CHIEFS and community elders of Ghove communities at Tangarare in west Guadalcanal have appealed to users of Ghove River to be alert and take extra caution when crossing and travelling along the river.

The plea comes after people of Ghove River reports of an enormous crocodile being spotted in the river.

Speaking on behalf of the community elders while alerting the people last week after a Sunday service, Mr Anthony Matelaomao said it is dangerous to cross and use the river for fishing and even travel by wooden canoe during the day and night.

He said the active movement of the crocodile began after an incident occurred early this year at Ghove River when the killer silently grabbed and killed a 26-year-old male while swimming in the river.

He adds last week, people reported that they spotted the crocodile four to five times each day in different locations, and it was risky for animals and people to use roads close to the river bank or to travel by canoe.

He therefore appealed to the responsible authority to quickly respond to the call of their communities regarding the killer reptile.

BY CAMILLUS KOLE

BY BARNABAS MANEBONA

THE Solomon Airlines Airbus A320 aircraft has been scheduled for a maintenance check in Singapore called the “C-check”.

Mr Colin Sigimanu, Manager Commercial for Solomon Airlines Ltd said that the A320 down time for this maintenance period is 4 weeks so they have secured the services of Nauru Airlines to continue with their schedules.

“All Solomon Airlines International services will continue as normal so all our Commercial passengers will still be serviced as per the published schedule,” said Sigimanu.

According to the Manager Commercial, Nauru Airlines aircraft will commence flying for Solomon Airlines today.

Solomon Airlines explains that the scheduled maintenance check has been well planned in advance.

BY GEORGE MANFORD

AUKI

AUKI Community High School (ACHS) this year has a new school principal after posting of teachers was carried out last week.

Timmy Afia, 37, was appointed by the Ministry of education as the new principal for ACHS for 2018.

In an interview with Island Sun in Auki the new ACHS school principal confirmed that he took office on February 12, this year.

He said, from general observation, first he would like to create a school culture where the school needs to step up in its academic performances. Something which has been lacking for a long time.

A lot of students are transferred due to disciplinary reasons and some from teacher’s absenteeism.

“I wish and pray that under my new administration I will first strengthen discipline for both students’ and teachers.”

He said, another thing is to upgrade the school academic performance and most importantly pursue Form 6 in the near future.

“My biggest challenge for this school is the infrastructure in terms of preparation for Form 6. I would like to see that ACHS is a place where students first think of in the morning as they come to school,” he said.

Timmy Afia has a Bachelor in professional studies in education from UPNG and has spent 14 years in teaching service.

He is also a former Deputy Principal at ACHS from 2009-2012, Deputy Principal at Gwaidingale community high school in west Kwaio in 2013.

A former Principal at Laulana CHS from 2014-2015 and in 2016 to 2017 he was the head tutor at Aligegeo provincial secondary school.

BY LORETTA BRIGIDIA MANELE

MALAITA province will soon see change in its dolphin culture.

This was expressed by Mr Michael Tolingikirio, the secretary of Kiriom Solomon who said that a concept paper based on transforming the dolphin culture in North Malaita is currently being worked on.

Tolingikirio said that in 2015, he had a meeting with government officials and representatives of foreign offices regarding the idea and components of the concept paper.

He adds that a pilot project is currently underway in one of the areas in North Malaita with another soon to occur at a later date.

The secretary also mentioned that the task has not been easy given that a few challenges have crept in along the way, however, persistent with their plan, they are still moving forward to fulfill the initiative.

Cultural wise, he spoke of how dolphin culture was practiced in North Malaita during the early days.

Tolingikirio explains that there were around eight slaughtering beach or pools where dolphins were done away with for power, peace and glory of the land.

He added that the popular dolphin headband, crafted with a thousand dolphin teeth, during that time was only worn by the high chiefs.

In regards to the former, Tolingikirio said that the tradition is dying out with only a few number of people still practising it today.

BY LORETTA BRIGIDIA MANELE

A first of its kind dolphin festival is being planned for Malaita province, it is reported.

Kiriom Solomon’s secretary, Mr Michael Tolingikirio said, “If you haven’t swam with dolphins before, you might just have the chance when Malaita province hosts its Kiriom or Dolphin Festival in the near future.”

He said while they are still working on this plan, the intention is to host it annually.

Tolingikirio said that one of the planned highlights is to bring in a number of wild dolphins near the coastal area, culturally tame them for then hours and then allow people to either touch or swim with them before releasing them back to the ocean.

He added that the other aspect they are thinking of includes inland pools that will be pumped with fresh water and then occupied with dolphins for women, men and children in the village to interact or enjoy a swim with the dolphins.

On another note, the secretary said that this is also part of their group’s aim to promote dolphins in our tourism sector and mentioned that should the government wish to advance this idea then assistance should be provided.

“If the government wants to move forward with this initiative on another level then they should provide assistance in terms of specialists, professional trainers and facilities,” he said.

By Mike Puia

THE number of local ships brought into the country has seen a 50 percent increase in four years, from 2013 to 2017.

In 2013, the number of ships was 196 with a total of 52,865.18 gross tonnes. But in 2017, the number of ships has grown to 280, with a total of 100,438.50 gross tonnes.

Many of the ships brought during this period are obtained using the shipping grant; this is grant administered by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development.

During this four-year period, it is reported that the shipping grant has increased from SBD$9 million in 2013 to SBD$85 million in 2017.

The Solomon Islands Maritime Safety Administration (SIMSA) said the increase has resulted in over-tonnage on some routes.

During a presentation at a recent seafarers’ workshop in Honiara, SIMSA’s director, Capt Tim Harris said ships brought using the shipping grant has also created unfair competition especially on private sector ships that are purchased on loans.

Harris said SIMSA is concern as this defeats the object of privatizing the inter-island shipping service.

He said they are also concern as getting ships using this grant creates a culture where constituencies expect cheap subsidised shipping cost.

Meanwhile, Harris encouraged those who want to bring in ships from overseas to involve SIMSA in the selection of ships.

He said getting the right ship is important. From experience, SIMSA is always sidelined in the selection of ships that are brought into the country.

Harris said SIMSA can help recommend the best boat that is good and has the capability to do the job saying, there are boats that are only designed for short run, be to cross a river, which is not suitable here.

BY BARNABAS MANEBONA

FORMER Premier of Choiseul Province Clement P Kengava requests Telekom Television (TTV) to set up TV coverage at Taro Station for this coming football World Cup in June.

“I ask Solomon Telekom to bring television coverage to Choiseul as the World Cup is ready to be staged in Russia.

“Not only for the World Cup purpose but having TV coverage would be useful for many purposes as well in the province,” said Mr Kengava.

“Solomon Power is providing 24 hours electricity supply at Taro and its residents are ready to have TV screens if Telekom can provide a television service.”

By Mike Puia

SASAMUNGA hospital in Choiseul Province is currently without a doctor.

This is according to Rev. Caleb Kotali, the Hospital secretary.

The hospital, also known as PJ Twomey Memorial Hospital, is owned by the United Church.

Kotali has started an appeal to raise money to build an accommodation to house a doctor who is posted to the hospital.

“Currently, cases brought to this hospital are referred to Taro (Choiseul’s provincial centre) hospital or Gizo (Western provincial centre) hospital”.

According to Kotali referring cases to Taro or Gizo hospital is costly and unsafe for nurses and patients.

He said there have been recent cases where people went had drowned and died in the sea between Choiseul and Western provinces while attempting to access these health facilities.

Sasamunga hospital, which was recently refurbished, has 30 beds.

It offered services like; x-ray, scan, pharmacy, dental and primary health care.

Provincial Doctors at Taro hospital usually pay visits to the hospital to see patients there.

By Mike Puia

THE Solomon Islands Maritime Safety Administration (SIMSA) has welcomed the support offered by Belgium to boost the industry.

The government of Belgium has offered a programme that would help seafarers undergo training and gain experience overseas through attachment.

Representatives of the government of Belgium, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and our United Nations Ambassador in Geneva and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development signed the memorandum of understanding for this programme.

This paper has not sighted details of this program but according to SIMSA’s director Captain Tim Harris, it is a “complex programme”.

Mr Harris said the programme will enable seafarers to go on trainings and do attachments in Papua New Guinea, Australia and even the United Kingdom.

He said it was IMO that flagged the need for support to our maritime in 2016 and Belgium willingly stepped-in.

Harris said the understanding signed will help SIMSA improve safety and security in the industry.

End///

BY LORETTA BRIGIDIA MANELE

A concerned Temotuan is calling on their provincial government to preserve crown land in Santa Cruz for landowners and prohibit an Asian logging company currently operating in one of the districts from entering the area.

An outspoken Mr James Menai of Nangu Village, Santa Cruz stresses that the land which is covered with virgin trees belongs to landowners thus, something their provincial leaders should consider.

Henceforth, he said the provincial government should communicate with landowners with regards to development endeavors that can take place in the future.

Menai also stated that because the land is covered with virgin forests, another positive way of utilising it is to allow students who are majoring in Forestry and Agriculture studies to conduct their research there.

“So I strongly call on the Premier and his executive not to allow the crown land to be accessed by the company. It should be preserved for the landowners for future development purposes,” he said.