By Gary Hatigeva

A total of $3 million was allocated to Solomon Islands Water Authority (SIWA) to provide water services to Auki in Malaita and Tulagi in Central provinces, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Finance, Manasseh Sogavare revealed.

During the Question and Answer session in Parliament yesterday, the Member of Parliament for Aoke/Langalanga and Chair of Bills and Legislation Committee questioned the Deputy Prime Minister on the government’s decision under the Community Services Obligation (SCO) for an allocation to the Solomon Islands Water Authority (SIWA) in 2018.

In his response to the question, Sogavare explained that the allocation made for the authority this year was $3 million, and admitted that it was a cut from the initial estimates in the application.

He said it’s becoming obvious that providing basic water services especially, the initial set up cost in the provincial urban centres are viable and Solomon Water are not able to perceive to provide the basic services.

“Therefore, the government with the obligation to provide the basic water services has opted to assist Solomon Water in this regard through the Community Service Obligations with the payment of 3 million dollars,” the DPM and Finance Minister told Parliament.

Meanwhile, Wale also questioned the government whether SIWA had made an application for the outlier provincial centres that they are responsible for, and the total they applied for.

Wale however added if there was no proposal or application made from the State Owned Enterprise, how the (government) was able to determine the allocated amount.

Sogavare however clarified that SIWA had initially applied for a total estimate of $9.07 million but the Minister explained that after deducting what they are not qualified to under the Community Services Obligation framework, the calculation came down to the revealed amount ($3 Million).

Parliament was told that the community service obligations payment will assist the Solomon Islands Water Authority to continue providing basic water services to the provincial urban centres particularly, for the highlighted centres.

He could not give an actual break down of the allocation for the two provincial set ups but assured that the figure was factored on actual costing under the two outlier service centres and should be distributed accordingly.

BY SAMIE WAIKORI

AUKI

THE Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development and New Zealand Government have been asked to explain $40m the latter had promised to fund the publication of the newly developed curriculum for secondary schools (forms 1-5) in the country.

The query was raised following incomplete work done to print the entire materials prepared under the curriculum.

A senior English secondary teacher who was part of the curriculum workshop in 2004 and 2005, Mr Aloysio Arukeni made the query for clarification by the two authorities.

He said in 2004, the MEHRD organised the first curriculum workshop at King George Sixth School to do the first draft of the curriculum.

Arukeni said the second workshop was held in the preceding year (2005), and the final draft of the curriculum was made.

“As I can remember, a presentative from the New Zealand Government office in Honiara told us that NZG will fund the printing or publication of the curriculum with a promised sum of $40m.

“Around year 2009 and 2010, materials for forms one and two under the new curriculum were published and currently used in secondary schools in the country.

“However, the remaining materials for forms three to five which yet print or publish was questioned on when will it happen,” he asked.

Arukeni said teachers need clarification on the matter because only forms one and two are currently benefitting from the curriculum and not forms three to five as they should.

He stressed that the delay of printing the remaining materials under the curriculum affects students and teachers especially those who did ‘teacher intraining’ and newly graduated teachers.

“Because these are the materials teachers will need to do their lesson preparation to teach the students.

“So at the moment teachers teaching forms three to five are without these materials and they teach their students on what they know,” Arukeni said.

He emphasised that the concern here was quality education for students and without these curriculum it won’t achieve as one of the major area captured under the curriculum.

Arukeni asked the government through MEHRD and NZG to clarify who is delaying the remaining publication of this curriculum.

A 22-year-old male has been sentenced by the Central Magistrates Court in Honiara on Wednesday this week to pay a fine of $500 after he was found guilty of stealing from a market vendor at the National Art Gallery in Honiara the previous day (Aug 7)

Provincial Police Commander Honiara City, Chief Superintendent Alfred Uiga said, “The victim was selling his necklaces when the defendant went over to his table and pretended to look at the necklaces.

“He then took four of the necklaces and escaped quickly.

“Luckily the defendant was seen by another market vendor and she alerted the victim of what had happened.

“At that time the defendant had already escaped towards the National Museum bus stop.

“The victim then ran after the defendant and shouted to the public for help.

“During that time a Police officer who got off a public bus noticed what happened and quickly arrested the defendant.

“With the help of other duty police officers the defendant was taken to the Central Police Station.

“The next day he was charged with a count of Simple Larceny contrary to Section 261 (1) of the Penal Code and taken to Court where he pleaded guilty to the charge. He was ordered to pay a fine of $500 before August 20, 2018 or he will be sent to prison for 20 days.”

–POLICE MEDIA

POLICE have arrested four persons while carrying out community awareness in West Kwaio.

Officers of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) in Auki, Malaita province have conducted a week of community policing in West Kwaio, from July 30 to August 4, 2018.

The community outreach started from Kwarekwa to Rate Village.

Supervising Provincial Police Commander, Malaita Province, Inspector Fredrick Pado said, “During the community visits we also received reports from the communities and four suspects have been arrested.

“They were arrested for offences including drunk and disorderly, going armed in public, intimidation.

“Some cases were also reported and investigations are now underway.

“I want to thank community leaders and elders of West Kwaio for working together with our officers on the ground.

“And I urge them to continue to work together with the police and report any illegal activities in your communities.

“Let us continue to work together as we fight crime to ensure peace and stability in or communities.

“I also thank my officers for the job well done and let us continue to serve our people in our communities for safer and peaceful communities.”

–POLICE MEDIA

By Alfred Sasako

RUSSELL Islands Plantation Estates Ltd (RIPEL), once described as the “jewel in the crown” in the nation’s economy, is once again in the news.

The interest appears to have been triggered by the visit to Marulaon Village in West Russell on Saturday 4th August by none other than businessman, Patrick Wong and his RIPEL and Levers Solomon Ltd (LSL) directors.

It was Mr Wong’s first visit in 15 years since he last set foot on this idyllic outpost, ringed by white sandy beaches of indescribable beauty. Russell Island is potentially a tourist mecca, waiting to be discovered.

But discovering or unmasking this potential foreign exchange earner for the landowners and indeed Solomon Islands has not been easy. It was dogged by on-going tribal ownership rivalry which has kept potential investors at bay.

Since 2002, the foreign-exchange earning capacity of this once-flourishing coconut and cocoa plantation, had stopped, some workers repatriated and Mr Wong, as a foreign investor was barred from setting foot on Russell Island.

In 2015 Mr Wong came close to exiting the scene when the then Government led by Danny Philip offered to buy him off for $26 million. It was a desperate effort by the government to free up RIPEL on Russell. Intervention by the Central Bank of Solomon Islands threw the scheme out the window.

Finding a way forward was made even more difficult when Philip’s successor, Gordon Darcy Lilo, assumed the leadership. His was largely because of a personality clash. His government had even slapped a persona non gratta status on the Fiji-born businessman.

The ban was lifted by a High Court Order, which allowed Mr Wong to return to the country to attend RIPEL cases and related matters. The High Court Order made by Judge Rex Faukona even barred the Minister of Commerce, Industries, Labour and Immigration from interfering with Mr Wong’s presence in the country. Some sources, who are aware of this situation, said that there is Penal Code attached to these Court Orders; meaning if the Minister or the Director of Immigration ignore these Orders, they could be fined or worse imprisoned.

The Government, under former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, appointed a Cabinet Sub-Committee, chaired by Savo/Russell MP, Dickson Mua Panakitasi. The Committee is helping the government to find a way out.

Today, resolving the RIPEL issue on Russell is as elusive as ever. That, however, did not stop Mr Wong from looking at potential opportunities to work with local landowners including the Lavukal Trust Board and others to put an end to the impasse, which has cost the government tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue in export and pay-as-you-earn taxes.

Mr Wong’s idea is to let the “by-gone, be by-gone” and to find a way to move forward.

It was this urge on moving forward that he and his joint Boards of LSL and RIPEL accepted an invitation by Lavukal Chiefs to travel to Russell last weekend, not by boat but by a helicopter at USD1,000-an-hour hire.

Up to 500 people were said to have gathered there. The crowd included about half a dozen of ex-employees, who were keen to hear what Mr Wong had up his sleeve on the future of RIPEL.

Some, who have opposed Mr Wong’s return to Russell, have put the number of people at a much lower figure, adding many of the people who gathered there were not Lavukalians but curious on-lookers.

One of these people is outspoken tribal landowner, Silas Selo, who despite his opposition, had reportedly received a share when Mr Wong paid out some $498,000 in dividends to the landowners on the weekend. When Island Sun approached Mr Wong about what the opposition were, Mr Wong simply said,

“I don’t know. No one raised any opposition, on Saturday. However, I am aware that one to two Chiefs are being influenced and used by Van Vlymen plus John Whiteside, and are being persuaded otherwise.

“Whiteside and Van Vlymen convinced them to pursue court proceedings in the name of Lavukal. Interestingly, they use the good name of Lavukal, but have no guts to start a case in their own personal names,” Mr Wong said.

“One question asked was, why they are using Lavukal’s name. Maybe because Van Vlymen and Whiteside lost their court case in Australia and are now using the local (Lavukal) name.“

Mr Wong said, when he asked the crowd in Marulaon, if there were any further questions, only one Lavukal man responded: “No more questions. All now clear”.

Mr Wong told the gathering, Lavukal must take proper advice on this matter.

“You must decide what you want, what Lavukal wants and must always act in the best interest of Lavukal. When deciding, never act on what is in best interest of Van Vlymen; not even in the best interest of what Wong wants plus not what Whiteside wants. Instead you must put Lavukal first, forget about Van Vlymen, Forget about Wong plus forget about Whiteside.”

Each individual from the Lavukal individual from two years up was paid $130 each, according to director Oliver Salopuka.

A further $1.5 million in dividends is tied down with an appeal case. Mr Wong made an undertaking to pay the remaining dividends within two weeks of the appeal by some disgruntled landowners is withdrawn.

“Your story on “Wong Touches Down” raises more questions about the visit than it answer,” Mr Selo told me midweek, referring to a front page story Island Sun has published on Monday.

The 800-word article also carried a photograph of the bundles of cash being witnessed by the traditional landowners.

“Has Mr Wong, for example, declared his profit/loss statement to authorities? Because to pay dividends, means you must have been trading. Everyone knows RIPEL has been on a standstill for more than 15 years,” he said.

Mr Wong who was in Honiara earlier this week made it clear that the interest of his Board is to work with authorities in resolving the RIPEL issue.

When asked whether he was aware of alleged move by the Minister to re-impose the ban to stop him from coming to Honiara, Mr Wong simply said, “I hope the Minister and his officials have read the Court Order.”

It would seem that until RIPEL on Russell is resolved, the Government will continue to miss on much-needed revenue for the public coffers.

Given that revenue from the logging industry is wanning, it is in the best interest of the government to resolve RIPEL as soon as possible as there could be other potential investors eyeing this jewel in the crown investment.