BY JUNELYN KELLY

The Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Department will conduct planned bomb blast operations in Western and Choiseul provinces as part of ongoing efforts to safely dispose unexploded ordnances (UXO).

In Western Province, the operations will be carried out in Munda and the surrounding communities and islands from today to Thursday, February 12, a police statement yesterday said.

“The activities will take place daily between 8am and 4pm.”

In Choiseul Province, operations will be conducted inland at Tarekukure today and tomorrow between 8am and 4pm each day, police said.

Communities within these areas are strongly advised to keep clear of the operational sites while the bomb blast activities are in progress. Roadblocks will be enforced during the stated times to ensure public safety, police said.

Affected communities will be duly informed of the specific operational sites, and the RSIPF kindly calls on all residents to cooperate with police officers on the ground, as the safety of the public and officers remains the highest priority.

Meanwhile, the police urges communities in Western and Choiseul provinces to continue reporting any sightings of unexploded ordnance.

“Reports can be made directly to the RSIPF EOD via phone number 7495215 or to the nearest police station.”

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Solomon Islands Government 2026 scholarship list officially endorsed, expected to be released today

BY SYLVANA TEKUMAHA

The Solomon Islands Government (SIG) 2026 Scholarship list has been officially endorsed and is expected to be released today.

The total scholarship recipient for 2026 is around 1440 spaces.

Minister of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD), Tozen Leokana endorsed the scholarship list yesterday.

During the endorsement programme, the Solomon Islands Tertiary Education and Skills (SITESA) Chief Executive Officer, Constance Nasi said assessments were done and admitted delays occurred.

SITESA has allocated 68 scholarship spaces for the in-service teaching sector following final assessments and presentations.

A further 53 spaces were awarded under the in-service public service category, while 123 spaces were allocated to the in-service private sector.

An additional seven spaces were set aside under the close category for higher qualifications.

Under the pre-service constituency category, Ms Nasi said SITESA increased the number of scholarship spaces this year.

“For the 2026 scholarship listings, SITESA has allocated 10 more scholarship spaces for the constituency category. Last year we provided five,” she said.

She explained that the increase follows the introduction of a new “tuition-only” scholarship category for the 50 constituencies, where only tuition fees are covered.

Because of this initiative, the number of recipients under the category has risen from 5 to 15 compared to 2025, improving access to education opportunities for more students.

Nasi added that 750 recipients at the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) are funded under the tuition-only category, while 470 fully funded pre-service scholarship spaces have also been allocated for 2026 based on merits.

“Majority of the recipients under the pre-service constituency category were self-funded, they already have a programme at SINU but due to financial constraints they could not continue, so we are supporting that,” she said.

Minister Tozen thanked the staffs and the oversight committee who worked tirelessly throughout the process, making the endorsement a success.

“This investment clearly demonstrates our government’s commitment to building a skillful workforce and securing workforce of the future of Solomon Islands,” he said.

This is an investment in our nation’s future, by strengthening education, governance and commerce.

“As the Minister of MEHRD I am proud to sign this, and let us celebrate the partnership and let us celebrate the future of our people,” Leokana said.

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By RODRICK DESURI 

Auki 

The Malu’u School of Excellence in North Malaita, Malaita Province has opened its registration for this year for boys ages five (5) to sixteen (16).

The official opening of the school for this year, 2026, will take place today, while all their football activities will kick off on March 14 at 8:30 am at the Arnon Atomea PSS sports ground. 

According to a media report from the School of Excellence media page, the programs will run from March and conclude in November 2026.

The report said that the proposed league for the Under 12 and Under 16 boys will be played from May to November 2026, featuring six teams from their six existing clubs. 

“That means that in each category, the six teams will play against each other in a round-robin format fortnightly. This will fall on every Saturday.

“For those who get registered, they will be slotted into six existing clubs in the Malu’u School of Excellence,” said the media report.

The Malu’u School of Excellence is an amateur football school established in July 2024 to revive the Maluu IUMI PLAY Center in the Northern Region of Malaita, Malaita Province. 

The football activities officially kicked off in September 2024 after nine weeks of careful planning, consultation, mobilization, and pulling resources together between like-minded individuals and stakeholders who want to volunteer and help in the development of football in the rural area of Malaita. 

The Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) has also supported the school with sporting gear and training.

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BY BEN BILUA
Gizo

COMMUNITY Access and Urban Services Enhancement (CAUSE) project staffs in Gizo, Western Province, have successfully undergone a two-day First Aid training that aims to equip them with essential life-saving skills.

The training was conducted by the Solomon Islands Red Cross Society Gizo Branch at the Seventh Day Adventist Hall.

The training focused on basic first aid standard procedures relevant to workplace and community settings.

Speaking to Island Sun, one of the trainers, Ms. Samantha Ratu, said the training was designed to help participants respond effectively to emergencies that may occur in workplaces or homes.

She said participants were introduced to the DRABC first aid procedure, which stands for Danger, Response, Airway, Breathing and Circulation.

“First aid is very important in every walk of life as it can help save lives.

“A first aid practitioner can help resuscitate a patient who is not breathing and handle casualties properly before seeking medical attention,” Ratu said.

She said first aid knowledge and skills are also useful in households, as emergencies can happen at any time.

CAUSE Trainer, Ms. Rewlyn Malasa Pitisopa, described the training as timely and important, especially for workers involved in CAUSE projects who often operate in field environments.

“We normally provide training to our project participants before they go out to the field. This training helps ensure our workers are equipped with basic first aid knowledge and skills,” she said.

Pitisopa said emergencies are unpredictable, and CAUSE remains committed to ensuring the safety and preparedness of its workers.

“We do not know when an emergency might happen, so it is our responsibility to make sure our workers are properly equipped with first aid knowledge and skills,” she said.

Pitisopa acknowledges the Solomon Islands Red Cross Society Gizo Branch for accepting the request to facilitate the training programme.

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BY LORETTA B MANELE

The Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification (MMERE) is working on reviewing agreements pertaining to the Gold Ridge mining operation in Central Guadalcanal.

Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele shared this with local media at a press conference on Monday this week.

He was responding to a question on what the government is doing to ensure resource owners have the upper hand in relation to the recent incident at the Gold Ridge mining area.

Manele said Gold Ridge is an important national project but it is also important that key stakeholders like land and resource owners’ concerns are addressed.

He said on this note, the Ministry of Mines, the lead ministry in this sector (mining) have been working on reviewing agreements which are;

-Agreement between government and company

-Agreement between company and landowners

-Agreement between landowners and government

“These are three main agreements they are also subsidiary agreements that covers other communities downstream,” he said.

Manele said these are the key agreements that have to be in place and they have been informed by the Mines ministry that the agreements would be completed by the end of this month.

“Discussions have been underway between the landowner representatives and government and I do thank Guadalcanal Province for taking part in the dialogue on this particular matter,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the government through the Ministry of Mines will continue to remain engaged in terms of finding ways going forward to ensure that Gold Ridge is operating well.

“…..and that includes taking onboard and addressing the concerns of resource owners of Gold Ridge and other affected communities,” he said.

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BY BEN BILUA
Gizo

PREMIER of Western Province, Billy Veo, has firmly rejected recent comments by Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele suggesting that provincial support for a federal system of government is fading, saying Western Province is not backing down on its long-standing ambition for statehood.

In an interview yesterday, he said Western Province remains fully committed to the federal system and its aspiration to become a state.

“We want to know which provinces are backing down on the federal system ambitions. To tell the truth, we are not one of them,” Veo said.

He said the pursuit of statehood has been a shared and historic commitment of Western Province, dating back to the efforts of the province’s founding leaders, and remains a key aspiration of the current leadership and people.

“Statehood for Western Province has been fought for by our founding fathers, and present leaders and our people will continue that fight,” Veo said.

He said his government will follow the path laid by past leaders and work collectively with current leaders and stakeholders to achieve statehood.

“We will continue to pursue statehood while we are leading the province,” Veo said.

He said Western Provincial Government has formulated a 10-year development strategic plan, with one of its key goals being the push towards statehood.

Veo said the strategic plan is expected to be endorsed by the Provincial Assembly next month, after which it will become a guiding document for the province’s development direction.

“I must say that Western Province is not backing down on its ambition to become a state of its own. We are not among those provinces that are backing down.

“Western Province will continue the fight, even if other provinces are opposed to the idea,” he said.

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