of Biosecurity of MAL, Francis Tsatsia said in a strongly-worded statement.
“It’s a requirement that garbage of this sort must be offloaded and incinerated as biosecurity risk is very high,” Tsatsia added.
Villagers fight to reclaim stolen logs from Gov’t & Asian logger
By OFANI EREMAE
AT Korona logging base on San Jorge island in Solomon Islands’ Isabel province, the logging machinery lay quiet.
Except for the movement of three local security guards, the silence in this once bustling log pond was deafening.
“The workers have gone home,” Eric Gnokro, a chief in the area who negotiated my entry into this tightly guarded logging worker’s camp, said.
“There’s a dispute going on so work has stopped,” he added.
On site, huge piles of freshly cut Xanthostemon logs, locally known as Tubi, lined the strip of dirt road that runs through the camp.
Up to 30 workers – both local and foreign – used to live and work on the campsite, which spans an area of about 8,000 square metres.
Tubi is a rare tree species found only in two provinces in the Solomons group: Isabel, where Korona is; and Choiseul, to the country’s west.
The rich, dark hardwood is sought after mostly by Asian countries for furniture and is being advertised at $US2, 300 (SBD$18,110) per tonne in some online markets.
Since it was a rare and endangered tree species, the Solomon Islands Government decided to restrict its felling and export.
For the people of Isabel, Tubi is a tree of significant value that holds a special place in their culture and belief system.
“Tubi grows in the wild, but we have a responsibility to look after them,” Gnokro explains.
“That’s because it provides timber for our houses,” he added.
Gnokro said carvers prefer Tubi trees when producing wooden bowls and other traditional artefacts.
Chief Eric Gnokro of Lelegia village infront of a pile of illegally felled Tubi logs at Korona, San Jorge.
Tubi trees also form a significant part of the natural forests, which villagers rely on for traditional medicine, building materials, soil cover, and as hunting grounds.
Locals referred to it as the “iron tree” because it is strong and durable.
This is why Asian companies are coming out for it.
But under Solomon Islands’ environmental laws, Tubi is described as a “regulated and controlled species.”
It can only be felled and exported on a commercial basis under strict compliance with the country’s Wildlife Protection and Management Act (WPMA).
To do that, a company or community has to apply for a special felling licence from the Ministry of Environment.
But the ministry rarely issues such licenses. Ministry records show Tubi permits were previously issued only to allow illegally harvested logs to be exported.
So who felled the logs piling up at Korona?
“These are disputed logs,” Gnokro explains.
“The company cut them illegally.”
The company he was referring to was Sunrise Investment Ltd, a Malaysian logging firm that was issued a five-year licence in 2018 to operate on Korona.
But the company’s logging licence does not include the felling of Tubi. It is only for other commercial species within the concession area.
Wilson Tohidi, chairman of the recently established San Jorge Island Resource Owners Association Trust Board, a body established to represent landowners on logging and mining issues, said Sunrise didn’t have permission to cut the Tubi but did so anyway.
“They were simply trying to steal our trees,” Tohidi said.
“We are fighting to get our logs back.”
With financial contributions from community members, Tohidi initiated legal proceedings against the Malaysian logger in the Solomon Islands High Court that resulted in the “stop work” order on Korona.
Initially, Tohidi explained, all three landowning tribes on San Jorge gave their consent to Sunrise to log on Korona.
That consent, he added, was reached on the understanding that Sunrise would be there to log other commercial species and not Tubi, and to provide job opportunities, as well as income in the form of royalties to landowning tribes.
Map of Korona logging Camp.
But Tohidi said after the company cut down all the other commercial species, they went on and started felling Tubi.
“They did this although they knew it was illegal,” he said.
Members of our community protested, but Tohidi said the company, with the support of a group of tribal members, refused to listen.
“That’s when we decided to go to the court and obtained an order that stopped them from their illegal felling,” he explained.
At Lelegia log pond, this pile of illegally felled Tubi logs is visible from the sea. Mas Solo, a Malaysian logging company is accused of felling these logs.
Sunrise has not responded to an email sent to them for comments.
But owner Richard Song Sing Ngea did plead guilty in December to a criminal case the Solomon Islands Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) filed on instructions from the Ministry of Environment, accusing the company of illegally harvesting Tubi trees.
Ngea was fined SBD$50,000 (USD$6,232), the maximum penalty for such offence. But the company’s licence has not been cancelled so it can resume operations if it wishes.
Tohidi estimated that around 10,000 cubic metres of Tubi logs, worth tens of millions of dollars, are lying inside the logging camp.
That would make it the biggest stockpile of illegally harvested logs ever seen or recorded in the Solomons.
Tohidi said landowners would earn more money from their trees if they sell the logs themselves overseas.
A history of exploitation
While Sunrise Investment still has two more years to operate on San Jorge before its license expires, locals claim there are no more trees left to log on the island except Tubi.
Located at the southern end of the province of Isabel, San Jorge is a resource-rich island with an area of 184 square kilometres. It is host to virgin forests and large deposits of nickel.
Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendana gave the island its current name during his 1568 expedition to the Solomons.
On one end of the island, more than 70,000 metric tonnes of nickel ore worth up to USD$30 million (SBD$256 million) have been lying idle in a deserted mining camp since September 2019.
The nickel was extracted by Axiom Mining Limited (AML), an Australian firm that holds a lease over the mining tenement on the island.
However, Axiom was unable to export the nickel ore after the Solomon’s government refused to grant it an export permit on the basis that the company had failed to obtain a provincial business licence from the local government of Isabel.
Axiom has challenged the decision and the matter is currently before the courts.
San Jorge is also an island that is highly revered by the people of Isabel. That’s because they believe it’s the final resting place for the spirits of their dead.
A logging road that runs through San Jorge Island.
But since the late 1990s international logging companies have been pillaging San Jorge of its virgin forests and shipping the trees to places such as Malaysia and China, where they’re turned into furniture and building materials.
“Today, the only loggable trees on the island are Tubi,” says Samuel Efulu, a landowner and elder of Talise, the only village on San Jorge island.
Efulu, now in his 50s, has lived all his life on San Jorge and witnessed first-hand how Asian loggers have been “stealing” Tubi from local landowners.
“They have been doing it since the first logging operations in the late 1990s,” said Efulu, who had previously worked with the loggers.
In the past, he said, the loggers mostly cut the Tubi when they were constructing their roads.
“They would just mix the Tubi logs with other species and export them without any questions from forestry officers,” Efulu said.
Samuel Efulu of Talise village, San Jorge claims foreign logging companies have been pillaging the island’s forests for over 10 years.
Battles over Tubi heat up
About six kilometres across the pristine Thousand Ships Bay on the mainland of Isabel, another huge stockpile of Tubi logs is visible at Lelegia log pond.
Mas Solo Investment Ltd, another Malaysian logger, holds the lease over the area.
Like Sunrise Investment, their licence also does not allow them to fell Tubi.
“Mas Solo gave the excuse of cutting them down while clearing their road into the forest,” Tohidi said.
“We’ve included those logs in our High Court challenge so Mas Solo cannot ship them out.”
Some four kilometres west of Lelegia is Totoru-Rarade log pond, also located on the edge of Thousand Ships Bay.
Pacific Logging Company, owned by Solomon Islands politician Freda Tuki, used to operate there.
Like Sunrise and Mas Solo, Pacific Logging also felled Tubi trees illegally during the course of its operation on Rarade land.
In 2019, a group of landowners took up a court case against the company over the Tubi logs it felled.
The High Court issued an order preventing Pacific Logging from shipping the logs out.
As a result, the logs were kept at the Totoru-Rarade log pond for months until September 2020 when the company covertly shipped them out.
Customs later seized the logs at the country’s second international seaport at Noro in the Western Province.
Mary, a mother of two in the nearby commercial station of Kaevanga, remembered that incident quite well.
“The barge the company sent to pick the logs arrived there in the evening,” Mary said, pointing to the log pond at Totoru.
“It was not unusual for a barge to come and berth at the log pond so there was nothing suspicious about the arrival of this barge,” she continued.
Under the cover of darkness and with no villagers watching, Pacific Logging loaded the barge and took off during the night.
News of this “illegal shipment” spread out the next day and quickly reached environmental authorities in capital Honiara.
Together with Customs, the logs were seized and stored at the premises of another Asian logger at the port of Noro.
But Tuki, who is the country’s Minister for Women and Youth, claimed the Tubi shipment that was seized and held at Noro was her company’s property.
“We have already bought the logs from the original Rarade landowners,” she said.
“They’ve collected their money from us which they used to meet their children’s school fees,” Tuki added.
“In fact, it was the original landowners of Rarade who agreed for us to harvest their Tubi trees.”
But in a separate Tubi case in 2015 before the Magistrate Court, Principal Magistrate Augustine Aulanga stated that any Tubi felling that was done without a licence from the Department of Environment would always be illegal even if landowners gave their consent.
Following Pacific Logging’s covert shipment, landowners took out a court order that restrained Tuki and all her agents from dealing with the logs that were seized and held at the port of Noro.
The case is expected to be heard this year.
At the Ministry of Environment, Permanent Secretary Dr Melchior Mataki said the law on the illegal harvest of Tubi is clear.
“It’s a violation of the relevant sections of [the] Wildlife Protection and Management Act (WPMA) 2017 if you fell Tubi without a permit,” Mataki said.
He said his ministry acted on the matter and referred the Sunrise case to the police, who then initiated the criminal case.
Mataki said the other cases involving illegal harvesting of Tubi are being pursued as well.
While some welcomed the ruling against Sunrise, long-time environmental activist Lawrence Makili described it as a mockery to the Solomons environment laws.
“What is $50,000? That’s nothing compared to the damage this Malaysian logger caused to our environment and his deliberate act in breaking our laws,” Makili said.
“This Malaysian company should be closed down and its owners deported,” he added.
Makili said loggers with a no- care attitude must not be entertained in the Solomons.
Back at the Korona log pond, the guards continue to keep watch over the huge stockpile of logs, unaware that a new battle has emerged over who holds legal rights to them.
According to Mataki, the Solomons environment minister has exercised his powers of forfeiture and declared the logs now “government property.”
But Tohidi and his group argue the logs are rightly theirs.
The rights issue will be determined in the High Court in coming weeks.
* This feature story is produced with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) under its Asia-Pacific Story Grants 2020-21
POLICE Commissioner Mostyn Mangau says police are still waiting on the Director of Public Prosecution for advice regarding Robson Djokovic’s case.
Mr Mangau said public is aware that the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff has lost his Solomon Islands citizenship status, police investigators will rely on DPP’s advice on what action to take next on the matter.
He said the file is currently with the DPP’s office and the High Court has made its ruling.
Mangau said police investigations are based on the Electoral act offences Djokovic allegedly committed in 2018.
Mangau also confirmed that no charges have been laid yet since the declaration was made by the High Court.
Director of Public Prosecution Rachel Olutimayin on Monday confirmed that her office will file charges on the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff towards the end of this week.
Djokovic’s case is based on a complaint made by the Leader of Opposition last year that he is an Australian.
Djokovic is an Australian citizen however he also registered to vote during the 2019 National General Election.
A female police officer working at the Crime portfolio of the Royal Solomon Island Police Force at Rove Police Headquarters is alleged of involvement in the recent arson incident at Tetupa, North East Guadalcanal.
Police Commissioner Mostyn Mangau condemns the action of the female officer.
Mr Mangau says police officers are people who should promote safety and peace inside the community and not to partake in any criminal activity.
He said from reports gathered during investigation, the female officer is alleged to have provided beers for the nine boys who caused the incident at Tetupa village.
Mangau in his weekly media conference yesterday said on Monday this week Henderson police attended to an incident involving some drunkard men from Tau village armed with bush-knives and axes.
They entered Tetupa village, threatening and chasing the villagers, and burnt some houses; and causing damages to properties.
He said five houses and two semi-permanent kitchens were burnt down.
A vehicle, water pump, water supplies and church furniture listed among the damaged properties.
The men also removed 070 chainsaws during the time of burning and looting.
One elderly woman was injured along with a male; the elderly woman sustained injuries to her left hand and her right leg while the male victim sustained wounds on his back and left hand, Mangau said.
He said one of the nine males has been arrested while the others are still at large.
Mangau said the officer’s case will be referred to the Professional Standard Internal Investigation of the RSIPF.
“The matter involving the female officer will be referred to the PSII, I take matter seriously and once PSII finalises their investigation then further action will be taken,” Mangau added.
Mangau said the incident arose from a land dispute over a piece of land near Tetupa village.
The recent High Court decision concerning the citizenship status of Mr. Robson Djokovic in no way impacts on his appointment as the Chief of Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
This is because his employment is fully compliant with all relevant laws and Legislations of the Solomon Islands. In this particular case the issue of citizenship and employment are not the same.
Therefore, Mr. Robson Djokovic is still the Chief of Staff. This is according to the Special Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mr Albert Kabui.
A statement received from the Secretary of Our Party Wilson Rano, confirmed that while the High Court has ruled Mr Djokovic is an indigenous Solomon Islander, he is no longer a Solomon Island citizen.
“Because of this outcome Mr Djokovic has tendered his resignation as the Interim President of OUR Party on March 5, 2021 to ensure the integrity of the Party is maintained,” said Rano.
“It has always been our position from the beginning that Mr Djokovic is an indigenous Solomon Islander and therefore a citizen,” Rano adds.
According to Rano, Section 23 of the Constitution, even before its repeal in 2018 does not take away this right.
“The High Court disagreed with this proposition saying an indigenous Solomon Islander can still lose his or her citizenship. We have different view from the Court.
“From this reason an appeal to the Court of Appeal is necessary to settle this difference of opinion.”
The DCGA is fully committed to the accountable and transparent implementation of its policy priorities in the interest of national stability, economic empowerment and social justice.
Guadalcanal premier Francis Sade has reacted to plans to oust him by way of motion-of-no confidence, welcoming it with open arms.
Mr Sade says he will defeat any motion of no confidence that comes his way.
Speaking to the paper yesterday, he said the plan is backed by ‘outside parties and forces’.
“A motion of confidence was proposed against me and my executive by my backbenchers who are backed by outside parities.
“To me as a premier am happy to receive that. It is always good and as part of my leadership to get information and receive criticism from outside, that would definitely help me and my team to set new directions and set new actions,” he said.
He said the proposed motion has 10 points of allegation.
“These reasons of the motion of no confidence against me are more on personal grudges. There is nothing stated that is really substantial and concrete in terms of what the government is doing.
“Yet, I am happy to challenge the 10 grounds of motion of no confidence against me.
“To my people in Guadalcanal, we will defeat this motion and we will continue to do our best to improve the service delivery in Guadalcanal.
“What we are trying to do here is to expose the corruption that involved some of our national leaders and top leaders in the country,” said Sade.
He said at the moment his team, the executive members of Guadalcanal Provincial Assembly are focusing and making sure they stick to their solidarity statement.
Custom officers standing alongside boxes of fake Stihl chainsaws
Customs officers this week intercepted 60 fake Stihl chainsaws.
This is according to the Customs Comptroller Jim Sutton.
“We have robust checking mechanisms at our borders. In this instance, Stihl have registered their trademarks in this country to protect their brand name and reputation for high quality manufacture of their products,” said Mr Sutton.
This means that counterfeit Stihl products will be stopped by Customs at the border and the matter will proceed to court.
Sutton said representatives from the Stihl company in Honiara have confirmed the chainsaws are counterfeit.
“The chainsaws which were destined for distribution to the provinces have been detained, while the matter is further dealt with by the Customs Investigations unit,” Sutton said.
The Comptroller conveyed his gratitude to his officers for their vigilance in the confiscation.
Sutton adds, Customs officers have found an increasing number of restricted and prohibited goods over recent months, resulting in detentions and seizures of vehicles, food items and cigarettes.
“Customs has an important role at the border to facilitate legitimate trade, and detect SIG revenue. We intend to maintain close attention to both imported and exported goods to ensure compliance with relevant regulations.”
WORK is expected to resume on the multi-million-dollar hotel, opposite the Iron Bottom Sound, Rove seafront, west Honiara.
This was despite the Physical Planning Division in the Honiara City Council issuing a “stop notice” to the developer as the building failed after the sea washed underneath the building.
The four-storey building, which can hold 30 to 40 rooms, is owned by the controversial appointed councillor for Honiara City Council and local Chinese businessman John Szetu.
An officer in the council’s Physical Planning Division, who wished not to be named, said a “stop notice” was issued last year based on an engineering report.
However, the officer said it seems the “stop notice” was not effective because of alleged political interference by the appointed councillor within the administration.
On the other hand, the National Government has welcomed the development of the new hotel because it will contribute to the tourism development in the country.
Ministry of Culture and Tourism permanent secretary, Andrew Nihopara said the building should open last September but was delayed due to COVID-19.
Nihopara said the Ministry is still to liase with the owner on the resumption of work on the hotel.
He said the government has supported the owner with exemptions to bring in materials and capital goods last year.
However, since the exemption has expired last year, Nihopara said he will liaise with Ministry of Finance and Treasury to give another exemption to the owner to complete the hotel.
Nihopara said the hotel is very important because it will support the room inventory.
He said since it is owned by a Chinese, the target market will be tourists from China when the hotel opens.
Work on the hotel commenced in 2017 but was disrupted from completion last year due to COVID-19.
Initially, the owner of the hotel wants to complete the development before the country hosts the Pacific Games in 2023.
Szetu refused to talk to Island Sun about the hotel.
-HCC sells land using false documents to foreign logger
-DISPUTED – HCC meeting minutes given to Lands commissioner
By EDDIE OSIFELO
TWO city council executives have denied the Honiara City Council (HCC) conducted a meeting on October 29, 2020 to sanction the sale of council land at Ranadi to a foreign logger.
Charles Aiwosuga, who was deputy mayor until early this year, and another executive councillor who requested anonymity, relayed this to Island Sun yesterday.
This was after the Commissioner of Lands, Alan McNeil confirmed to Solomon Business Magazine he gave consent to the Council to sell the land, occupied by Biosecurity Division for the last 20 years, to a logging company.
Mr McNeil said he based his decision on valid documents that HCC held the Fixed Term Estate title and a minute to confirm the full Council had sanctioned the sale on October 29, 2020.
Further to that, he said a simple check was carried out to confirm whether the Council had paid the consent fee, certificate of FTE and browsed through his “black list” of parcels that are under forfeiture or resumption or before the High Court.
McNeil said the Council has satisfied all the requirements like confirmation of consent fee paid, valid certificate of FTE and it was not under the “black list” as there’s no case before the High Court, plus there was also a minute of the meeting last year.
But Aiwosuga told Island Sun every meeting he attended or was aware of last yesterday never discussed the land sale.
People in Jejevo, Isabel province, are said to be living in fear after an armed group of men from a mining company stormed their village destroying homes and properties.
Report says the incident occurred on Monday afternoon, this week, and the group of men were employees of Sunshine Minerals mining company.
Warren Dao Eaoleni told Island Sun yesterday the men were armed with chainsaws, bars and knives.
Eaoleni said the Jejevo community hall was damaged, villagers’ canoes destroyed, pigs killed, a resthouse damaged, solar panels and fibre boats.
He said it is believed that this action by the company stems from a disagreement it had with landowners.
He said it was hard for police to reach the village because it is in a remote area.
“I am deeply concerned at the way these security officers are treating the community,” he said.
“It is the same group that is causing a lot of nuisance for people of Jejevo.
They have now moved to damage our properties and threatened villagers with knife when some tried to stop them, but they feared them so they went off.
“Some have to leave the village and go to live in my bush camp.”
He said the sad thing was that villagers did not get any support from police to stop the security from destroying their properties because of no network coverage to quickly inform the police.
Meanwhile, Eaoleni is in Honiara to discuss the issue with the Police Commissioner to act upon the conflict between the security officers and the villagers.
When contacted Buala Police confirmed to Island Sun that they have received the report and follow up on them.
“We have a number of police officers including our response team deployed at the Camp site and Jejevo to assess the damage.
“We police would like to call on both parties to remain calm while we carry out the investigation, ” the officer said.
Comments could not be sought from Sunshine Mineral mining company.
