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Know your new Prime Minister

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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Solomon Islands’ newly elected Prime Minister and MP for Small Malaita, Hon Rick Houenipwela. Photo by George Herming

By Alfred Sasako

FORMER Governor of the Central Bank of Solomon Islands, Rick Houenipwela, was yesterday voted in as the nation’s 17th Prime Minister in a race which kept pundits guessing until the result was announced.

His election was greeted with mixed reactions by businesses and others.

One offshore businessman said Mr Houenipwela is a World Bank boy and unless he is careful, he could ruin the nation’s economy in the same way former New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, had done to the New Zealand economy.

The 59-year-old Houenipwela who represents Small Malaita in Parliament since 2010 polled 33 in the vote yesterday morning.

His only opponent, Central Honiara MP, Hon Dr John Moffat Fugui polled 16.

There was one spoilt vote, according to Parliament.

The wives of both men are said to be related.

There were predictions prior to the result being announced that support for Mr Houenipwela could be as high as 36 MPs.

“In fact, the government side should have had 34 votes but one MP put a tick outside the box provided in the secret ballot paper.

It was decided that one vote was considered spoilt,” Clerk to Parliament, Clezy Rore told Island Sun after the result was declared.

The Prime Minister elect who has a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting was due to be sworn yesterday afternoon.

He also has in his quiver a Diploma of Commerce as well as a Graduate Diploma in Development Administration.

Mr Houenipwela has a colourful background, having successfully contested the Small Malaita seat in 2010.

He took up the Ministry of Finance and Treasury on November 21, 2011, a portfolio he held until September 8, 2014.

Prior to that, he held the Public Service portfolio from April 18, 2011 to November 10 of the same year.

The former Governor of the Central Bank also held Parliamentary Committee Appointments as a Member of the Public Accounts Committee from September 10, 2010 to April 18, 2011.

He was also a Member of the Bills and Legislation Committee between September 2010 and April 2011.

Prime Minister Houenipwela hails from Riverside Village of Small Malaita.

He is a strong adherent of the South Sea Evangelical Church (SSEC).

Prior to entering Parliament in 2010, Houenipwela was a Senior Advisor, Executive Director of the World Bank based in Washington DC.

Interestingly, there was no mention of his engagement as former Governor of the CBSI, a position held twice prior to joining the World Bank in early 2010.

COP23 drafts a strategy with WHO to protect health in small islands developing states

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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DEAR Editor,

“Radio New Zealand International (RNZI) this evening, 13 November 2017, released a news bulletin which said (quote).

“The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN Climate Change secretariat have drafted a strategy at the COP23 meeting in Bonn, Germany in partnership with Fiji who proposed the plan.

“Fiji’s Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, is the COP23 president, and said Fijians were well aware climate change posed a serious threat to health.

“He said the plan would equip Small Island Developing States (SIDS) with knowledge, resources and technology to increase the resilience of their healthcare.

“The plan aims to climate-proof health systems, collect evidence for investment and triple international financial support.

“Currently, less than 1.5 per cent of international finance for climate change adaptation is allocated to health projects.

“The WHO said people living in SIDS were on the frontline of extreme weather events, rising sea levels and increased risk of infectious diseases.

“It said larger nations must to do everything they could to help SIDS prepare for the future that is already washing up on their shores.”

Yours sincerely

Frank Short

Hou voted in as Solomon Islands’ new Prime Minister

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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Acting Governor General Hon Ajilon Nasiu announces Hon Rick Hou as the new Prime Minister of Solomon Islands after the election this morning at the national parliament house in Honiara.

HONOURABLE Rick Hou was voted in as the new Prime Minister-elect during this morning’s election at the National Parliament House in Honiara.

The Member of Parliament for Small Malaita polled in a total of 33 votes ahead of rival and Member of Parliament for Central Honiara Hon John Moffat Fugui who collected 16 votes.

The election was presided over by the Acting Governor General and Speaker to National Parliament, Hon Ajilon nasiu.

During the voting process, one ballot was spoilt and could not be counted.

Delivering his maiden speech upon the announcement of his victory by Hon. Nasiu, Hon Hou said his immediate task is to try and address the challenging road ahead.

“…the road ahead is challenging, I am fully aware of the enormity of the task before us. I am also conscious of the limited time we have on hand. Indeed there are questions as to what my Government plans to achieve in this very short time.

“My good people, I can assure you that my new administration will quickly put in place a strategy that entails a set of priorities that are deemed achievable in the short period.

“The strategy is to continue with the projects and programs of the previous DCCG with increase level of policy implementation aimed to stabilize the fiscal situation, strengthen budget implementation and ensure we achieve tangible results in the short term,” Hon Hou said.

The new Prime Minister-elect is expected to be sworn-in at the Government House this afternoon to replace caretaker Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare who was ousted in a Motion of No-Confidence last Monday.

Hou is expected to name his new cabinet line-up in the coming days.

Didds makes Solomon Islands proud in USA

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0
2017 Fish 2.0 Competition winners

THREE Pacific Island sustainable seafood businesses were among 40 finalist from across the globe that pitched to investors at the Fish 2.0 Innovation Forum at Stanford University, in Palo Alto, CA, USA.

Representing the Pacific Islands were Didds Fishing Company, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu’s Shepherd Islands Organic Seafood and Indigo Seafood Palau.

The room erupted when Toata Molea, Didds Fishing Company was announced as the winner of the Pacific track of the competition. Molea was ecstatic about being named a winner.

“I still can’t believe it, I’m so happy, all the pitches were of such a high standard, I feel very honoured to have won the Pacific Track.

“I want to thank my family and the Didao fishing team and the Pacific team. I’m also thankful to Chad Morris, PTI Australia for initiating and putting together the preparatory workshop to ensure we could make the most of the opportunity and the support and feedback received from, Tony Sullivan, FFA and Jenny Wright, USA State Department and Leigh Moran, Calvert Foundation.

“To pitch in English in front of such an esteemed crowed was daunting, it really helped to have the support of the Pacific team behind me. The entire competition has been an amazing experience, I’ve learnt so much.

“The prize money will enable us to increase our fleet providing more employment opportunities for the Makwanu community.”

Chad Morris, General Manager, Investment and Tourism, Pacific Trade Invest Australia travelled to Palo Alto to support the Pacific finalists and help them prepare their pitches.

“The ocean and fisheries is crucial to the economic livelihood and food security in the Pacific Islands, it’s vital that we continue to develop and promote sustainable fishing enterprises, this is why PTI Australia became a sponsor of Fish 2.0 as it’s a great platform that not only brings Pacific fishing enterprises together but also nurtures and exposes them to an investment market they may otherwise have never encountered.

“There’s some amazing sustainable approaches to fishing that’s being developed in the Pacific, you just need to listen to the pitches from Toata Molea, Didao Fishing Company, Obed Matariki, Shepherd Islands Organic Seafood and James Sanderson, Indigo Seafood to hear how they are making an impact not only in the ocean but also assisting the communities of where they operate.

“Each of the Pacific enterprises did an amazing job pitching, they did the Pacific proud and too see how far they have come both as individuals and clarity in their business from when they started the competition is immense. To have made it to the stage at Stanford University and to pitch to a room full of investors is a huge and they should be proud of this achievement.”

Busufoosae community wants explanation

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

BY LORETTA BRIGIDIA MANELE

A concerned citizen is calling on the Malaita Provincial government to clear the air regarding the case of two community projects in Busufoosae, Central Kwara’ae.

Speaking on behalf of Busufoosae community, the man who prefers to be anonymous expressed that since the two projects, Busufoosae Primary School staff house and Sakafao Gwaio Siubongi Jacob’s ladder took off in May, they have not been completed.

While mentioning that the two projects were planned to reach final stages in a 3 and 5 months timeframe respectively, he also said that workers’ were not paid on time, the transaction of materials was slow and by August staff house builders had totally stopped working.

The man mentioned that from the above set of events, the community has concluded that the contractor for the two projects was not capable of handling the projects.

In regards to the school staff house project, he said that other schools under the same funding project have already witnessed their official opening and hand over ceremonies in their respective communities.

The concerned man on behalf of the community is strongly calling on the provincial government to give an explanation of why the two projects have ceased to progress and reach the completion phase as expected.

Aipia and Hagberg’s case back in court today

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

BY JENNIFER KUSAPA

THE case against Dr Reginald Aipia and his American business consultant will be mentioned again at the Honiara Magistrate Court before Principal Magistrate Ricky Iomea today.

In the last appearance, the court rejected the applications for the dismissal of charges against medical practitioner and entrepreneur Dr Reginald Aipia and his American business consultant Eric W Hagberg.

Principal Magistrate Ricky Iomea said the Magistrates Court has no power under the law in a criminal proceeding to discharge a person accused of committal criminal offence at the pre-trial stage.

The matter then adjourned to today for mention.

Aipia is facing charges of engaging in commercial aquaculture without valid licence and prohibition of catches and retains of beche-de-mer.

Hagberg is facing a charge of engaging in commercial aquaculture without valid licence.

The prosecution alleged that the two have been involving in an illegal beche-der-mer farming at the Ontong Java atolls, Malaita Outer Islands.

This is in relation to the activities done in July and August this year at Luaniua Island.

The activities done were allegedly breaching the Fisheries ACT and regulations and an investigation was carried out by Fisheries and Police which resulted to the charging of the two accused.

The office of the Director Public Prosecution is prosecuting the case in court.

Key issues affecting Manaoba Airport project revealed

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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Manaoba Airport

BY BEN BILUA

THE Office of the Auditor General has uncovered issues that affected the implementation of the Manaoba Airport Project after having gone through all available documents related to the project.

Key results on the investigation indicated that the Ministry of Communication and Aviation (MCA) administration and management’s procurement practices did not comply with the requirements of the relevant Acts, Regulations and procurement manual.

Issues of non-compliance indicated that MCA failed to formulate a procurement plan and annual budget bid for the Manaoba Airport project.

There was also lack of consultation on the project with relevant stakeholders and this led to in-appropriate procurement methods used to procure goods and services during project implementation.

Sourcing of procurement also failed to comply with the PCAM, and contracts were not advertised or tendered to the open market – as such tender bid documents were not evaluated by the Tender Evaluation Committee (TEC).

It was found that source documents were not made available for audit and that it was not possible to verify the appropriateness of the payments made to the suppliers and contractors.

Finding on procurement audited alleged that the amount of $62 million spent on the Manaoba Airport project was hard to verify by the auditors due to lots of limitations.

Limitations include; lack of Annual Procurement   Planning led to the in-efficient usage of funds by the ministry, lack of Procurement Plan for large and complex projects like Manaoba airport, there was no feasibility study carried out prior to construction of Manaoba airport, land ownership issue was not resolved prior to construction of airport.

The investigation further found that there was lack of separate annual budget for Manaoba Airport project and no detailed budget that itemise the type of expenditure or costs that would be allowed to be met by the ministry during the procurement process.

Adding, there was lack of procurement source documentations to support the appropriateness of the payments, lack of transparency and accountability on the payments raised, in-complete project activities and non-performing contracts, payments processed were not genuine and the inherent presence of conflict of interest was obvious and it was draining off huge amount of money to related parties, cronies and relatives that undermined established procurement procedures due to lack of separate annual budget for Manaoba Airport project.

Auditor General Office states that an amount of $26,394,506.80 have been spent on Manaoba airport project despite the limitation of resources encountered audit was able to identify.

The report says that the amount could be higher given the circumstances mentioned above.

In its recommendation, the auditor general’s office emphasised the need improve compliance with relevant regulations and Acts as well as deficiencies in compliance, internal control measures, procurement practices and other areas where improvements in management were needed.

The audit of Manaoba Airport project was conducted following a request from MCA’s Permanent Secretary (PS) to carry out a special audit due to allegations raised concerning the $62 million as amount spent for the project.

The Civil Aviation Act 2008 provides for the ministry to build and construct new airports and its maintenance for both international and provincial airports.

The Manaoba Airport Project was one of these newly constructed airports that went through the ministry’s procurement process.

The main objective for developing the airport was to assist the population in that area in providing transport for them and furthermore to boost the economy for the province through tourism and other business activities.

Immediate problem to be fixed is country’s cash flow: Hou

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

BY CAROL-ANNE SULEGA

HONOURABLE Rick Hou says the country’s immediate challenge that needs fixing as soon as a new Government comes into place is its cash flow problems.

Hou made the statement in an exclusive interview with Island Sun yesterday when queried on what his group will be immediately focused to fixed should it come into power.

Hou is the Heritage Park Hotel group’s candidate for the Prime Minister post.

The election of the Prime Minister is set to commence tomorrow in a secret ballot.

According to Hou, the challenge the nation is facing is the bleeding of the economy and should he be elected the next Prime Minister, his Government will be immediately focused to remedy the situation and improve revenue collection.

He then added that there is a big budget deficit and that he aims to bring that down should his group come into Government.

He then sadly admitted that donor support has also been as issue as they have been left on the side by the former Minister of Finance and Treasury.

Hou then added that he will make sure donor support remains fluid and donors are never sidelined.

“The Government’s budget is as good as nothing and what the next Government wants is nothing but to stabilize Government finances and cash flow,” Hou said.

3 arrested in Henderson fracas

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

BY SAMIE WAIKORI

THREE men from the Reef Islands were arrested by Henderson police over the weekend following clashes between people of the weathercoast of Guadalcanal and Reef Islands settlers.

The fight broke out at the Henderson market, and is reported to be related to land issues.

Guadalcanal Provincial Police Commander, Mr Nixson Manetoga said of the four arrests, three were for alleged rock throwing during the fracas while the fourth was for another case.

Manetoga said the trio are currently in police custody and still under police investigation for their unlawful actions.

The commander said fortunately people fled the scene when the commotion began, leading to nobody being injured with only minor damages to houses and properties.

Manetoga also reported that they also received no report of injuries from both parties involved in the fight.

He said police are doing their investigation and hopes to work together both parties to ease their disagreements.

Manetoga assured that the law is always there and everybody should be discouraged from taking the law into their own hands when faced with such situations.

15 but not three

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare

BY ALFRED SASAKO

 

A few more details has emerged about Sunday’s reconciliation between caretaker Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and the MPs who deserted him and the DCC camp earlier this month.

The walkout resulted in a successful no confidence motion against Mr Sogavare on Monday November 6, 2017.

The Opposition group won the vote 27-23. The victory was however short-lived after the Democratic Alliance Party (DAP) staged a walkout over portfolio allocations the next day and joined the government side, boosting its number to 30.

Four days on, there was a new twist.

Initial reports said a reconciliation between all UDP Members and Sogavare took place at lunchtime on Sunday. It later emerged that it was not an all UDP affairs.

Instead, it was the 15 MPs who initially deserted Sogavare and the DCC camp that came to say sorry to a man who was once their leader.

Unconfirmed reports yesterday suggested that only three MPs were requested not to attend the reconciliation.

The reconciliation prompted the DAP to demand an explanation from Mr Sogavare on what it all meant for the DAP-DCC alliance.

“The caretaker Prime Minister simply told DAP members that the reconciliation was a personal thing between him and those who deserted him. As for the election of a new prime minister, the political process will be allowed to take its course,” caretaker prime minister reportedly told DAP members.

As for numbers, the two camps are not discussing it, except for claims and counterclaims of having the number to win next Wednesday’s claim.

Meanwhile outgoing Prime Minister Sogavare farewelled staff members of the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (OPMC) at what was described was a fellowship dinner. He called on officials to render equal support to his successor.

The Sogavare family hosted the dinner at their family residence at Lungga. Loyal MPs including caretaker ministers attended the do.

Sogavare thanked the staff for their services during the last three years, saying he has enjoyed all the support provided to him as Prime Minister of Solomon Islands and as the leader of the Democratic Coalition for Change Government (DCCG).

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