THE closed Perch Christian School has taken its issue to the doorsteps of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Director of the school Ms Lydia Yeo has written to Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, copied to the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Education, Minster for Infrastructure Development, HCC Mayor and his Clerk on her stand on the issue pleading the nation’s leader to step in and help resolve the mess.
Perch Christian School in East Honiara was closed due to continued threat by the Honiara City Council (HCC) on the school authority.
Ms Lydia said yesterday, “Closure of Perch Community High School is in response to HCC threat to demolish the school infrastructure.”
She told Island Sun that yesterday was the last day of HCC’s seven-day notice, thus the school has obliged with its closure.
She vows to fight to the end because she views this as injustice to the children.
Her letter reads, “The Perch Education Authority resolves during its recent meeting to close down the school from its normal activities due to continues threat from HCC and others who conflicts of interest in the said location of the school.
“On 7th September 2017, HCC issued a seven day’s notice, threatening to demolish the school fence, library building and other school structures within the compound.
“These threats are very serious in nature and we wish to condemn these in the strongest terms.
“We have been providing quality education for thousands of students for the last seventeen years.
“These threats are aimed at disrupting the activities causing safety risks to our students, teachers and working staff.
“This is unacceptable, and borders on insanity of the HCC whose citizens will be adversely affects by such an action.
“We are appealing to you Honorable Prime Minister to provide appropriate support to ensure our school is free from these threats.
“Despite several calls to the Ministry of Education to support us in our difficulties it seems that they have not provided the environment conducive for us to negotiate and work amicably.”
She assures students, parents, guardians and supporters that “the school has temporary closed its door indefinitely and will be opened when these threats are address”.
Ms Yeo said yesterday that her only plea to responsible authorities is to work amicably on the issue and find a better solution to solve the issue.
She said the school benefits the country and disrupting it is not the answer to the issue.
HONIARA residents are imploring the Honiara City Council (HCC) to reconsider its decision to close down the Perch Christian School in East Honiara.
One such concerned citizen, Mr Jones Baea, tells Island Sun that the children are in the frontline of the issue and are suffering, whether HCC realises it or not.
He furthers, the closure directly abuses the rights of the students, and the longer it is allowed to linger, the abuse likewise continues.
The teachers and auxiliary staff along with their families are also affected since they are out of jobs.
Parents and guardians who have struggled to put their children their will also have their hard work gone to waste.
Mr Baea elaborates that the school also plays a key role in the country’s future and development, since it is training a good number of future leaders, who will no doubt be traumatised by the incident.
He pleads HCC to consider these implications and review its stand on the school’s closure.
WANTOK System (or nepotism) has invaded the government system and is identified as a major influential driver of poor services.
Solomon Islands Public Service Satisfaction Survey Report, which was launched in 2016 and brought to light again during the Government Ministry leaders forum yesterday, shows wantok system topping the graph on issues affecting service delivery.
Respondents to the survey highlighted, among other things, the following as key impediments to better service delivery: wantok system (94 percent), acceptance of bribe/imposing of a commission (92 percent), lack of accountability (90 percent), lack of leadership (89 percent), and lack of strategic forethought and planning (90 percent).
The report says these lead to weak governance and leadership, ineffective organisations and business processes, weak communications process, staff lacking required competency, delays in service provision, bad staff work ethics, poor customer service, inadequate or mismatch of resources relative to service demands, lack of infrastructure, poor quality service and the negative effects of our wantok systems.
The Public Service Commission survey report – Solomon Islands Public Service Satisfaction Survey also identified a number of issues that suggest ministries and agencies may not be well positioned to be responsive to the needs of the people in the country.
The report can be substantiated by the findings of the PSC survey report 2016 as well as reports especially those series RAMSI people survey reports.
Responding to the survey, the Democratic Coalition for Change Government (DCCG) instructed policy secretaries to undertake major review of all ministries with the objective of establishing relevance in terms of their effectiveness in pursuing national development objectives and in the setting of the country.
In 2016 the Cabinet granted its approval that ministries, in collaboration with MPs, must undertake functional reviews, this is basically to ascertain their effectiveness in the implementation of the DCCG policy.
At the moment the government is pushing to review, restructure and reorganise the public service to ensure effective and efficient service delivery of goods and services.
Evidence of the critical issue have been displayed during the two-day Government Ministry Leaders forum which ends yesterday.
At the political level, the DCCG government realised that inefficiency in public service delivery is a recurring issue that must be addressed.
This instruction could mean that SIG ministries and agencies, as they are currently structured and organised, are becoming irrelevant to meet the needs and demands of our citizens in the 21st century.
Solomon Island Government (SIG) machinery constitute a total of 23 ministries coordinated under the OPMC, six agencies with a total workforce of 7942 to implement Government policy and touch lives of our people.
THE petition signing against the withdrawal of the Anti-Corruption Bill which started on Sept 8, 2017 remains on a strong hold as signing continued yesterday.
The campaign’s leading figure, Dr Huddie Namo said the petition signing coordinated by the civil society organisation is to remind the government that the people of this country are calling for the return of the bill.
In addition, he says they will not stop and will continue with their work in advocacy and education until the bill makes its way back into parliament.
“Still, we want to be proactive, at least present the petition to the PM to show people’s wish for DCCG to bring back the bill.”
On another note, Mr Namo explained that if the government brings back the Bill in October then the move will be very much appreciated.
“If DCCG, the government of the day, brings back the bill in October then that’s fantastic.
Duff Islands Taumako tribes members and Fara’ngaw tribe members prepare the Traditional Bamboo raft vessel for sailing trials offshore of Mamula Beach in Taitung, Taiwan
Duff Islands Taumako tribes members and Fara’ngaw tribe members prepare the Traditional Bamboo raft vessel for sailing trials offshore of Mamula Beach in Taitung, Taiwan
A group of five Duff Islanders of Temotu Province have recreated history by successfully linking their canoe making and sailing traditional knowledge, technology and skills with Fara’ngaw Tribal Nations of Amis ethnic group in Taitung County of Taiwan.
Led by Dr Simon Salopuka and Hon Stanley Tehiahua, Member of Provincial Assembly for Ward 13 in Temotu Province, the group includes Ambrose Miki, Captain of Tepuke the traditional sail canoe of Duff Islands, Joselyn Tatara Laua a weaving specialists, and Harry Vanosi a young Vaka Canoe designer/builder and sailor.
The sailing cultural project is part of studies undertaken by Professor Jesse Chiunghsi Liu, CEO of Foundation of Ocean Taiwan, about the Austronesian cultural group migration and peopling of Pacific Islands by tribesmen.
Studies have shown many archeological, linguistic, anthropological evidences, and DNA patterns of human, animals and plants suggest Taiwan was the original source from which the Austronesian peoples set off to settle the vast Pacific Ocean west of Taiwan, and the Indian Ocean south-east of Taiwan.
How did they voyage to settle in islands of Pacific and Indian Ocean, successfully navigating the vast oceans and also reached northern Philippine, Boneo, Malaysia, and Vietnam carrying with them the famous Taiwan jade jewelry, about 4,000 years ago?
The bamboo raft vessel sail built using Taumako tribes materials and Fara’ngaw tribes sail design.
Professor Liu believes the bamboo sailing boat was the common navigating vessel at that time, because this type of boat constructed with bamboo and powered by the quadrilateral sail were popular in Taiwan, Vietnam and Philippine islands before War World II.
Indigenous Taiwanese tribes lost the bamboo sailing boat culture several hundred years ago. It was their strong desire to restore the culture and sail again, that the Foundation of Ocean Taiwan invited the Taumako Vaka Valo culture group of Duff Islands in Temotu Province, Solomon Islands to Taiwan in August this year.
With the assistance of Raranges Hoki Na Tungaw, the Administrative Chief of Fara`ngaw nation the Taumako group joined forces with master bamboo canoe builder of the Fara’ngaw tribe nation to reconstruct the traditional sailing vessel. The work started on August 19 and was successfully completed before the group departed Taiwan on September 8.
The materials for the sail was brought in from Duff Islands, while the sail design was that typically used by the Fara`ngaw builders themselves.
The two groups then worked together to stitch the sail over hours of thoughtful calculation, meditation and discussion.
A ceremonial launching of the vessel and sail was held on August 31 presided over by elders of the Fara’ngaw tribe, and witnessed by officials from the Taitung County Administration officials, officials and student representatives from the National Taitung University Community College for Austronesian Culture, and members of the public.
Solomon Islands Ambassador to ROC Taiwan His Excellency Joseph Waleanisia represented the Solomon Islands government.
A crew which included two members each from Taumako and Fara’ngaw tribes then took the vessel on several trial sailing sessions in an artificial lake in Taitung.
Members of Taumako Vaka group pose with Professor Liu (back third from left), HE Ambassador Waleanisia (back row second from right), Mrs Lichai Lin, President of Foundation of Ocean Taiwan (third from right in front row), and two Officials from Taitung Community College of Austronesian Culture Studies.
Following the trial sessions in the lake, and under the testimony of Mrs. Lichai Lin, President of Foundation of Ocean Taiwan, the group successfully sailed the bamboo along Mamula beach during the noon time of September 5.
Two more trips were made the following day, before the group agreed that the sail worked brilliantly in powering the bamboo vessel in the open sea.
This was the first successful voyage since Taitung Austronesian Community College restored the Fara’ngaw sailing boat in 2014.
Earlier the Fangarau tribe had built a similar vessel in 2007 and invited traditional sail designer and canoe builder from South Africa.
The latter tribesmen traditionally built and used similar sails in the past and the expectation was the African would help restore the traditional sail piece to sail the bamboo vessel in the open sea.
The sail designed and built by the South African however failed the initial test to sail the vessel. The vessel capsized when they tried to sail the vessel in the artificial lake in Taitung County, and so the project was immediately abandoned.
This project is truly a historic achievement, according to Dr Salopuka and Professor Liu. It symbolize the successful blending together of traditional canoe building skills, knowledge and technology of Solomon Islands Taumako cultural nation, and Fara’ngaw tribal nation.
It was not only a marvelous outcome but one that is truly historical and goes to prove how people-to-people diplomacy conducted in the form of cultural interchange of cultural knowledge and skills promotes a peoples; identity and integrity and therefore bring countries and people closer together in the common pursuit of mutual respect, peace, unity and prosperity.
PUBLIC have been urged to mobilise and have their voices heard on matters of national interest.
Member of parliament for West Makira Hon Derrick Manu’ari, signing the petition to have government return the anti-corruption bill to parliament yesterday, said that we must not be complacent with what government promises since it has proven to be inconsistent in living up to them.
The ongoing petition signing against the withdrawal of the Anti-Corruption Bill commenced yesterday.
Manu’ari said while he supports the petition he also encourages citizens to mobilise and have their voices heard on things of national interest.
He added that a lot of MPs especially those from the opposition and independent group are in support of people who are in the fight against corruption.
Speaking on the government’s statement about the return of the bill, he said that there is no guarantee that such will take place because the government has been inconsistent in what they have said and done.
In addition, Manu’ari stressed that the biggest loop in this anti-corruption bill scenario is the government raising the hopes of people, making them think that the bill would be passed in parliament only for it to be withdrawn instead.
Moreover, he said that the Prime Minister’s statement on members of the opposition group filling in the ears of his ministers about what would happen regarding the bill is misleading.
In this regard, Hon Manu’ari alluded that government ministers are capable of reading the bill themselves thus are in no need of the opposition group or any party to read or explain anything to them.
“We have nothing to do with the withdrawal of the bill,” he said.
The Member of Parliament for West Makira also mentioned that the withdrawal of the anti-corruption bill was motivated by quest for political survival.
Audit finds SI Ports Authority without key policies
By Alfred Sasako
SOLOMON Islands Ports Authority (SIPA) does not have key polices despite it being the nation’s oldest State-Owned Enterprise (SOE), an external audit has found.
KPMG Fiji, which last year audited SIPA’s accounts for the year ending September 30, 2015, in the middle of SIPA’s tumultuous period, said such a situation raises “serious concern considering the nature and significance of its operations and the volume of transactions”.
Island Sun has obtained a copy of the audit report.
”Policies and procedures for the key processes for SIPA is not only critical but fundamental to the effectiveness and efficiency of activities carried out. We noted that the key policies for SIPA are non-existent and this is a serious concern considering the nature and significance of its operation and the volume of transactions.
“The following issues had occurred due to the lack of effective policies and procedures. Numerous instances of significant breaches in the norms due to the lack of an effective procurement, tender and payments processes. The matters raised against Mr Colin Yow is a notable example of significant losses absorbed by SIPA due to non-existence of policies and procedures,” KPMG said.
It recommended that Management “consider developing the following as a matter of high priority:”
Procurement and Tender
Delegated level of authority
Fixed asset management
Project Management
Finance; and
Corporate Governance
In response, Management said it would engage an external party to “develop policies and processes” for the six areas KPMG has identified.
“These should enable SIPA operations and activities more aligned to international practices. These will also help reduce wastage, fraud risk, instil efficiency and can be used as a learning tool not only to the Finance staff but other departments as well,” Management said in its response.
Whether or not Management has carried out the recommendations is not clear.
Many of these issues have now polarised the relations between staff and management and have the potential bring down the organisation.
Assistance Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in
Solomon Islands, Ms Rosemary Kafa.
BY SAMIE WAIKORI
Assistance Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in Solomon Islands, Ms Rosemary Kafa.
A new project was recently launched under the joint partnership of STDF, FAO and SIG during the one-day inception workshop on NPHL ISO 17025 accreditation.
The aim of the project is to develop the capacity of the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) in Honiara.
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative in Solomon Islands, Ms Rosemary Kafa said the project will ensure NPHL conducts microbiological testing on water and food products in compliance with international standards.
Saying it means testing results will be accepted by trading partners, especially the European Union.
She said the project will address technical knowledge gaps of the NPHL staff and provide improvements to the facility system.
Ms Kafa added that the project will look on procedures to ensure compliance with SPS import requirements of the EU and other trade partners to gain and maintain access to those markets.
She said the overall impact of the project includes ISO 17025 accreditation of the NPHL for microbiological testing to facilitate market access for trade with partners.
And to strengthen the public health role of the NPHL in monitoring and evaluating water and food safety by robust testing for pathogenic microorganism, Ms Kafa said.
She said the project comes in two components and they include strengthening NPHL to provide services and strengthening the sustainability of the lab to maintain international accreditation.
Ms Kafa said the funding for the project is USD606,000 and comes from MHMS USD112,800, FAO and IANZ assessments USD20,128, Donor and IANZ assessment 20,000 and FAO TCPf is USD100, 000.
She said FAO is very happy to assist SIG to strengthen capacity and sustainability of NPHL to acquire the ISO 17025 standard and further maintain the standard.
The process to establish the improvement of the NPHL into an accredited laboratory is expected to take almost two years.
YWPG members at the SIPPA clinic after their tests
YWPG members at the SIPPA clinic after their tests
THE Young Women’s Parliamentary Group (YWPG) is again taking the lead in advocating to end cervical cancer.
The group did a group pap-smear test at the Solomon Islands Planned Parenthood Association (SIPPA) clinic on Tuesday, September 12, 2017.
This is part of their ongoing advocacy to end cervical cancer among women.
With the alarming rate of this type of cancer among Solomon Islands’ women it is a great concern to our society.
Looking back in history, the youngest to have developed cervical cancer is 18 years and as such YWPG is calling on all women who are in any sexual relationship to get tested.
Now it is much easier to do tests than three years ago. Tests are freely done at SIPPA and Kukum clinic where one get her results straight after.
Anything to do with reproductive health for men and women is still a subject not openly discussed and a lot of women find it difficult to come out.
“Some are just too busy with work and family life that they do not have time to get tested. Therefore, it is a great concern to us and we’re calling on all women again to take that step,” YWPG advisor, Marisa Pepa said.
The SIPPA clinic is open from Mon-Wed-Fridays for outpatients, so get tested and stay safe.
The Young women’s Parliamentary Group is a voluntary organisation under Parliaments Parliamentary Civic Education Department.
Its role is to nurture young women leaders, network with current leaders and given its location it aims to influence government policies and legislation not necessarily women’s issues only.
The group is headed by the Speaker of Parliament and Prime Minister. They have a five-team executive that manages the group activities.
THE Solomon Islands national under-17 futsal team will open their campaign in the upcoming Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Youth Futsal Tournament against American Samoa and New Zealand in the opening day on October 4.
The Oceania Youth Futsal Tournament will take place October 4-7 at Bruce Pulman Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.
Solomon Islands along with six other Oceania nations are participating.
The others are American Samoa, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.
The tournament’s fixtures were made known after it was released on the OFC website this week.
After the first two matches on the opening day, another two awaits them on October 5 against New Caledonia and Samoa respectively.
On October 6, Solomon Islands will play against Vanuatu in the morning part before wrapping up their campaign against Tonga later in the evening.
Looking at the schedules above, the competition is being conducted in a round-robin format with the overall winner qualifying for the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, where futsal will make its debut.
The management of the Solomon Islands national youth side has already named its final squad and boasts some new upcoming talents including the Bulkshop Under-16 competition golden boot winner Raphael Lea’i.
The team will leave the country on September 21 where they will they make a stopover in Australia to play some warm-up matches against Dural Warriors in Sydney before flying across to New Zealand on September 30 ahead of the tournament kick off on October 4.
The final national U-17 12-man squad and officials are as follows:
