BY BEN BILUA

POTHOLES have been seen on the recently improved road leading eastward to the Honiara City Council.

Two potholes are visible, one close to the Honiara City Council westward road and the other close to Victory Enterprise opposite the Honiara Central Market.

These potholes have been expanding over the past weeks demonstrating the urgent need to fix them before they grow any bigger.

When contacted yesterday, Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development Mr Jimmy Nuake the section where the two potholes were seen are not new pavement but rather old ones.

He explained that the section from HCC to Mission Place is vulnerable to damages such as potholes as the pavement is old.

“This section is not a new pavement.

“The only new pavements are the bus bay,” Nuake said.

He said the Ministry is currently procuring contractors to maintain the road section concerned as soon as possible.

Nuake said selection and appointment of the new contractor will be made in the next two weeks.

“Contractors to maintain this section of the road including the sealed road are now being procured.

“We hope to get contractors to begin maintenance fairly soon,” he said.

In the meantime, Nuake said MID will try and get a temporary fix to the road.

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By Mike Puia

A local business woman has urged the government to help rural copra farmers who have difficulty bringing their copra bags to Honiara for sell.

Diana Koelau, Managing Director of Jamcop – a local company that buys and exports copra to the Philippines, made this appeal in light of ships’ high freighting cost.

Jamcop, which is owned by Diana and her husband Walter, buys copra from producers at Pt Cruz wharves and store them in their shed awaiting export to the Philippines, either by arranged or chartered ship.

Diana said they want the government to help copra farmers by way of supporting the freighting costs they (farmers) foot every time.

“I am always in awe of the hard work and dedication each family has in making sure the coconut is collected, properly dried, carefully stored and ready to be shipped to Honiara to sell,” Diana said.

She said women are ones who suffer the most.

“I have seen firsthand the struggles faced by our rural women,” Diana said.

She said very often she hears complaints from women on the high cost of ship freight.

“One way the government can interfere and help is to subsidize the cost farmers paid to ships,” Diana said.

PROMINENT Honiara businessman and the President of the United Democratic Party (UDP) Sir Thomas Chan is calling on the national government to look into new ways Solomon Islands can develop its resources to grow the economy.

Speaking in an exclusive interview, he said national government must work together with development partners to bring into the country genuine investors to establish manufacturing industries.

“We need development partners to find overseas markets for us to manufacture and export our local produce because we have the best pineapple, banana, taro, we have everything we can produce to boost SI economy,” Chan adds.

“We are blessed with abundant of sea and land resources, we sit on a gold mine but we don’t know how to develop and look after it.

“Logging is depleting and the government need to look into other revenue earner for the country such as the agriculture sector, fishery and tourism.

“SI has good climate for agriculture compare to overseas countries that have different seasons of planting crops, in SI we have dry and wet season and we can produce so much and we need to learn from our development partners.

“We should blame ourselves of not willing to utilise our resources, therefore we need development partners to train us with knowledge and skills.

“Development partners are keen to help us but government need to open up land to attract them to come and establish economic developments here,” he said.

The current and future government need political will to pass the propose land reform.

“Having tough laws on land will draw investors to venture into big economic developments such as fish farming, prawn farming and cattle farming, this can happen if government leaders work together.

“I call on development partners to assist us, because they dubbed us, as aid dependency.

“However, we have proved them; that we have abundant of resources to stop dependent mentality.”

Over the years, SI was assisting in the natural disasters in mainland China, Taiwan, cyclone in Fiji and bush fire in Melbourne that totalled to millions of dollars.

Various business houses, international organisations, individuals and the national government send relief supplies to Western and Choiseul provinces after the deadly tsunami in 2007.

Consignment of goods sent to the tsunami victims in western province were comprised of food items and tools from Chinese shops in Honiara.

“This funds from Solomon Islanders, it shows we have heart and we can do something for our people,” he added.

“When the Diamond Jubilee SI raise SBD$1.5million, we sent it to Commonwealth through Queen Elizabeth, then Burking Ham palace rank us sixth out of 54 Commonwealth countries.

“Only sixth countries they give us rank for young leadership, avoidable blindness, so we are one of the best three in the pacific, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Samoa.

“Why they give us this because our country is small and we give so much to the Commonwealth, it shows that we can do it.

“Furthermore, when the tsunami hit the South East Asia we raise SBD$370,000, the sum of money was utilised to rebuild schools at Sri Lanka.

“I am optimistic to see this country become a model in the pacific and one of the richest in the world too.

“Solomon Islanders must take ownership of their resources because we must not allow others exploitation of our resources and left us with nothing.”

By ELLIOT DAWEA

FREELANCE JOURNALIST

BY JENNIFER KUSAPA

SUPERVISING Commissioner of Police Juanita Matanga says four females are among 27 officers who were promoted yesterday.

She said the four females received their promotion yesterday at the Rove Police Headquarters.

She said two females were promoted to the sergeant rank and other two were promoted to the senior sergeant rank; and for the male officers – others to sergeant ranks and others to senior sergeants.

Ms Matanga congratulates the officers on their promotion and looks forward to working together with them in implementing the plans of the RSIPF for this year.

She explained that sergeants and senior sergeants are the front line officers expected to lead and do most of the jobs expected by the force.

Matanga also said the force is looking forward for more officers promoted to implement and lead the force throughout Solomon Islands.

BY SAMIE WAIKORI

RSIPF Deputy Police Commissioner has confirmed their engagement with the Honiara City Council on the implementation of the bus reform.

Ms Junita Matanga said police is prepared to assist HCC on the programme.

She said the police’s traffic department is liaising with the council on the issue.

According to recent media report, HCC this week has given a grace period for all bus owners and drivers to settle in on the new reform.

As of next week, HCC will enforce the reform by putting on strict measures on buses with no destination signs and ones that breach the designated routes.