BY NED GAGAHE

Heritage Park Hotel has taken a major step towards sustainable tourism and clean energy by commissioning one of the largest privately owned solar power systems in Solomon Islands.

The new solar installation now supplies up to 95 percent of the hotel’s electricity needs, significantly reducing its dependence on diesel fuel and the national power grid.

A statement from Heritage Park Hotel said the project features 840 kilowatts of installed solar capacity generated by more than 1,760 solar panels, alongside a 2.25 megawatt-hour battery storage system that provides reliable power around the clock.

According to the hotel, the system is expected to generate approximately 864,000 kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually while reducing reliance on grid and diesel-generated power by around 90 per cent.

The integrated battery energy storage system ensures uninterrupted hotel operations during power outages, improves power quality and helps maintain a consistent experience for guests. Diesel generators will remain on standby for emergency situations only.

Chairman of the company, Sir Mel Togolo, described the completion of the project as a significant achievement following years of planning and development.

“It is extremely pleasing to see this solar project now fully operational after years of planning, design and installation. This is a major milestone for Heritage Park Hotel and reflects our long-term commitment to sustainability and responsible operations,” Sir Mel said.

He said the project demonstrates the hotel’s dedication to reduce its environmental footprint while investing in long-term operational resilience.

The solar investment forms part of Heritage Park Hotel’s broader sustainability programme, which also includes water harvesting initiatives, waste and pollution reduction measures and ongoing improvements in energy efficiency throughout the property.

The hotel estimates that replacing diesel-generated electricity with solar power will prevent more than 600 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere each year.

This reduction is equivalent to planting between 30,000 and 35,000 trees annually, making the project one of the most significant private-sector contributions to climate action in the country.

The development also supports Solomon Islands’ renewable energy ambitions and aligns with international commitments under the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those focused on affordable clean energy and climate action.

Heritage Park Hotel says it remains committed to investing in a more sustainable and resilient future for its guests, the wider community and the Solomon Islands.

Photo credit: Heritage Park Hotel

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BY RODRICK DESURI 

Auki 

New Zealand Acting Development Councillor, Luke Kiddle, has highlighted the importance of locally-led development as a new approach to strengthen their partnership in the Solomon Islands. 

Mr Kiddle made this statement during the official launch of the five-year programme of the Youth Social and Entrepreneurship Development plus Child Protection (YSED+CP) and Solomon Islands Ending Violence Against Pikinini (SIEVAP), and the signing of the MoU with Malaita provincial government. 

He said locally-led development can give a vital role to communities to identify their own needs, priorities and goals. 

“It empowers communities to assess and understand their challenges and determine how and what support can best ensure that development initiatives are guided by local voices, knowledge, and decision-making,” he said.

He also reaffirmed New Zealand’s commitment to support Solomon Islands communities through long-term partnerships that invest in children and youth.

“New Zealand believes that children and young people are the future of our countries.

“We are proud to support this programme in partnership with World Vision Solomon Islands to strengthen youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, leadership, and safe environments where children can grow free from violence,” he said.

Kiddle also thanked partners including Malaita Christian Care Centre (MCCC), Kastom Gaden Association (KGA), Youth Entrepreneurs Council Solomon Islands (YECSI), and Dreamcast Theatre Solomon Islands, for their support in programme implementation across Malaita Province.

Malaita Premier Elijah Asilaua thanked the New Zealand Government and World Vision Solomon Islands for their continued investment in the development of Malaita communities.

The launch has demonstrated a shared commitment among government agencies, development partners, civil society organisations, faith leaders, and communities to work together to create a safer, stronger, and more prosperous future for children and young people across Malaita Province.

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BY TONY IROGA,

With contribution from Duran Angiki in Perth, Western Australia

The Solomon Islands High Commissioner to Australia has expressed gratitude to Regional Workforce Management (RWM), Australia, for the recruitment of Solomon Islanders, now employed by host companies in Western Australia.
Speaking at a face-to-face fact finding tour of RWM host, V&V Walsh, in Bunbury, Western Australia, last week, His Excellency, Robert Sisilo, thanked the employees and RWM for their respective roles.
“I’d like to thank RWM for employing you to come over and work here in Australia,” His Exellency, Robert Sisilo said.
“The PALM scheme is very important to us. It is a great thing for our country,” Mr Sisilo added.

He said he was hopeful that following a number of sideline meetings with regional councils and other business sectors in Albany, employment opportunities in the mining and age care sectors would soon open up for Solomon Islanders.

Sisilo reiterated a common theme that he has been telling workers, AE (Approved Employers) and host companies during this tour about his excitement over hearing positive feedback from employees and what they’ve achieved back home.

Many employees had told him positive stories of what they’ve done, built and established back in the Solomon Islands for themselves and their families over the past 2-4 years. “Some of them had built one or two houses,” he said.

 Sisilo expressed hope of more companies in WA, like RWM, would hire more workers from the Solomon Islands under the PALM scheme.  

Earlier last week, on Tuesday, May 26 and Wednesday, May 27 at three separate meetings with PALM employees, Sisilo expressed gratitude for the workers and urged companies to employ more Solomon Islanders.

As a nation, the government has committed to exploring new opportunities with Australian companies to employ more Solomon Islanders under the PALM scheme.

In elaborating on His Excellency’s statement, the Director of the Solomon Islands Government Labour Mobility Unit (LMU), Christina Marau, said over 4,000 employeeswere in a pool, ready to work, while 15,000 applicants were still waiting to be processed.

Mrs Marau assured companies, which are still unsure of hiring workers from the Solomon Islands that there is a large pool of potential staff, waiting and hoping to come over and work under the PALM scheme. The figure included returning workers with four years’ work experiences in the Australian meat and other industries.

She said returning employees are required to call in person at the LMU office and register their details in a registry. The information would enable LMU to contact them when there was interest from new or former employers and AE after the stand-down.

The last of the five pre-arranged meetings with the visiting Solomon Islands delegation finally completed last week, Thursday, May 28.

It was opened with a brief introductory welcome and prayer. It followed by a brief speech by His Excellency Sisilo, who thanked the workers for their commitment and good work ethnics that promoted a positive image of themselves and Solomon Islands.

Following his brief speech, Sisilo officiated the handing over of certificates in recognition of 23 Solomon Islanders, who had successfully completed their four years contract with RWM’s and host company, V&V Walsh.

The previous night, Sisilo also officiated in a similar brief ceremony handing over certificates to over 10 Solomon Islands workers, who were about to complete their contracts and ready to return home in a month time. They were working in a host company in Katanning, Western Australia.

In an earlier face-to-face meeting with Fletcher International management and later workers at Albany, Sisilo reminded workers, delegation from DEWR and a senior and site managers of RWM about the importance of the PALM scheme to the people and government of the Solomon Islands.

Out of the 60 Solomon Islands employees, who attended the meeting, 40 were employed under RWM and less than 20 were directly employed by Fletcher International.

Fletcher International Exports is located at Narrikup, Albany, WA. It is a large-scale sheep and lamb meat processing factory, which operates an integrated abattoir that also processes and exports by-products like wool and sheep skins to over 90 countries globally.

Sisilo said, as a government, we would like to remind workers that you were not only working and representing yourselves, but the country and other potential employees who are still waiting in the queue for their turn to come.

He revealed that during his recent meetings with business houses in WA, he made  clear the government’s desire to explore opportunities, for our men and women, to be employed by mining and aged care companies.

The meeting was also attended by the Director of the Solomon Islands Government Labour Mobility Unit, Mrs Christina Marau, the two Solomon Islands Government PALM scheme Australian-based Country Liaison Officers (CLO) Lesley Fa’arodo, and Vera Cheffers, two representatives of the Australian Department of Employment Workplace Relations (DEWR), Monique Lobb, and Wayne Murry. And three members of RWM’s Pacific Islands’ Culture, Welfare and Wellbeing Team, Pa Enari, Mick Seduadua and Duran Angiki.

During the questions and answers session, questions were raised regarding the conditions of subclass 403 visa, issues relating to disengagement from the programme, and many other issues relating to the PALM scheme.

Both Monique Lobb and Christina Marau chipped in to help clarify some of the questions regarding the role and responsibilities of DEWR and the Solomon Islands’ LMU and the CLOs.

His Excellency Sisilo said there was a process of handling issues. He said when a worker has an issue, he/she needs to contact one of the two CLOs. If the matter was not resolved, contact a PALM scheme welfare officer. If it was not yet resolved, then contact the Solomon Islands High Commissioner’s office in Canberra. The process was a three steps process and the High Commissioner’s office was the last resort.

The facts finding face-to-face meetings were requested by the Solomon Islands government and organised and facilitated by RWM’s senior managers, with the help of the Culture, Welfare and Wellbeing Team, and Site Managers.

The Solomon Islands Government delegation was headed by the Solomon Islands High Commission to Australia, His Excellency Robert Sisilo, the Honiara-based Director of Labour Mobility Unit (LMU), Christina Marau, and the two Australian-based Solomons country liaison officers, Vera Cheffers and Lesley Fa’arodo.

Included in the tour party were two officials from the Australian Government’s Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR): Monique Lobb and Wayne Murry, along with RWM organisers/facilitators in various host companies, and members of the RWM Pacific Islands Culture, Welfare and Wellbeing Team: Pa Enari (Samoa), Mick Seduadua (Fiji) and Duran Angiki (Solomon Islands).

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BY NED GAGAHE

More than 300 Solomon Islanders have already signed up for the country’s first parametric microinsurance product, with plans underway to gradually expand the scheme to all nine provinces.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund’s (UNCDF) Focal Point in Solomon Islands and Climate Risk Insurance Analyst Shreya Rajpuriya revealed the figures during a press conference on Friday May 28, 2026.

Ms Rajpuriya said the pilot programme currently has more than 330 enrolled customers, with numbers expected to increase following recent awareness campaigns in Malaita Province.

“It has been only about six months and we already have a little more than 300 beneficiaries. It is very encouraging and going well,” she said.

TrigaCash is a parametric insurance product designed to provide fast financial assistance to households, farmers, small businesses and informal workers affected by severe weather events.

Unlike traditional insurance, customers do not insure themselves or individual assets. Instead, they insure a specific location such as a home, garden, farm or business site.

Satellite and weather station data are then used to monitor rainfall and cyclone activity in the insured area.

“When a trigger is met, customers automatically receive a payout without any physical assessment,” Ms Rajpuriya explained.

She said the rainfall trigger for payouts is based on more than 40 years of Solomon Islands weather data.

The first payout earlier this year was triggered when rainfall exceeded 255 millimetres in a monitored area.

“There are five trigger levels and the payout amount increases as the rainfall intensity increases,” she said.

The same system also applies to cyclones, with higher payouts available for more severe weather events.

Under the scheme, customers can choose between two annual coverage options. A premium of SBD$160 provides coverage of up to SBD$2,000, while a premium of SBD$320 provides coverage of up to SBD$4,000.

To encourage participation, the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund’s YouSave scheme is subsidising 50 per cent of premiums for the first 1,000 customers who enrol.

Ms Rajpuriya said all customers must be registered members of YouSave before accessing the insurance product.

Once a weather trigger is activated, Trans Pacific Assurance verifies the data and releases the funds, which are then transferred through M-SELEN digital wallets.

She said verification takes about five days, while digital payments can be completed within hours, allowing customers to receive support within a short period after a disaster.

Looking ahead, Ms Rajpuriya said the long-term goal is to make TrigaCash available throughout the country.

“We want to eventually cover all nine provinces,” she said.

However, she said that expansion will depend on the outcome of the Central Bank’s assessment of the pilot programme under its regulatory sandbox framework.

Western Province is expected to be among the next locations targeted for expansion due to its exposure to natural disasters.

The scheme recently recorded its first payouts, with 35 policyholders receiving a combined SBD$8,800 after heavy rainfall triggered automatic payments earlier this year.

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BY NED GAGAHE

The successful rollout of Solomon Islands’ first-ever parametric microinsurance payouts has proven that climate insurance can deliver fast financial support to vulnerable communities when disasters strike, Central Bank Governor Dr Luke Forau says.

Dr Forau made the remarks during a press conference last Friday marking the country’s first TrigaCash payouts following heavy rainfall events earlier this year.

Around 35 policyholders received a combined SBD$8,800 after rainfall thresholds were triggered, activating automatic payments under the innovative insurance scheme.

While the payout amount was relatively modest, Dr Forau said the real achievement was demonstrating that the entire system functioned as intended.

“The true significance is not the amount. It is the proof that the system works,” he said.

“The trigger was met, the data was confirmed, payments were processed and moved through digital channels, and funds reached people quickly when they needed them most.”

TrigaCash, launched last year, is Solomon Islands’ first parametric microinsurance product. Unlike traditional insurance schemes that require lengthy damage assessments and claims processing, payouts are automatically activated when pre-determined weather conditions are met.

According to Dr Forau, some policyholders received more than one payout after repeated periods of heavy rainfall triggered the product multiple times.

He said the successful payouts demonstrated how innovative financial solutions can help communities recover more quickly from climate-related shocks.

“This is what financial inclusion is supposed to look like when it delivers in real time under real stress, and that is climate resilience,” he said.

The Governor said that climate risks are becoming an increasingly important challenge for Solomon Islanders, particularly those working in agriculture, fisheries, small businesses and the informal sector.

He said financial inclusion should no longer be limited to access to bank accounts, savings and payment services.

“Inclusion today must also mean protection, where ordinary people have access to financial products that help them manage the real risks they face,” Dr Forau said.

The Central Bank supported the development of TrigaCash through its regulatory sandbox, which allowed the product to be tested and refined in a controlled environment while maintaining strong consumer protection standards.

Dr Forau credited the success of the initiative to collaboration among development partners, government agencies, financial institutions and digital payment providers.

He acknowledged the contributions of UNCDF, UNDP, Trans Pacific Assurance, SINPF’s YouSave scheme, M-SELEN, World Vision and the governments of New Zealand and Australia.

Despite the positive outcome, Dr Forau stressed that TrigaCash remains a pilot programme and that regulators will continue to monitor customer understanding, operational performance and consumer protection measures before any wider expansion.

“The first payouts are an important beginning. They are not a destination,” he said.

“But they tell us that climate resilience is no longer a separate conversation from financial inclusion. The two now belong together.”

He encouraged farmers, fishers and other vulnerable groups to consider joining the scheme to better protect their livelihoods from future climate-related disasters.

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BY MELVILLE TITIULU

The criminal conversion case involving MP for Ulawa Ugi William Bradford Marau faces another delay due to his ongoing health issue, the Magistrate Court has heard.

Marau faces one count of Conversion in relation to the alleged misappropriation of $5million designated to constituency shipping funds in 2016.

The defendant was due to stand trial in April 2025 but this was also when circumstances rendered him unfit for trial and required him to seek medical treatment in Australia, and Fiji.

Further medical reports were provided to the satisfaction of the Court and Prosecution, and the Court granted permission with bail variation for him to travel on medical grounds for final treatment in India.

Principal Magistrate Beneteti Tearo presided over the matter when it came for mention yesterday.

Defence was asked to provide an update of the medical status of the defendant.

Defence told court that Marau was still recovering with the medical report still pending.

Tearo reminded defence in court that “it is important to pursue an updated medical report”.

“The Indian Hospital is not a hospital in the bush,” Tearo added.

She was of the view that it is not acceptable that the hospital cannot produce a medical report to the satisfaction of the Court.

“At least the medical report could provide some prospect of reality,” Tearo said.

Defence told the court that Tommy Mana who is the liaison officer responsible for the welfare of the Members of Parliament and who has previously made sworn statements on behalf of the defendant is no longer holding that position at the Ministry due to the current change of Government.

Defence told court that Marau’s operation was carried out in early May.

Defence said it is unaware of the return date as they are awaiting on recovery procedures and defendants’ formalities as per email from the defendant’s wife (Surety).

Tearo proposed to parties that going forward, it would be best if prosecution and defence considered the option of discharge as that would save court’s time “rather than monitor medical report to make projections”.

“This case has gone for years,” Tearo added.

Court documents show, the defendants e-Visa information entailed that a first entry must be on or before June 16, 2026 with a permitted duration of stay of 60 days for short-term medical treatment with triple entries allowed to India – these are exhibited into the sworn statement of Tommy Manna.

The defence was told to freshly update court and prosecution on the defendants’ medical report and sworn evidence (attached email except to sworn statement).

The case returns to court on Monday, June 28.

Ms Jillian Soaika of Rano & Company Lawyers represents Marau and Mrs. Olivia Ratu Manu represents the Crown.