THE so-called Children’s Park opposite the Police headquarter in Rove west of Honiara seems to be the meeting place for adults and students.
A visit to the park on Monday witnessed that most people using the park are elderly men and even adult students doing unnecessary activities like smoking and chewing betel-nut.
One of the concerned parents who accompanied her child to the park said that adult men and adult students are disturbing children who want to take their time playing and enjoying themselves at the park.
The parent said the men spend their time at the park every day, so as the adult students.
“Don’t know whether those students are attending classes or just wasting their time engaging in unlawful activities at the park,” the parent said.
The parent is calling on responsible authorities to impose regulations to control people using the park.
Though the park does not offer much, people go there with their children to play and swim in the sea under the watchful eyes of their parents and guardians.
One of the cleaners there said the adult students are sometimes very rude towards the cleaners and don’t want to listen when they tell them not to sit on the swings.
The cleaner said sometimes some students spend their time at the park without going to classes, they spend their time at the park from 8am to around noon – till classes lapse.
THE closing submission into the case of a man charged with one count of attempted murder will be made in court.
This is the case against John Kebol who was charged in relation to an incident which occurred in Sukiki village, weather-coast of Guadalcanal.
Prosecution said the accused on June 13, 2015 had an argument with his nephew regarding a bicycle.
Their argument heated up in which the accused intended to stab the victim with a kitchen knife.
The allegation said when the knife missed the victim all others who were present during the argument reacted and stoned the accused in which he fell onto the ground and sustained injuries.
Office of the Director Public Prosecution prosecutes the matter in court while Rodgers Tovosia is representing the accused.
Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Culwick Togamana
Bintan Mining SI Ltd operation on west Rennell gets gov’t approval
BY ALFRED SASAKO
BINTAN Mining (SI) Ltd has received the “thumbs up” for the way it conducts mining operations on West Rennell as well as the on-going community support the company provides to landowners.
The “clean bill of health” given by a team of five senior government ministers as well as senior public servants who toured Bintan Mining (SI) Ltd’s site operations on West Rennell two weeks ago, now isolates the Renbel MP and Minister for Health and Medical Services, Dr Kaitu’u Agikimua who has publicly opposed mining on Rennell.
Despite his opposition, published documents show Dr Agikimua has co-signed an agreement giving Bintan Mining (SI) Ltd the approval to mine his land.
The one-day tour was led by the Minister of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification, Hon Bradley Tovosia.
He was accompanied by other ministers including the Minister for Environment and Conservation, Hon Dr Culwick Togamana MP as well as the Director of Environment Joe Horokou.
Known for his strong and strict adherence to internationally accepted standards on environmental matters, Dr Culwick is reportedly “pleased” with what he saw on the ground.
“He thinks that Bintan Mining (SI) Ltd is exemplary in its mining operations in terms of providing the necessary infrastructure to support its operations on West Rennell,” Dr Culwick was reported to have told the management of the company.
The cost of the visit to Rennell two weeks ago was borne by the Solomon Islands Government.
The Government’s position has isolated Dr Agikimua who was accused by his own people of being “two faced” over the mining operations in West Rennell.
Published documents show that Dr Agikimua co-signed an agreement which allows Bintan Mining (SI) Ltd to mine his land despite maintaining his public opposition to mining operations in West Rennell.
Observers said the timing of Dr Agikimua’s position could prove fatal for his re-election efforts in next year’s National General Election.
“The Renbel MP has committed the cardinal sin of miscalculating the potential consequences for his position, which could prove untenable in terms of his re-election.
“How can you go against the very people who are benefitting from the mining operations and expect to win their favours at the poll? Dr Agikimua knows very well that he has mistimed his position,” an observer told Island Sun.
HammerHeads Half back Felix Galo looks to set up the attack from the scrum in the match against TIA Warriors. Photo by Taromane Martin
By Taromane Martin
SEMI-FINALISTS for the 2018 Fletcher Kwaimani Man-Up rugby 15s challenge are confirmed following the final pool matches played over the weekend.
Final pool matches played on Saturday saw competition hosts Henderson HammerHead Sharks defeating TIA Warriors 34-5 while Diesel picked up their first points in the competition with a 19-13 second half comeback win over Islanders.
HammerHeads proved too much for TIA Warriors to establish a comfortable 22-5 at the break.
Competition leading points and try scorer Jeffery Siria was kept quite in the competition with HammerHeads defence keeping a tight knot on him.
Second half substitute Jack Akao added two more tries in the second half for HammerHeads before Philemon Campbell sealed the win with the final try thanks to a brilliant team build up play for the win.
It took patience and determination for Diesel in the final day of the pool games as they came back in the second half to beat a degenerated Islanders side on Saturday.
HammerHeads Half back Felix Galo looks to set up the attack from the scrum in the match against TIA Warriors. Photo by Taromane Martin
Islanders led 6-0 at the break through two Eddie Sanga converted penalties but saw their team spirit crumbling at the break after a disagreement between players and their official during half time.
Diesel clawed their way back to led 7-6 through a converted try. Three minutes later it was 14-6 after another converted try but saw Islanders fighting back with a converted try of their own to trail 14-13.
Islanders was forced to make four substitutions with 10 minutes to play only to see Diesel extending their lead with a late unconverted try for the win.
Following Saturday’s matches, semi-final matches for this weekend sees Henderson HammerHead Sharks taking on TIA Warriors while Diesel is set to meet Islanders in the second semi-final match at the DC Park rugby field.
Prudence Bird has earned double victory in the Fiji tennis open which completed on Sunday in Nadi. Bird won the girls under-16 singles and the doubles.
Bird wins u-16 girls singles and doubles in Fiji Open
BY ROMULUS HUTA
Prudence Bird has earned double victory in the Fiji tennis open which completed on Sunday in Nadi. Bird won the girls under-16 singles and the doubles.
YOUNG female Solomon Islands tennis player Prudence Bird has snatched a double victory at the Fiji Tennis Open.
The 2018 Fiji Open Tennis Championships held at the Denerau Golf and Racquet in Nadi began on Wednesday and ended with the presentations yesterday afternoon.
A total of nine Solomon Islands tennis players took part in the event alongside Ms Bird.
Others are Junior Benjamin, Graham Mani, Selwyn Lam, Doreen Ningalo, Lachlan Guba, Zorika Morgan, Jermain Kari and Popai Leong.
Ms Bird wrapped up her Fiji Open campaign in style and headlined Solomon Islands participation at the event after coming out victorious in the under-16 singles and the doubles competitions.
In the singles, Ms Bird, competing as a fourth seed, defeated number two seed Penina Kamu of Samoa by two straight sets of 6-1, 6-4 in the grand final. In the doubles, she paired up with Cameron Goss of Australia to win first place. The duo defeated Conatsu Kaga (Northern Mariana Islands) and Chelsea McGrath (Australia) winning by 9-4 in a single set.
Apart from Ms Bird’s double achievement, impressive results have also emerged from the other participating Solomon Islanders in the singles.
In the A men’s singles, Mani and Leong finished second and third respectively behind Victor Lopes of Vanuatu, who topped this category.
Lopes defeated Mani by 7-6 (4), 7-5 in a tough grand final encounter.
On the other court, Morgan was a contender in the women’s A division singles but finished third behind Samoan Eleanor Schuster and Florence Wasko of American Samoa, respectively.
In the Under-16 boys singles, Guba wrapped up his singles campaign in the fourth place.
The doubles competition also saw good results from the national representatives.
Junior and Mani paired up together in the open men’s doubles and managed to finish second.
The duo came up against a better Samoan opponent in the form of Matavao Fanguna and Leon Soonalole in the grand final and lost by two straight sets 6-2 and 6-1.
A fair result was achieved by Leong in the A men’s doubles as he partnered with Vitikaras Taufao of Samoa to finish fourth.
Guba and partner Jones George of Federated States of Micronesia finished second in the under-16 boys doubles after losing 6-4, 6-2 to Zachary Sands of Vanuatu and Charles Cornish of Fiji in the grandfinal.
In the final action of the day, Doreen Ningalo teamed up with Sela Corbett of Australia in the open women’s doubles and finished at third place, wrapping off a fair and a satisfactory campaign for Solomon Islanders in the Fiji Open.
Meanwhile, the participation in the Fiji Open was a perfect warm-up ahead of the Oceania Tennis Nations Cup which will get underway this week.
A team of six – three men and three women will represent Solomon Islands in the one-week tournament which will be held at Lautoka starting this Thursday.
Similar faces will represent Solomon Islands and they include Benjamin Joel Junior, Graham Mani, Popai Leong, Doreen Ningalo, Prudence Bird and Zorika Morgan.
A total of 15 Pacific Island countries including Solomon Islands are participating in the Nations Cup.
The others are hosts Fiji, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati, Norfolk Islands, Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
40 rural women leaders from Guadalcanal, Malaita and Western province are expected to participate in a two days peacebuilding program, commencing today. A statement from UN Women says it is their intention to build the skills and confidence of the women leaders to engage in policy discussion with provincial and national authorities.
“We will introduce the women leaders to the “hard” issues that came out of the Provincial and National Dialogue process that culminated in a set of resolutions to be implemented at national and provincial level”, the statement says. The agenda of the workshop includes sessions on inclusive political participation, land issues, decentralization, integrity and reparations.
Concretely, the objectives of the workshop are to empower women leaders to engage in policy discussions with Executives and other government officials, as well as with traditional and religious leaders, discuss five national dialogue themes (participation, land, decentralisation, integrity, reparations) and agree on their specific gender dimensions, identify provincial gender and peacebuilding priorities, considering the National and Provincial Women Policy and 2019 National Elections, explore ways to link and learn with women leaders across provinces and with relevant government entities, women’s groups and other stakeholders at national level and to discuss the purpose and functions of a Provincial Women Caucus to increase women’s political participation in decision-making.
UN Women in partnership with Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs (MWYCFA) is conducting this dialogue workshop.
THE result of the National Perception Survey on peacebuilding has highlighted a number of critical issues that requires further collaboration.
Deputy Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on behalf of the government said this issue is however seen as an enormous challenge but Solomon Islands government welcomes the results and looks forward to increased cooperation from partners and the public to find more lasting solutions.
He said he was informed of the many inceptions contained in the results which include the following:
The need to work harder on building and bosting confidence in public, uncertainty of the direction the Solomon Islands is heading , confidence that peace will be maintained, mixed perception on the government’s handling of issues from the tension period and dissatisfaction of government in addressing unfinished issues from the past.
DPM Sogavare said the results are crucial and important as they will be used to evaluate existing mechanisms to address areas identified by the results and beside they will also form the basis of an advice to cabinet as to a way forward.
“These results will no doubt provide an objective window for policy and decisions makers in making future directions on our path to peacebuilding and also it did raised the need for the continued combined concerted effort by government, partners and people to work together in achieving our ultimate goals and peace,” he said.
DPM said the survey also indicates that the most important actions for ensuring lasting peace in Solomon Islands are identified as increased access to economic opportunities, employment and provisions of greater power to provincial authorities
He said with regards to address the most pressing national issues from the survey the government is continuously working hard to improve economic opportunities and employment, address the issues of corruption and providing basic services such as health and education.
“The government has tasked the National Reparation working group to come up with a work plan and look at how to accelerate our reparation framework and programme.
“We believe that peacebuilding activities need to be linked to the overall development efforts.
“This requires our cooperation and hard work. But as the survey findings found, we have a strong basis as this survey indicated that 97.7 percent of respondents said they are proud to be Solomon Islanders which is a good basis to work together as one country working on one future,” Sogavare said.
SOLOMON Islands Environmental Law Association (SIELA) was established 2009 with the vision to be the national environmental association that envisions a Solomon Islands that appreciates the value of the natural environment.
It was formerly known as the Solomon Islands Lawyers Association back in 2009.
This is according to Ms Senoveva Mauli, chair of SIELA (Solomon Islands Environmental Law Association).
She said that by 2014, the association was revived and re-launched as the Solomon Islands Environmental Law Association (SIELA) and a non-profitable organization.
Ms Mauli who is an environmentalist expressed that she joined the association as chair at that time to assist in explaining law or ordinance based on the environment.
She said the first training they held took place three years ago and was organized for students from SINU (Solomon Islands National University).
Ms Mauli added that they also carried out training for enforcement officers from the Fisheries, Forestry and Mines ministries.
She said SIELA’s six goals target the community and individuals, law reform commission, Members of Parliament, NGOs, educational institutions and the private sector with the overall goal of ensuring that they all have access to quality information.
Ms Mauli emphasized that their objectives are; to encourage environmental management skills, promote law, increase understanding of communities, engage in and advocate for law reform, provide training and legal advice.
Some of SIELA’s achievements to date include; the finalization of documents, re-launch of project manual, strategic plan document and the SIELA capacity needs document.
Ms. Mauli also mentioned that an executive board “Green Council” was formed and currently has 74 members comprising of lawyers, non-lawyers, students and two organizations.
The association since its inception has conducted activities such as trainings, stakeholders’ consultations and a pilot provincial visit.
Membership is open to individuals and incorporated bodies.
PRIME Minister Abe of Japan has pledged to strengthen diplomatic relations between Solomon Islands and Japan.
He expressed this statement at the recent bilateral meeting with the Solomon Islands Prime Minister Honorable Rick Houenipwela and his delegation in Japan.
He said that this year is the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Japan and the Solomon Islands and he would like to further strengthen relations between the two countries.
At the same time, maritime security, maritime security capabilities, climate change, disaster prevention and other issues that the region is commonly faced with has been discussed. Also possible ways to tackle this issues had been raised in this discussions.
Meanwhile, PM Houenipwela thanked Japan for their support in the different areas over the years, including maintenance of the Honiara airport.
In addition, PM Abe asked for due consideration for the stable operation of Japanese fishing vessels, cooperation in the collection project of the remains of Japanese soldier’s in World War Two and cooperation for the early resolution of the abduction issue.
Discussions between the two leaders took place during PM’s Hou trip to the eighth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM8) in Japan.
MATHEMATICS is one of the most disliked subjects in school. On Saturday, a mini math exhibition show was held to bring to life math as an interesting subject. Organized by Cruise Math Academy, located in China town, this mini exhibition was purposely to show that Math is not as dull as most might think it to be. Speaking to Island Sun, Mrs. Felicity Malcolms, commonly known as Mrs. Malcolms said all along, math had been the subject that students struggle to understand.
A teacher for more than 20 years, Mrs. Malcolms said she decided to run this math academy to assist students who find mathematics difficult mainly students in grade six, forms three, five and six including foundation students.
Students and tutors of Cruise Maths Academy.
However she said she can only take in 10 students at a time. Mrs. Malcolms said this is the first exhibition of its kind to be held for her academy and she is hoping to organise exhibitions of this sort in the future, possibly during the school holidays.
“Students all over will be in the city during the holidays and I am hoping to attract them to this exhibition”.
She says all along, understanding English and learning to read had been the focus for most and not so much math and students kept floundering in math. She says her focus is mainly on getting students to understand the basic concepts of math and then letting them go to tackle the subject in their own classrooms.
“Mathematics is nice and fun. I want children to know that mathematics is not difficult at all. Once they understand the concepts than all will be well”, she said.
On Saturday, the mini math exhibition with the theme ‘MATHS + You = Life’ attracted quite a few students and parents. A form seven foundation student said being an average student in math, he found out that having extra class in math has tremendously helped him understand the concepts of math. A sentiment also shared by a form five student who also have problems in understanding math.
“I have problem in understanding math that is why I am happy to be enrolled here to learn math”, he said.
Meanwhile a parent who have her son in form three said her child had been attending Cruise Math Academy since the beginning of this year in preparation for his exams.
“As a parent I saw children struggling in math and as much as possible I want to give my child the support he needs in mathematics. Since then I saw that he had come to love math mainly because he now understands the basics and functions of math and doesn’t dread math as had been before”, says Mrs. Lilly Lomulo.
Mrs. Malcolm on the other hand encourages parents to take a keen interest in Math to help their children perform better in this subject.
“So that when they grow up, they see math as something that they come across daily in life and not a subject they should be scared of. Students dread math because they do not know the concepts of it”.
She said as someone who love math, she is passionate in passing on her knowledge to the students. She said being a former teacher in various schools, she understands the need for students to have these sort of learning so that they too become passionate about Mathematics.
