Cigarette butts smokers carelessly throwing all over the street of Gizo as public concern over smokers to throw at the right places
BY ALFRED PAGEPITU
GIZO
GIZO is reportedly littered with cigarette butts, an eye-sore for members of public who are concerned for the town’s environment.
A concerned Mr Andrew Koke questions why people do not hesitate to flick a cigarette butt in the Western provincial capital town.
“Smokers are not taking more care when they finish their cigarettes and there are still an unacceptable number of cigarette butts being thrown on the ground.
“Cigarette butts in the environment are a litter issue, not a smoking issue.
“Be a responsible smoker and use an ashtray to dispose of smoking litter at the right places but not throwing all over the street.”
Koke calls on the venders, general public and visitors to dispose cigarette butts and rubbish responsibly at the right places provided by Gizo Town Council.
Lae City Dweller’s Tuti Zama Tanito OFC Champions League 2018, Group A, Lae City Dwellers FC Vs Ba FC, Korman Stadium, Vanuatu, Tuesday 13th February 2018. Photo by Shane Wenzlick.
Dwellers and Nalkutan into quarterfinals
BY ROMULUS HUTA
Lae City Dweller’s Tuti Zama Tanito OFC Champions League 2018, Group A, Lae City Dwellers FC Vs Ba FC, Korman Stadium, Vanuatu, Tuesday 13th February 2018. Photo by Shane Wenzlick.
A 63rd minute strike by Solomon Islands international Tutizama Tanito helped Papua New Guinea (PNG) club Lae City Dwellers defeated Fiji’s Ba FC 1-0 in match day two of the Oceania Club Champions League Group A competition at Port Vila’s Korman Stadium in Vanuatu yesterday.
Tanito’s tidy goal emerged through a set-up from Raymond Gunemba.
The narrow win helped the PNG outfit to book qualification into the quarterfinals with a match to spare in the pool play.
Fellow Solomon Islander and defender Andrew Rarangia also featured in the Dwellers line-up alongside Tanito in the win.
I’m proud of the boys,” Lae City Dwellers coach Raymond Gunemba said.
“When we saw Ba play on Saturday we were thinking ‘can we go through?’, but we got our confidence and thought we could win and we did.
“Ba is a very good side, very experienced in the Champions League but we also thought we could surprise them.”
Ba coach Ronil Kumar was somewhat lost for words at the full-time whistle.
“Actually I can’t say much about it. We learned a lot out of it. We started the game really well but the thing was, you have to score if you want to win. We didn’t score, they win. They score, they win.
“One positive from the performance was that of Josaia Ratu, who impressed despite carrying an injury.
“He was the number one goalkeeper for us and when he was on the field, he did his best.”
The result means Ba is now out of contention for a place in the quarterfinals following two losses.
Ba’s first loss was against Ni-Vanuatu side Nalkutan, where a spot kick by Solomon Islands beach soccer poster boy James Naka inspired the hosts to a first win at the Oceania level, giving a bright start to their campaign.
Besides Naka, another two Solomon Islander also features for Nalkutan in the form of Joses Nawo and veteran defender Nelson Sale. Nawo is currently serving match suspension following his dismissal in the first match.
Nalkutan joins Dwellers in the quarterfinal after their second win yesterday.
This follows their 4-0 thrashing of Cook Islands representative Tupapa Maraerenga in the final action of Group A match day two with goals coming from Azariah Soromon, Naka, Raoul Coulon and Roddy Lenga.
Nalkutan and Lae City Dwellers’ six points from two matches mean they’ll finish in the top two positions in the group, and their final match on Friday will determine who gets the home quarter final.
Prior to the showdown at 5pm, Ba and Tupapa Maraerenga will meet at 2pm in their final encounter of the OFC Champions League Group A competition.
Members of the African delegation who are part of the Pacific-Global Zone-based Tuna Fisheries Management Knowledge Exchange program currently taking
place at the FFA Conference Centre, pausing with the FFA Director General James Movick (centre), after the first yesterday’s first set of roundtable discussions
and presentations
By Gary Hatigeva
WITH a diverse amount of resources in its pocket, the West African regional fisheries body is looking at how best they can better manage and sustainably use their resources with effective measures and approaches.
Looking to the Pacific might just be the answer says Ibrahim Turay, Regional M&E Specialist for the West Africa Regional Fisheries Programme, the Regional Coordination Unit (WARFP-RCU).
The West African Fisheries Programme is part of world fisheries agencies and commissions represented at the Pacific-Global Zone-based Tuna Fisheries Management Knowledge Exchange currently underway in Honiara.
In an exclusive interview yesterday, the Regional M&E Specialist for the WARFP-RCU it was only day one (yesterday) of the conference but their group has already picked out so much they intend to learn from and adopt.
The conference looks into the whole set up and operation of the Pacific Agency with detailed features, which includes the advent of enhanced aerial surveillance, new e-monitoring and satellite coverage, which has now given FFA members the ‘eyes in the sky’ to keep a close watch on fishing fleets in the region.
Members of the African delegation who are part of the Pacific-Global Zone-based Tuna Fisheries Management Knowledge Exchange program currently taking place at the FFA Conference Centre, pausing with the FFA Director General James Movick (centre), after the first yesterday’s first set of roundtable discussions and presentations
This was also something the West African group sees as another opportunity and positive learning area for not only them but so as the rest of the global fisheries bodies being represented at the summit.
“We are hoping to take back home the lessons learned and see how we can replicate them back home with the view of improving our management regime in West Africa.
“Back home, we are working on the same initiative, for instance, developing a regional registry and then also trying to put in place a Regional Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) to be able to monitor our waters properly.
“And we’ve been hearing good management and best practices from FFA and so we really want to come and have some of those experiences and their challenges and learn how those challenges are being dealt with.”
The FFA has been praised for its high standards and quality on how they have been managing and dealing with their members especially when it comes to using and managing their fisheries resources.
According to Turay, the FFA module has really pushed other fisheries agencies and commissions to step up their systems and this he said is evident with their West African Fisheries regime.
He said members of their sub-regional commission are now working to come together to cooperate and sustainably managing their resources and by participating in the learning exchange programme is vital for the intention to eventuate.
Other areas of discussion are based on assessing stocks and sustainability, securing market access and increasing local participation in the value-added onshore processing.
A centrepiece of the discussion will be the RoadMap for Sustainable Pacific Fisheries endorsed by Island leaders in 2015.
The West African Fisheries Commission is mandated by nine countries in that region, some of which have the biggest fishing industries in Africa.
These countries include Cabo Verde, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ghana Liberia and Gambia.
In February 2017, FFA was also invited to participate in a similar lessons learned programme by the West African Sub-regional Fisheries Commission, with what has been described as impressive presentations.
“FFA was well represented during our learning exchange programme.
“We were so impressed with the management regime (system) that they are implementing here in the Pacific and that is what gave us the confidence and drive to come and be part of this one,” Mr Turay expressed.
Meanwhile, the West African Regional M&E Specialist on behalf of their group acknowledged FFA as an institution for inviting them to be part of this south-south cooperation initiative.
The also thanked FFA and its partners for not only for inviting them but also for providing interpretation services, which has helped most non-English speaking participants learn and understand in-depth of what have been presented.
“That’s a very good consideration on their part and we thank FFA and SPC for that,” the excited representatives added.
FFA Director General James Movick and the program facilitator, welcoming and
giving an overview of the meeting and an overview of the agenda
By Gary Hatigeva
REPRESENTATIVES from the African and Indian Ocean who are currently here in Honiara for a learning exchange programme on the fisheries sector have acknowledged and praised the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) for continuously promoting and working on the improvement of the South-South Cooperation in the development aspect of the global fishing industry.
Based on collective response and individual interviews conducted, all have shared similar sentiments based on the positive impacts the skills and knowledge sharing initiative has for them, which comes as part of the learning exchange program currently taking place in Honiara.
This is just an ongoing fulfilment of the south-south cooperation and initiatives extracted especially from the FFA one is also very vital for most participants in the development of policies and frameworks for their nations, which would have positive impact on national agencies and regional fisheries as far as managing marine resources, particularly tuna resources in their respective countries is concerned.
They further acknowledged FFA for the opportunity with the vision to continue improving and promoting the South-South cooperation, which they felt has given them the chance to be part of what they also see will help their countries to sustainably manage our marine resources right around the world.
For many of the participating regions, similar set ups to the FFA have been worked with the establishment of regional registries and proper guidelines to properly manage the interactions between their people and their resources, and the benefits that will come with.
It is through this South-south Cooperation that participating members have also stepped up their monitoring systems and nations in the West African region have already began putting in place Regional VMS, which have now enabled them to monitor their waters properly, something they feel has also been working out very well for the Pacific Island Nations.
The South-south cooperation has so far bridged the gap in lack of capacities some of the Asian and African countries face while dealing with developmental problems by sharing interests in the fisheries industry and this initiative has had economic impacts on ordinary but vulnerable fishermen in nations across India and Africa.
A landowner in Malaita who reported the alleged corrupt practice by staff within the Ministry of Forest and Research (MFT) has thanked Permanent Secretary (PS) Dr Vaeno Vigulu for his clear media response.
The landowner acknowledged Vigulu especially for clarifying procedures; now it is clear to resource owners on how they can go about these issues.
However, the landowner insists that now that Vigulu is aware of the allegations, he should do something about it rather than releasing a mere media statement.
“I suggest when PS heard of such complaint, he should either dispose an internal investigation in his office or talk to his officers to stop the practice.
“Let me clarify here that this allegation is not only targeted at an individual but his ministry.
“The reason I say this is I knew lot of logging companies that they told me of this and even I had witnessed for myself.
“Maybe the PS is not aware of what is happening in his office, and with this allegation I urge him to do what he can to stop this practice,” the landowner said.
“It is more than enough for resource owners to continue to be denied by his office on their concern of related logging issues in the country.
“The reason is Mr PS’s staff keeps on asking money from logging companies in the country, so anything might infringe the logging companies raised by resource owner to MFR, the staff will turn them down.
“What we tend to know now is even procedures or whatever in place, they are only there to protect the interest of the government and its cronies and not the resource owners.
“This is the reason I’m talking and any resource owner can say the same thing,” the landowner said.
The landowner said what people expect from public servants to serve the interest of the public is no longer there.
“They only look at who has money to serve their interests,” he said.
Thus, the landowner encourages the PS and his staff to protect the interest of the citizens of the country.
A concerned man from Temotu province is calling on his people to think of the damage logging will do to their resources and future generations if they allow it to spread throughout Santa Cruz.
Outspoken Mr James Menai who hails from Nangu village in Santa Cruz voices that landowners should bear in mind that Santa Cruz is a small island and to allow the expansion of logging beyond Bekapoa district where it is currently operating would be a bad idea.
He stresses that if the above becomes reality, virgin forests will be damaged, marine and sea resources will be destructed and future generations will be heavily impacted.
On another note, with population on the island experiencing a rise, Mr Menai stated that this something their provincial government should address.
He adds that many form 5 drop outs don’t have financial means to continue their education hence to avoid them travelling to the capital to find ways to settle that issue the provincial government should work on initiating a cannery and mineral bottle water industry.
Referring to the latter, Mr Menai mentioned that for a project that has already passed through the ground breaking phase, what the provincial leaders should do is, meet with landowners , seek common grounds and work together to develop the project.
He strongly expressed that if such projects are delivered in Temotu province it will be a great source of employment, especially for school drop outs.
Mr Menai furthered that although logging contributes a lot to the economy, there are also side effects we should consider.
“So I’m calling on my people of Santa Cruz to fight hard to prevent logging from spreading throughout Santa Cruz”, he said.
Cr Tema with form six students inside the new computer lab
BY LYNTON AARON FILIA
Cr Tema with form six students inside the new computer lab
EDUCATION Authority of the Honiara City Council will prioritise the White River Community High School and Honiara High School with support in education this year, Ward Councillor Eric Tema said.
The assurance was made in Mr Tema’s speech during official launching of the White River Community High School’s new computer lab yesterday.
“If there is a way to support schools, the priority is, the HCC will look to White River Community High School and Honiara High School.
“I regard white river school is not just like any other school, White River and Honiara High become a senior secondary school of the HCC.”
Tema said over the years, three schools under HCC have made positive records in academic end year performance, and White River School is one of them – between 2015 and 2017.
He commended the School administration and team behind the computer lab initiative for such a milestone improvement for form six and seven students.
He said education is a powerful tool to anything in life and it is better students make use of the opportunities given especially infrastructure and facilities established to boost their academic aspirations.
“I know some student come from high class family and some are not but this a challenge for you students to face,” Tema said.
The education authority of the HCC has 12 secondary schools, 11 primary and 22 early childhood education schools.
A 10-year water problem has reached unprecedented critical levels in the Airahu rural vocational training centre in Malaita province.
Staff and students of the Anglican Church-owned school are calling for their authority to step in and address the problem immediately.
According to Airahu RTC School Principal Fr Eddie Ato, the issue of water shortage in the school has been ongoing for 10 years.
“It is a great need for the school and especially for our staffs and students of Airahu.
“At the moment we only survive on water tanks for drinking and cooking but it only lasts a few days.
“And only in use during the rainy season.
“We sometimes are faced with water shortages during dry seasons where we will fetch water outside of the school boundary. It has affected our students and staff where classes will also delayed and sometimes some students were not able to attend classes because of water problem.
“We call on the national government to see this issue and to address it especially for the welfare of our students.”
He said RTCs are one of the avenues that create opportunities especially for school dropouts in the rural communities.
“I believe that our government should consider and address the needs of RTC’s throughout the country for our unemployed youths and school drop outs that have no chance to further their education.”
Airahu RTC is owned by the Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACOM) and is one of the biggest RTCs in Malaita province.
SIOTA Provincial Secondary School’s (PSS) Administration is now under monitor by the Central Islands Province (CIP) Education Authority (EA) and Provincial Executive.
If the school’s Administration continues to be disturbed from operating properly then its student’s size will be reduced by doing away with junior Forms.
“Knowing very well that there are two community high schools near Siota PSS, we can leave them to concentrate with junior Forms while the Premier school of the province can concentrate on the senior level,” said the Premier of CIP recently meeting with the EA and new School Administration of Siota PSS.
“We are expecting the community around Siota PSS to help look after the school as the establishment there has been a benefit for them as well in many areas.”
WESTERN Provincial Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Mathias Lenialu has encouraged the public to assist police over illegal liquor outlets in Western Province.
With an increased number of illegal black market recorded in the province, police are monitoring the rise of illegal liquor outlets.
Lenialu said that public must comply with law and order under the liquor Act, and those who go against the law will be prosecuted.
“Western Province is a tourism hub and this practice must be stopped.
“Police will continue to monitor illegal black markets within the surrounding communities in Western Province.
“I would like to call on the general public to come forward to the police to report any suspect following this illegal markets outlets.”
Lenialu said police will continue to keep an eye on any black market outlets in Western province to minimise the number of criminal activities.
Meanwhile, Lenialu said Gizo traffic office will soon check on business licences of vehicles, taxis and those who are providing public transportation services around Gizo.
PPC police will carry out traffic check this week.
“Therefore, those of you who have not renewed your licenses are kindly ask to do this before the police check,” Lenialu said.
