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‘No ship, no development for Lord Howe’

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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BY MAVIS NISHIMURA PODOKOLO

LORD Howe islands are suffering from lack of shipping service, it is reported.

This has been blamed for the corresponding lack of development and incomplete developments in the atoll communities.

During a recent visit by Island Sun, people are complaining why they are yet to have a ship of their own while the rest of the provinces and constituencies are enjoying their own.

In an interview with Chief Kalali of Lord Howe, he voiced that shipping services is a popular mode of transport used to carry people’s needs and wants for living and also to connect people from island to island.

Kalali said for a long time the atolls have not been served with a regular shipping service, hence their troubles.

“Whilst most neighbouring islands and provinces have these services shaped from time to time while they have this matter unconsidered,” Kalali said.

He adds if this particular need is addressed it will lessen all the internal issues in terms of incomplete developments and difficulties they are currently facing.

Kalali said this is because they depend entirely on these transportation systems on both sea and air to meet their daily needs and wants.

It is understood that at the moment they use other province’s shipping services after every four months. In terms of air transport services they don’t have any properly built airstrip to accommodate planes.

MP poke-nose

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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Voters registration for the 2019 NGE now on process in Honiara and the country as a whole.

A Member of Parliament reportedly interferes with registration process

 

BY LYNTON AARON FILIA

A current Member of Parliament (MP) is said to have interfered with the registration process underway in Town Ground.

Reports reaching Island Sun say the Registration Clerk for Northwest, West, South and Central Guadalcanal has been asked to leave his work by the said MP.

The electoral officer said it is not the first time that he had received a letter telling him that he had been removed from his job.

He said the first encounter was a complaint letter from the people for his replacement and the second letter was from the MP telling him that he had been removed from his job as Registration clerk.

“Honorable say he did not want me to sit there which to me it is a political move.”

The officer said according to the electoral act, such action is forbidden – for a political member to interfere in the electoral process.

“I want to call on people, supporters we are just doing a registration process, anyone wants to do transfer or whatever, it is during the objection period after completing registration processes.”

He explained that it is okay if people want to switch constituency and that people have the right to register.

He said the right time for objection of any voters that do not reside in the area or constituency is during the omission and objection period.

“I for one, I am not happy about what happen, and he should not interfere with my work. I only working for my salary,” he said.

He also adds that all they do was to treat everyone fairly and made sure that they carry out their work properly.

“Another thing, we just registering names, anyone supporter belongs to any candidates or current MP, it is not right time for complaining about the work of the registration officers.

“So far, only people from Malaita and Guadalcanal province are doing such complaining, but they did not understand our roles, that we were here to do the registration for people.

“We are not favouring any constituency but security control when it’s time; we have to stop for the next day.”

With the report from the Registration Clerk, Island Sun contacted Solomon Islands Electoral Commission to find out if there had been any report of such occurrence.

Despite enquiring twice to SIEC, there was no response from the officers and SIEC Chief Executive Officer.

However Island Sun understands that there are processes whereby such an incident can be reported to the relevant authorities.

The registration meddling has reportedly affect electorates from Northwest, West, South and Central Guadalcanal constituency.

On Wednesday, September 12, people from Guadalcanal province raised their frustration over non-service of registration officers.

It was not until afternoon that their booth was opened for registration.

Papua New Guinea makes big comeback

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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Papua New Guinea’s Siegfried Beschel celebrates scoring the opening goal against Vanuatu on Wednesday.

BY ROMULUS HUTA

Papua New Guinea’s Siegfried Beschel celebrates scoring the opening goal against Vanuatu on Wednesday.

PAPUA New Guinea has made a strong comeback following Sunday’s opening loss and cruised to a resounding 5-0 victory over Vanuatu in their second Pool A match of the OFC Under-16 Championship yesterday morning at Lawson Tama Stadium.

In their opening match on Sunday against the tournament host, they went down by the same margin. The win yesterday cancelled out all goals conceded earlier and this appeared to have relived their qualification hopes for the semi-final.

Siegfried Beschel gets a double to his name while the other three goals were shared between Renagi Ila, Akaya Wadunah and Morris Devi.

Knowing that a win in this match would relive their pool contention, PNG made a superb start in the first half by getting an early goal through Beschel in the first seven minutes.

The scoreline increased to 2-0 by the 19th minute through Renagi Ila.

Vanuatu improved defending and kept out more threats posed by the PNG forwards and the score remains at 2-0 by halftime recess.

The second half resumed and Devi added his team’s third goal in the 56th minute before Wadunah made it 4-0 with an outstanding strike in the 70th minute.

Beschel completed scoring to make it 5-0 by the 79th minute when he unleashed a screaming shot from a point blank range which came bulging the roof of the net and caught the Vanuatu goalkeeper gasping thin air in the process.

PNG Coach Anthony Pakatota said they went in to win the second match and that paid off.

“We came here to win this game after fixing the errors we have in the first game.

“We wanted really badly to win this game and we have got the result to give us a fighting chance in our last game on Saturday.

“The starting 11 is the same starting 11 from the first game and one of the big things we have worked on is to get the players’ confidence back.

“We had to work on really getting their self-confidence out and getting them to improve their quick recovery in defending and forward playing and we also worked on our decision making interms of passing, final passes and to finishing.

“Yeah for sure we are looking forward to that game. We’ve done a lot of homework for the game against New Zealand and we’re looking forward. So this game is a must-win to give us the fighting chance so we’re looking forward for that,” Pakatota said.

PNG’s final pool match is against New Zealand and a win for them will see them through to the semifinal.

“They are fast attacking team and we’ll prepare well for them. We know they are good at counter and it depends on intelligence to beat them.”

The winless streak in this competition came as a great disappointment for the Joel Rarua-coached side that still have a match to spare which is against the host nation this Saturday.

The two losses mean that Vanuatu is not out of contention for a place in the semi-final with the only possible thing left is playing for pride in the final match.

Rarua said: “We worked hard today but unfortunately PNG were stronger with quick counters and our boys were bit slower otherwise our boys did their best with ball possession and attacking.

“We are here for the competition and the boys will be ready for the last game.”

PNG’s final game is on Saturday against New Zealand while Vanuatu will play Solomon Islands in the later fixture of the day.

Figueira disappointed but vows to bounce back

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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NEW Zealand coach Jose Figueira

BY ROMULUS HUTA

NEW Zealand coach Jose Figueira expresses huge disappointment following his side’s 5-0 loss against Solomon Islands on Wednesday

NEW Zealand coach Jose
Figueira

 but has strongly vowed to bounce back in their final Group A match.

The young All Whites will play PNG in their final group match of the OFC Under-16 Championship this Saturday.

Figueria said: “Obviously, I’m disappointed with the result. It’s a little bit unfortunate that the score got a little bit big towards the end.

“Huge congratulations to the Solomons for sending their best team today, they deserved the win. For our boys at this stage, is a completely different experience you know, playing against players and teams and a style of football that they’ve never come across.”

Figueira admitted that the big loss is good learning experience for his boys.

“I think we’ll take a big learning lesson from today.

“Putting things into perspective, it’s not the end of the world and we’ll look to obviously bounce back which I’m sure we will do in the third game to qualify out of the group.

“Of course, we are looking forward to the game against PNG when you have a result like this, you’d wanna play that match tomorrow.

“There’ll be a few sad faces today, but look once we review the game, recover, we’ll be back on top and ready to go for the third game. And again the lesson from today is to take nothing for granted, believe what we believe in, and just have a little bit more concentration in quality and some more key moments.

“As a coach you take responsibility. So I take responsibility for the result today.

“The boys ran till the end and worked their socks off and like you see a few of them kind of fell over with emotions and things.

“But look, that’s football, you have these lessons, you have to bounce back and we’ll come back stronger in the third game,” he expressed.

New Zealand’s match against PNG is scheduled for 10am on Saturday with both sides having equal opportunities to qualify into the semifinal as they are tied on three points each.

Ship detained for illegal beach trading in Choiseul

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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The MV Gizo No 1 ship detained at Taro wharf

BY ALFRED PAGEPITU

GIZO

The MV Gizo No 1 ship detained at Taro wharf

THE MV Gizo NO 1 ship is being detained at Taro wharf by the Choiseul provincial government for illegal beach trading around Choiseul province.

The incident occurred at Vurango Village in North Choiseul on Monday afternoon.

John Matapaza, the Minister of Lauru Affairs, when contacted yesterday, said the MV Gizo including three Asian nationals believed to be from China with few Solomon Islanders employed as captain, engineers and ship’s crew has been detained at Taro, Choiseul province’s capital, after community and business owners at Vurango reported that the ship was doing beach trading at their village at low prices.

“Provincial officer was sent to vurango and escorted the ship back to Taro detained the ship for further investigation at Taro.

“The authority met and enforced his penalty for violating the business ordinance for illegal trading in to Choiseul Province without a valid beach trading business license,” said Matapaza.

Meanwhile, members of public have lauded their provincial government for the tough stand against such illegal practices.

PM addresses Aust-SI Business Forum

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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PM Hou addressing the Business Forum which was attended by priavte sectors and govt officials from Australia and Solomon Islands

PRIME Minister Rick Houenipwela has addressed the 10th Australia Solomon Islands Business Forum in Brisbane yesterday.

Prime Minister Hou said the events of the forum are a culmination of a long partnership between the Australia Pacific Islands Business Council (APIBC) and the Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI).

“It is my fervent hope that the achievements of last year’s Forum be elevated to new heights as I am certain that for us there is no other way but up,” he said.

The Prime Minister said it is also exciting to note this event also brings together senior corporate and government decision makers from both Australia and Solomon Islands who are in the pursuit of one common goal; and that is the enhancement of economic environment to allow economic growth to thrive in Solomon Islands.

He said the Solomon Islands Democratic Coalition for Change Government (SIDCCG) appreciates and affirms that the private sector has always been the driving force for economic growth in the Solomon Islands and will continue to do so.

As such, he said it his Government’s intention to continue to encourage and support private sector engagement and participation in key economic areas in development of Solomon Islands.

“As some of you may know, Solomon Islands has and is enjoying a steadily growing economy over the last few years and more recently offers solid opportunities for business in areas such as infrastructure services, tourism development, sustainable forestry, agri-industry and fisheries,” he said.

Hou said the Government recognises that for the private sector to operate effectively, it needs a good enabling business environment.

“An environment that allows businesses to operate competitively, grow and prosper, an environment where investors and businesses are confident to do business. This includes employment opportunities,” he said.

The theme of this year’s business forum is “Forty years of Australian Solomon Islands Business Partnership”.

Prime Minister Hou was invited as the guest of honour at the event.

–OPMC PRESS

Australia commits further AUD1.4m for Tina River Hydro

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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Australia’s acting High Commissioner responds to the Minister of Energy and Mines, the Hon Bradley Tovosia’s request for a further USD1m to support the access road to the Tina River Hydro Power site. Photo from AHC Media
Australia’s acting High Commissioner responds to the Minister of Energy and Mines, the Hon Bradley Tovosia’s request for a further USD1m to support the access road to the Tina River Hydro Power site. Photo from AHC Media

THE Tina River Hydro Power project is a high priority project for Solomon Islands and for the Pacific.

The Australian Government is a strong supporter of the project which has the potential to transform the Solomon Islands business environment by reducing electricity prices, which are among the most expensive in the world.

It will also be the first ever public-private partnership scheme for the Solomon Islands Government, and its success will be a tangible demonstration that Solomon Islands is a viable destination for international investment.

Australia is pleased to commit a further AUD1.4 million (USD 1 million) to the Tina River Hydro Power project to meet a funding gap identified for the construction of the access road to the dam site and power station – a key component of the project supported by Australia.

Australia appreciates the strong leadership of the Solomon Islands Government, and is looking forward to the signing of the key project agreements on November 30, particularly the Power Purchase Agreement that will set the electricity tariff for the next 30 years.

This will be a significant step in moving the project from the preparation to implementation phase.

Australia had already contributed AUD10.4 million for the preparation phase, and with this additional commitment, it will now provide up to AUD18.4 million for the implementation phase, taking Australia’s total contribution to AUD28.8 million.

–AHC PRESS

‘SI can learn from Aussie croc management plan’

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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IUCN Crocodile specialist from Australia Dr Matthew Brien carrying a saltwater crocodile with officers from the Ministry of Environment seen on the background.

BY LYNTON AARON FILIA

IUCN Crocodile specialist from Australia Dr Matthew Brien carrying a saltwater crocodile with officers from the Ministry of Environment seen on the background.

AUSTRALIAN saltwater crocodile specialist Dr Matthew Brien has introduced a concept which was successfully implemented in Australia to manage saltwater crocodiles.

From the concept Solomon Islands may learn from the idea to reduce conflict between humans and crocodiles and conserve crocodile species for other economic benefits.

Solomon Islands along with Papua New Guinea and Northern Territory of Australia have high populations of saltwater crocodile, which poses a dangerous environment for humans.

In a workshop recently, Brien shared Australia’s management concept to the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology and Royal Solomon Islands Police Force.

He said the concept is successfully used in Australia, and it really minimises the conflict between humans and saltwater crocodiles which Solomon Islands can learn from.

Brien adds, the concept might not be similar to Solomon Islands but some are relevant in terms of managing the species from hurting people and conserving them for trading.

“In Australia we manage crocodile not similar to Solomon Islands, so in the Solomon’s they started monitoring, removal and education—three very important thing which Australia we also doing.

“We also do farming and trade and Solomon’s have the potential to do some trade as well.

“I think there is similar ways to do it but there are differences between Australia and Solomon Islands. Australia is a big island and you can move around pretty easily whereas in the Solomon’s a lot of Islands and it’s hard to move around.

“A lot of challenges here but you can still do some stuff and I think some of the work has been done is very positive.”

Brien commended the RSIPF saying they’ve done a very good job by working with communities across Solomon Islands to reduce the conflict between crocs and humans.

On the other hand, Brien also acknowledged the MECDM and WorldFish for joining forces in the Crocodile Management Project, saying they are moving in the right direction.

Deputy Director for Conservation Division of the MECDM Mr Josef Hurutarau said saltwater crocodile has been a priority of successive Solomon Islands Governments policies.

He said increasing crocodile-human conflicts is of concern which ignites government’s attention of need to conduct survey and development of National Management Plan.

“The MECDM corporate plan 2018—2020 highlights saltwater crocodile population surveys as an important priority output,” he said.

Auki market business fair

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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Participants attending the food inspired training yesterday at Rarasu motel in Auki.

BY SAMIE WAIKORI

AUKI

Participants attending the food inspired training yesterday at Rarasu motel in Auki.

TWO days interface of stakeholders under the “Auki market business fair” will end today in Auki.

The programme came under Markets for Change (M4C) project aimed at gathering financial institutions, agricultural institutions and social services to provide information sharing to vendors.

Team Leader Inclusive Growth under UNDP, Ms Ednah Ramoau said the purpose was that market vendors normally don’t access the information due to tight schedule with their market/business.

She said the vendors spend most of their time at the market. From garden to the market to do their sell and back to their homes.

Ramoau said with this they always not accessing information from service providers in the community which is important for them.

“So this Auki market business fair is providing an avenue where market vendors can hear information from other stakeholders on their activities.

“The importance of the information sharing was that it give them idea and way to pursue these stakeholders when need arises to them,” she said.

Ramoau said numbers of stakeholders now giving information to the vendors and they expect to continue tomorrow (today) and other stakeholders also encourage.

She said the programme also roll out in Honiara, Auki and Gizo, saying the programme is a regional one where it also rolls out in other countries in the region.

Ramoau said M4C programme was implemented by UN Women, but they offered it to UNDP to implement the outcome two of the programme.

She said the programme is funded by Australian Government and Canadian Government.

Training coincides with M4C programme in Auki

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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BY SAMIE WAIKORI

AUKI

TRAINING was also provided along with the “Auki market business fair” that is currently happening in Auki.

There are two trainings provided; one from SISBEC on business and the other is provided by a group from Fiji on ‘food inspire’.

Team Leader Inclusive Growth under UNDP, Ms Ednah Ramoau said the training was part of the M4C programme and provided to markets vendors.

She said under SISBEC, training was provided to encourage or strengthen market vendors on how they could come up strong with their small businesses.

Ramoau said the training looked at giving some basic insights of business to the vendors to help them with the business.

She added that another training was on food inspired which looked largely on value adding on vegetables and fruits.

Ramoau said sometimes fruits or vegetables just drawn away without known how useful they are if they properly cook or process.

She said training was to show to the vendors some basic processing of fruits to meet the consumption need of their family and also for market.

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