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MARA to look into land court system

Written by
Samie Waikori
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BY SAMIE WAIKORI

Auki

MALAITA Premier Daniel Suidani says his government is committed to look into the land court system which continues to raise concerns on customary land.

He said as experienced, a lot of issues were raised on the system, where in certain cases, rightful landowners lost their land in court to those who did not own the land.

Suidani said the fact is the local court or the land court system is a foreign system and it doesn’t suit addressing the issues of customary land.

“An example is if a land case from the northern region and somebody from the southern region of the province is to preside and judge it, it doesn’t make sense.

“How would a person from the southern region or elsewhere know about land practices in the northern region to judge their land, it’s a funny thing. But, that’s the current system.

“Looking at the House of Chiefs or their land panels in the province, they can only operate within areas of governance or responsibility and not beyond areas of their non-existence.

 “The current foreign land court system becomes an issue and one way or the other, it contributes to disunity among families, tribes and communities as experienced,” he said.

Suidani said as a responsible government, it is high time to look into the current system by changing it with a land court system based on land practices and systems of Malaita.

He said the MARA government wants a reputable Malaita land court system that once they hear land cases and make decisions, that’s final, and not to go to local court or wherever.

Suidani said his government strongly believes that if a court system based on land practices and systems of Malaita is established, it will help address land related matters in the province.

He said his government is committed to the issue because of their concern for tribal lands, to set them in order and free of dispute for development in the province.

Suidani said it is not easy to pursue the idea, however, the MARA government sees this as the only way to address customary land issues in the province with confidence.

Suidani: vaccination is personal choice

Written by
Samie Waikori
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Former Malaita Premier, Daniel Suidani

BY SAMIE WAIKORI

Auki

PREMIER of Malaita province Daniel Suidani says any decision on whether or not to get the covid-19 vaccine is a personal choice, however corona virus is real.

He made the statement during a recent awareness program at Malu’u when asked on his government’s position on the covid-19 vaccine.

“I won’t tell or force anyone whether to get vaccinated or not. Because I respect individual rights and believes on the vaccination.

“Also, I’m certain that if I advise or do not advice people on the vaccine and anything happens to them, I fear I will take any blame,” Suidani said.

He said the choice is upon each and everyone and whatever their choice is what they have decided to do.

“What I would say is, if you have problem with your truck, you won’t go to a carpenter to fix it. The right person is a mechanic who can fix it or you can listen to his/her advices.

“The same applies to the vaccine, this is a health issue and the only people we should listen to for advices are health practitioners, experts from the provincial health or the Ministry of Health (MHMS),” Suidani said.

He said he took his jabs in Australia which is something personal to him and made upon his personal conviction.

Suidani said the pandemic is real and people have died and continue to die across the globe as recorded.

He said the no jab no job is a mandatory policy by the national government for all working-class people, both public and private sector to get their jabs.

“Work-people or employees from both sectors in the country have been affected on the policy and we don’t know what is next on the policy.

“As I have said, decision whether to get or not to get the vaccine is a personal choice and I respect everyone’s choice, for I also respect their rights and believes on the vaccine,” Suidani said. 

Auki public complain on bus & taxi fare hike

Written by
Samie Waikori
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0

BY SAMIE WAIKORI

Auki

Auki public are raising concern over the hike in prices in public transport.

Earlier this week, bus and taxi fares were increased. The main reason given was the hike in fuel prices.

But, public say it does not make sense when prices for long distance transports remain the same, while the short route transports have hiked theirs.

One man said a truck fare from Auki to West Are Are with a distance of more than 80km costs around $50 and a taxi fare from Auki to Kilu’ufi with a distance of about 4km cost $70.  

The man said for buses, even from Auki town to your residence which 100-200m in distance, is at $4 bus fare for adult and $3 for children.

He said the fare charges didn’t reflect the notion that hikes in fuel and spare parts prices is the reason, thus its profit gain.

On that note, the man called on Malaita provincial government or any responsible authorities in Auki to deal with the matter to make it fair to both people and public transport owners in Auki.

He also thanked bus and taxi owners for providing the service in Auki and called on them to be fair in the service for equal benefit.

Tax bill inquiry postponed

Written by
Eddie Osifelo
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Leader of Opposition, Matthew Wale

By EDDIE OSIFELO

BILLS and Legislative Committee has postponed its inquiry into the Tax Administration Bill 2022 on Tuesday.

This is to allow Ministry of Finance and Treasury to furnish the metadata to the Committee.

Metadata is a set of data that describes and gives information about other data.

Leader of Opposition, Mathew Wale said the Committee might issue a letter on Tuesday outlining what data they need.

Wale said it might be useful for the committee to understand policy made in the Bill.

He said that information would be useful for other stakeholders who will appear before the Committee when presenting their views.

Inland Revenue Division (IRD) Commissioner, Joseph Dokekana said in terms of provision of data, it could be the overall figures, not the names or other details of specific tax payers.

He said IRD is bound by confidentiality when it comes to releasing information to the public.

Dokekana said the information or figures should be available in two days’ time.

Chairman of BLC John Maneioru said the resumption of the inquiry depends on the availability of the metadata to the Secretariate.

He said once the Secretariate receives the information, it will advice BLC to resume the hearing.

The object of the Tax Administration Bill 2022 is to provide for the administration of the tax laws of Solomon Islands, with the intention of providing a modern administrative basis for the tax system and ensuring that arrangements are consistent across the different taxes administered by the Commissioner.

Inland Revenue still to collect $1.9B debt

Written by
Eddie Osifelo
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0
Ministry-Of-Finance-IRD

By EDDIE OSIFELO

THE Inland Revenue Division of Ministry of Finance and Treasury has an uncollected debt of $1.9 billion.

IRD Commissioner Joseph Dokekana told the Bills and Legislative Committee through a virtual on Tuesday that the debt started 20 years ago.

The Committee was inquiring into the Tax Administration Bill 2020 to provide for the administration of the tax laws of Solomon Islands, with the intention of providing a modern administrative basis for the tax system and ensuring that arrangements are consistent across the different taxes administered by the Commissioner.

Dokekana said IRD blamed the system of capturing wrong data since 2005.

“That system put some sort of data which is not correct.

“Then come up to now, we still have an issue with the system to determine the value,” he said.

Dokekana said the actual debt of IRD will not be like that.

He said the current system is corrupt.

Further to that, as part of the reform, Dokekana said the government engaged a Technical Advisor of Asian Development Bank to look at the system and correct it.

He said tax returns and payments do not reconciled.

The hearing continues this week.

TAX BILL TO PARL

Written by
Eddie Osifelo
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0
National Parliament of Solomon Islands

New law aims to bring in fairness

By EDDIE OSIFELO

MINISTRY of Finance and Treasury has presented the Tax Administration Bill 2022 to the Bills and Legislative Committee in Parliament on Tuesday.

Permanent Secretary, Dentana Mckini said the Bill provides a predictable tax system that improves clarity and certainty for tax payers with the need to plan for future seeking to avoid unexpected outcome

He said it is easy to work with the aims to control compliance costs for taxpayers

Further to that, Mckini said the bill is fair and appropriate to the state of our economy and paves the way for further developments and growth and it takes into consideration international best practices and local context.

Furthermore, Mckini clarified that the Solomon Islands’ current Tax system is outdated and complex, and relies on a very narrow base of compliant taxpayers.

“There is no overarching tax administration legislation, and individual tax laws are subject to different processes, timeframes and penalties for taxpayers creating an unnecessary administrative burden for Inland Revenue Division and compliance problems for taxpayers.

“The low rates of compliance and widespread discretionary exemptions create an uneven playing field for business,” he said.

The second session of the virtual hearing which was supposed to go page by page on the 175 clauses did not eventuate because of the objection by the Leader of the Opposition Matthew Wale to adjourn the inquiry.

The object of the Tax Administration Bill 2022 is to provide for the administration of the tax laws of Solomon Islands, with the intention of providing a modern administrative basis for the tax system and ensuring that arrangements are consistent across the different taxes administered by the Commissioner.

The Bill includes amendments to the Goods Tax Act (Cap 122), the Income Tax Act (Cap 123), the Sales Tax Act (Cap 125), the Stamp Duties Act (Cap 126) and the Public Financial Management Act 2013 that enable the administration of those Acts to be carried out under the Bill.

The Bill deals with the Inland Revenue Division, the Commissioner of Inland Revenue and tax officers, and their powers, functions and duties, and outlines the general obligations of taxpayers, tax representatives and tax agents under tax laws.

It also enables the Commissioner to make public and private rulings about how a tax law applies generally or to individuals and individual arrangements.

The Bill provides a right to object to tax decisions and appeal to the High Court and Court of Appeal, the powers for recovering tax and prosecuting offences, and the types of penalties for non-compliance, including late payment interest.

The Bill also sets up an electronic tax system enabling filing of returns and issuing of assessments electronically.

The Bill is part of the tax reform process of the tax arrangements in Solomon Islands which began in 2007.

Churches remain silent on Sino-SI security pact

Written by
Eddie Osifelo
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0

By EDDIE OSIFELO

TWO umbrella bodies of churches in the country are still to make their stand over the controversial security Pact with China.

Solomon Islands Christian Association (SICA) and Solomon Islands Full Gospel Association (SIFGA) have not issued any statement after Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Jeremiah Manele signed the Pact on 30 March 2022.

SIFGA told Island Sun it cannot make any informed stand until it sees the texts of the pact.

SICA, on the other hand, says it is still to meet to make a stand on this national issue.

However, there is confusion amongst the people of the Solomon Islands regarding the security pact with China, as details of the deal still remain unknown to the public.

Some still believe China will build a military base under the security agreement.

One tribal leader has shown concern that land belonging to his people could be taken away.

A chief of the Niteni tribe in the Rennell and Bellona province, Richard Pautangata, said his biggest concern was that people did not know what the deal encompassed.

Pautangata said there were fears that the treaty would allow China to establish a military base in Solomon Islands.

He said he was not sure which province would allow for that but suspects his province could be a target for China.

He said 70 per cent of land on Rennell Island was owned by the Solomon Islands Government, and most of it was leased to an Asian logging and mining company, Asia Pacific Investment Development.

Pautangata said despite the number of logging and mining activities on the island, not all landowners benefited.

He fears the geographical location of his island could see it being targeted.

Premier of the Malaita province, Daniel Suidani, said the treaty raised a lot of concerns.

Most in the province of Malaita are opposed to the Sogovare leadership and feel that the deal may allow the leader to engage Chinese police to extend his reign.

“I see the risks already of our new friend because we are not ready to stand on their ideology,” he said.

“Even Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States have expressed their concern of the security treaty.”

Malaita Province Youth Council are also concerned. Much of this has to do with not knowing what the deal will allow the government to do.

“We should not allow our place for military base. We are too small to create conflicts between superpowers,” the Council said.

“The youths are the future of the country and the government should have consulted with them first.”

However, Foreign Minister Manele told Parliament recently that the Government has nothing to hide.

He said this is a bilateral agreement and there is a confidentiality clause that ought to be respected.

“We will discuss this matter with the other Party, China,” he said.

Manele added the security agreement with China reaffirms respect for Solomon Islands sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence.

He said the security agreement reinforces the foundation for peace, security and development.

“Security agreement are meant to grow peace through development.

“It builds bridges of confidence, and remove sources of danger so that our people can keep investing to improve their quality of lives.

“It gives confidence to business houses and allows the nation of Solomon Islands to prosper,” he added.

Mala carrying out survey on self determination

Written by
Samie Waikori
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0
A crowd in Auki welcoming Premier Suidani following a medical trip to Taiwan last year.

BY SAMIE WAIKORI

Auki

The Malaita provincial government is carrying out a survey on self-determination throughout the province.

Premier Daniel Suidani announced this during his recent visit to Malu’u substation in the northern region of Malaita province.

He said his government had passed, during one of its recent executive meetings, a pledge to carry out a self-determination survey for the province.

He said seeing that the covid-19 situation was easing; his executive gave the green light for the self-autonomy survey.

Suidani said they are looking forward to the survey being successfully completed by the end of June 2022 (next month).

He said MARA government is behind the survey and communities in the province and even abroad will be consulted in the survey.

Suidani said the issue of independence is not just an issue of his government, but a long time one that started during the times of Maasina Ruru.

He said since then the issue remains and according to findings successive provincial governments had also talked about it, but never put the matter into action.

Suidani said his government believes now is the right time to go and ask peoples’ views on the matter.

He said they saw that as a responsible government this is the right thing to do by bringing the issue to the people and allow them to have say on it.

Suidani said early this year a workshop was held to train participants to carry out the survey; however, it didn’t happen due to covid-19.

He said the pandemic had delayed the survey.

Suidani said the survey is to get people’s views and opinions not only on self-determination, but socioeconomic development and politics of the province.

He said the survey is also a road towards fulfilling the TPA signed by national government for Malaita and Guadalcanal provinces to look after their own affairs.

Schools urged to cut costs

Written by
Eddie Osifelo
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0

By EDDIE OSIFELO

MINISTRY of Education and Human Resources urges schools to charge reasonable tuition fees to students as only 27 of the 40 weeks in the annual calendar is left.

This came after Saint Nicholas Anglican College posted on its Facebook page to maintain the fees as schools prepare to resume semester on 30th May.

The School Admin states if you need any further clarification, do please come to the school and see Deputy Operation (Leslie Fono) or Deputy Academic (Jon Patteson).

But Permanent Secretary, Dr Franco Rodie said schools need to consider the range of school fees endorsed by the Minister in accordance with the Education Act.

“I understand the costs in the town where schools need to pay electricity and water which they might impose additional fees,” Rodie said.

“Also, the school grants are not enough, therefore they may maintain the schools fees as of last year,” he added.

However, Rodie said schools should reduce their costs to relief the economic burden on parents.

Suidani announces new framework to support landowners

Written by
Samie Waikori
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0
Former Malaita Premier, Daniel Suidani

BY SAMIE WAIKORI

Auki

MALAITA Provincial Government has set up a framework “Malautolo” to support tribal landowners in the province benefit while protecting of their forest.

Premier Daniel Suidani and his political adviser Celsius Talifilu announced this during an awareness programme held at Malu’u market over the weekend.

Suidani said his government recently passed an ordinance to strengthen the conservation law that discourages logging activity above 400m sea-level.

He said under this ordinance Malautolo was created to support tribal landowners by liaising with them with partners and developing their forest to protect them.

Explaining the framework, Talifilu said Malautolo was set up to fortify the conservation law that calls for a stop to logging activity above 400m sea-level.

He said the law was established for environmental reasons and MPG thought it’s important to take a step further by creating an ordinance to strengthen the law and its programme.

Also, with the ordinance and framework, they are to ensure a programme that can become a beneficial tool for development in Malaita province, Talifilu said.

He said with the idea, MPG developed the ordinance to strengthen its advocacy on the law and to find alternatives and non-destructive ways for people to benefit from their forests.

Talifilu said the establishment of Malautolo has created a pathway for MPG to work hand in glove with partners on carbon trading by facilitating development upon the ordinance.

“That’s how Malautolo framework has come about and lot of things to do with Winrock under the USAID SCALE-NRM program relate to the set-up,” he said.

Talifilu said there are people and institutions in the world that willing to support programs that deal with protection of forests. And there are markets in the world that willing to participate.

He said Malautolo framework is there and interested tribal landowners are call to work together with them to protect and benefit by looking after their resources.

On that note, Talifilu said the framework also created with ambition to try and look at ways on how to educate younger generations on cultural values and norm.

He said nowadays, responsibility to educate children on their cultures rests on parents, but it never happens.

Talifilu said MPG through Malautolo is looking at ways to educate younger generation on their traditional values that would go along with development.

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