BY INDY MAEALASIA

The Bills and Legislation Committee (BLC) has commenced its enquiry into the much-anticipated National Building Standard Bill 2025, a landmark legislative proposal aimed at transforming building safety and inclusivity across the country.

The proposed bills seek to address long-standing gaps in construction standards, building safety, and disaster resilience, while also embedding gender inclusion and accessibility for people with special needs into national building regulations.

Speaking during the enquiry, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Infrastructure Development (MID), Allan Lilia, highlighted the bill’s focus on protecting vulnerable populations.

“The justification for this intervention is the bill will improve people’s livelihood and living standards, improve safety and comfort for all and regulation and enforcement of standards to buildings.”

“Building designs will be inclusive for all and accessible for people with special needs. Design will be climate resilient and sustainable in the long run,” he added.

Various stakeholders are expected to come before the committee in the coming days.

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BY BEN BILUA

GIZO

Western Province is taking decisive action in the fight against plastic pollution, ramping up awareness and education campaigns across communities and schools in the province.

Western Province Network for Sustainable Environment (WPNSM), a coalition of local NGOs and the Western Provincial Government, has taken the lead in ensuring that communities understand and embrace the change after the national government endorsed a plastic ban regulation last year.

WPNSM Secretary Jully Misimake, said the network has made it a priority to reach both the youth and the general public in efforts to curb plastic use and promote sustainable waste management.

“We began last year. Our first awareness program was held at Kongu School and we’ve continued to expand our outreach.

“Communities have also been part of the awareness program, participating in discussions and educational events,” she said.

Among their efforts, WPNSM has organized speech contests on plastic alternatives and solid waste management, encouraging students to envision and contribute to a plastic-free future.

In June, the team marked World Environment Day with a campaign at Sairagi, distributing pamphlets and engaging locals in environmental talks.

“Western Province has been advocating for a plastic-free zone for a long time and we are serious about this because solid waste is a threat to our environment,” Misimake said.

She said WPNSM was also part of the Coral Triangle Day celebration held in Noro and used the opportunity to highlight the impacts of plastic waste and promote community action.

Misimake said the organization will continue its mission to foster environmental stewardship across Western Province, with a strong focus on education, youth engagement and community-driven solutions.

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BY NED GAGAHE

Premier of Central Islands Province Kenneth Sagupari has clarified concerns of unpaid costs for his executive’s recent stay at an accommodation in Honiara for the recent swearing-in ceremony.

Concerned citizens of the province are asking about who will foot the bill at Bulaia Backpackers Rest Haus in Chinatown.

It was revealed that the cost has accumulated and now totals up to more than SBD 8,000.

They said this is a repeat of the same issue in 2024, when non-executive members stayed at the same place and incurred an unpaid bill of over SBD 8,000.

However, Premier Kenneth Sagupari denied claims that all his executive ministers were ordered to stay in Honiara until Thursday, stating that most have already returned to their communities.

He clarified that unpaid bills from his time as a non-executive member were settled and emphasized that accommodation allowances for MPAs are paid directly by the Ministry of Provincial Government.

Sagupari stressed that any extra costs incurred from personal accommodation choices are the responsibility of the individual MPAs, not the Provincial Government.

“Despite assurances from the current Premier that this would be paid, no payment has been made to date and the landlord has since followed up and reported the issue.

“Who is responsible for covering the extended accommodation costs of the ministers while in Honiara on official duties? If the provincial government is not paying, then who is? It’s now been a week and the unpaid costs continue to grow.”

Concerned citizens expressed the above adding that this is a growing concern that reflects a troubling pattern of past behaviour, where personal or political expenses are incurred first and later reimbursed from provincial funds, often without proper approval or transparency.

They said this is not the type of governance the people of Central Province deserve.

“We respectfully call on the Premier and the executive team to settle all outstanding accommodation and related costs immediately. Publicly clarify how these expenses were planned, approved and whether public funds are being used in a transparent and accountable manner.

“Ensure provincial resources are not used to support political movements that do not reflect the public interest or mandate.

“It is also important to emphasize that travel allowances were already provided during the executive’s swearing-in period. Therefore, any additional personal expenses should not fall upon the former administration or be unfairly drawn from public funds.

“Let us protect the dignity and reputation of our province.

“We remind our elected leaders that holding public office is not a privilege for comfort, it is a responsibility to lead with integrity, humility and full accountability to the people,” The concerned citizens said.

Following the concern raised in the Central Islands Forum on Facebook, Premier Sagupari responded promptly to clarify the issue.

He said the claim that all of his executive ministers were instructed to remain in Honiara until Thursday is not true.

Sagupari mentioned that as of yesterday, most of his ministers have already returned to their respective wards and communities.

“Only a few remain in town, mainly those who have families based in Honiara”, he said.

On the issue of unpaid bills at Bulaia Backpackers, he said that during his time as a non-executive member under the former government led by Michael Salini, they only stayed at Bulaia when handling official lands-related business and to his knowledge, those bills were already cleared.

He said most importantly, the public needs to understand that MPAs are entitled to accommodation allowances that are paid directly by the Ministry of Provincial Government.

“If any individual MPA chooses to stay elsewhere, that is a personal decision and the Provincial Government is not responsible for those costs.

“To support our team during this transition, I have given all ministers a one-week break to return to their families and home communities before we reconvene for the Second Appointed Day. After that, by early July, all ministers will return to Tulagi to officially begin work under the new policy directives of this executive government.

“I hope this clarification helps to clear the air. Let us move forward in unity and focus on serving the people of our province with transparency, commitment and responsibility,” Premier Sagupari said in a statement.

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BY BEN BILUA

THE most anticipated Mineral and Resource Bill has been criticized by landowners in Isabel who describe it as a “Bill full of rubbish”.

Chairperson of San Jorge Island Resource Owners Association, Wilson Tohidi said the Mineral and Resource bill is no different from the existing Mines and Mineral Act.

He said the bill is vague in many aspects especially on the ownership of minerals, processes of obtaining license and sharing of benefits.

“Well, this bill would be better if landowners are recognised and capture good benefit for the people like royalty percentage increase.

“Stronger guidelines should be stipulated in the bill for investors to abide to when conducting operation in mining, for example there are other types of minerals which have value yet these other minerals are not beneficial to landowners,” Tohidi said.

He said the Mineral and Resource bill is crafted to satisfy the government’s agenda.

“What we landowners see is that the government is shaping this bill according to their interest.

“It is not in the interest of landowners. We never been consulted and this is unfair to resources owners in this the country,” Tohidi said.

He calls on the government to carry out proper consultation before tabling the bill in parliament.

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BY JOHN HOUANIHAU

The reform of the country’s five legal agencies marks the first major legal reform of legal agencies since 1978.

Minister for Justice and Legal Affairs Clezy Rore stated this during the launch of the Legal Agencies Reforms and Implementation project at the Heritage Park on Monday this week.

He said the reforms will be anchored under a soon-to-be-completed Justice Sector Strategic Framework 2024 – 2034; a framework that will be aligned to the new SIs National Development Strategy. 

“One of the major GNUT policy deliverables for the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs is to initiate and pursue policy discussions for the revision of legal mandates, which established our country’s five legal agencies, namely; The Attorney Generals Chamber, Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, Public Solicitor Office, Registrar General’s Office and Law Reform Commission,” said Rore.

“To this end, I am pleased to convey that Cabinet has endorsed their reforms and to convey that this marks the first major legal reforms of our legal agencies since 1978,” Rore said.

He said to accomplish this beginning through the Cabinet for reforms in about a year since the GNUT policy was launched in June 2024 is an achievement in itself. 

“To this end, I would like to thank the leadership of the Heads of Agencies and Staff and those of the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs. Let us not get carried away from the huge task before our legal agencies,” he said.

He said the launching event is not the celebration of an outcome, but rather it invokes a responsibility to do what legal agencies and stakeholders must do – hard work.

He said he has confidence in the ability of the country’s highly trained women and men at the legal agencies to achieve these reforms. 

Minister Rore said the pursuit of reforming legal agencies is long-term thinking and hard work.

“It is for this reason why we must address reforming our legal agencies – now.  The mission of our ministry remains to provide a vibrant and robust service to our agencies for effective, efficient and sustainable justice services to the Solomon Islands,” he said.

“Therefore, these legal agencies’ reforms are necessary to ensure that we legally re-fit them to continue providing sustainable justice services for our people,” said Rore.

He said it is fitting to reform and modernise mandated responsibilities against changing realities around what they do and must do to better serve the people. 

“In the 21st Century, the statement ‘We must adapt to be relevant’ highlights the crucial importance of adaptability in a constantly changing world,” he said.

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