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SINU still to fill some vacancies

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Eddie Osifelo
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By EDDIE OSIFELO

SOLOMON Islands National University (SINU) is still to fill 15 of the 230 positions left vacant after what was dubbed as a mass termination in August this year.

Minister of Education and Human Resources Development, Lanelle Tanangada explained this when asked by Leader of Opposition Matthew Wale through a supplementary question in Parliament yesterday.

Wale said with regards to management level and retrenchment happens on transition process of over 200 staff and off course the impact, we know registration is still going ahead at SINU.

He asked when can SINU expects to complete process for every replacement of management and teaching staff in place?

Lanelle said there is ongoing process and it was determined to ensure the completion of the exercise.

She said with information from SINU management, the recruitment exercise is going well with only 15 positions left.

About 123 academic staff and 107 support services staff are affected by the exercise.

This include 34 in Faculty of Education and Humanities, 29 in Faculty of Science and Technology, 17 in Faculty of Business and Tourism, 18 in Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science is 17 and Distant Flexible Learning is eight.

Tanangada told Parliament recently that at the inception of SINU in 2013, it adopted a recruitment policy that required all staff recruited by SINU to be on a three-year contract.

She said previously staff were on continuing appointment, meaning it has an open-ended time frame.

Moreover, Tanangada said as SINU Council resolution dated June 22, 2015, all positions must be advertised in the open market before the contracts expired.

She said the rationale was to recruit staff that meet SINU minimum qualifications requirement known as MQR to teach at the university and upgrade to a level and quality of the programme that is taught at the university.

Parliament meeting continues today.

Tenakoga raises $124,726 in effort to rebuild classrooms.

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A group supporting the concert. PHOTO: FOLLET JOHN

Tenakoga Adventist College (TAC) has raised $124, 726.80 during its gospel concert which was staged at the Maranatha Hall in Lunga, east Honiara, on Sunday.

About 15 supporting singing groups took part during the concert to support the North East Guadalcanal-based institution.

A good number of students, staff, parents, guardians, supporters and former students and staff came out to support the fund-raising effort.

Speaking during the concert, Minister for Education and Human Resource Development Lanelle Tanangada said despite the recent fire incident that saw the school’s double-storey classroom razed to the ground, Tenakoga will never bow down as is stated in their theme song –  ‘Tenakoga we will rise.’


College Principal Francis Leovania thanking everyone for their support.

“When I saw the photos of the burning flame, what stood out that gave me the confidence that God will make this school rise again,” she said.

She said investment in education is the most important investment any parent could dream of.

Further to that, she said her ministry has a mandate to also support the school.

Tenakoga Principal Francis Leovania thanked all those who turned up to support the concert.

The concert was attended by the Minister of Education, MP for Northeast Guadalcanal, MP for South Guadalcanal, MPA for Guadalcanal Rose Tala and Permanent Secretary for Women and Youth.

The college lost a double storey complex during an early morning blaze which engulfed two classrooms located upstairs and science lab on the ground floor.

Promising future investments for Isabel

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Old Coconut crushing mill facilities at Gozoruru

A Foreign Investment promotion and awareness programme in Isabel Province mid-last month concluded with promising results for future investments in the province.

A two-member team from the Foreign Investment Division (FID) of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration (MCILI) visited the Province for a week where they met with the Premier Leslie Kikolo and his executive, Investment Stakeholders, Land Owner Association and other relevant stakeholders.

The team with support from Provincial Officers also made a site visit to the proposed Gozoruru New Township and other proposed sites.

During the mission, the team presented to Premier Kikolo a Business Monitoring Joint Action Committee (BMJAC) report which outlines the findings of the committee’s tour to the province in 2020 and also recommendations on how to strengthen business compliances.

Premier Kikolo acknowledged the report which he said will be helpful to his executive as they are preparing towards formalizing its sister relationship with Shandong Province in China.

He said the report will set a platform for investments in the Province with potential investors from Shandong once the relationship is established.

The Premier admitted that his province was a bit way behind in terms of development and would aggressively push forward by inviting genuine foreign direct investments into his province.

Isabel Province has plenty of registered land which would attract foreign investors to invest there.

The Premier also informed the team that his executive are working on ways to upgrade Suavanao airstrip to international standard, International Sea Port at Allardyce, Boost its fisheries sector, connecting roads and turning Gozoruru into a commercial and industrial area for the province.

The team also held discussions with the licenses and planning departments of the province on issues of compliance for foreign investors operating in the province as well as local registered companies. The discussions included steps in the FID registry and how to access online registration.

On planning, the need to have an investment office was discussed to assist in facilitating establishment of foreign investments in the province.

The team visited a former coconut crushing mill at Gozoruru, which stopped operating which still have potential for revival by foreign investors.

On the final day of the program, the team held an awareness talk at the Jejevo School which was attended by students from Forms 4 and 5 with their teachers and the principal of the school.

This awareness was intended to assist the students broaden their knowledge on foreign direct investments and the impacts they have on the economy and people.

– Source: GCU

Vax set at 90 percent before borders can reopen: PM

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PRIME Minister Manasseh Sogavare says Cabinet has set a target of 90 percent full vaccination coverage to reopen our international borders.

Prime Minister Sogavare in his nationwide address yesterday said Cabinet has directed the Oversight Committee and the Policy Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation unit (PIME), to undertake critical analysis and recommendations on how and when we should consider reopening our borders.

He said central to the re-opening of our borders is our vaccination coverage.

He said all countries that have successfully reopened their borders had achieved more than 80 percent full vaccination coverage of their eligible population.

“The speed which we can reopen our borders depends on all the eligible population in Solomon Islands getting vaccinated as soon as possible,” he said.

Sogavare said as much as we would like to see that everyone is safe from COVID-19, we cannot remain in isolation forever.

“The responsibility to protect our country from COVID-19 and at the same time have a viable economy, rests with all of us,” he said.

The Prime Minister said we need to accelerate our vaccination coverage to reach 90 percent coverage as soon as possible so that we can reopen our borders earlier rather than later.

He said we need to set a realistic date to achieve our vaccination target and a realistic target to reopen our borders.

“I plead with you all as your Prime Minister to get vaccinated. I continue to emphasize the importance of our unified approach to combat COVID-19. I strongly believe that by working together, our unity in diversity, and our solidarity will carry us through to overcome this pandemic,” Sogavare said.

–OPMC PRESS

Tenaru kicks off 75th anniversary celebrations

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Former Chief Justice and MOSA Alumni, Sir John Muria (middle) with current staff of the school during a launch of the 75th Anniversary wear held sometimes this year.

Saint Joseph’s Catholic School, Tenaru, is currently in full swing to celebrate its 75th Anniversary this week.

As a pre-launch, a monument was blessed and unveiled in Buloabu village in Langalanga Lagoon on Sunday to honour the eight pioneer students who attended the school when the Marist Brothers started it in 1946.

The official program will start on Thursday this week and ends on Saturday 9th October.


1st Independence Day Celebration as Prime Minister late Hon. Peter Kenilorea unveils  the Memorial Plaque at Tenaru and student John Batalibasi looks on.

Members of the school Alumni, the Marist Old Students Association (MOSA) as well as former teachers, Marist friends and supporters in the country and around the world have shown support to this great event.

On Thursday this week, the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare will be the guest of honour and will officially declare the opening of the 75th Anniversary celebrations.


A group photo of some of the scholar of the seventies after a Walk Back to School program held in recent years.

Premier of Guadalcanal Province Francis Sade, a former student himself, is also invited as the guest of honour for Day 3 of the celebrations.

Activities lined up for the 3- day event include a Chupu ceremony to honour the Malango House of Chiefs where the school is currently located at Tenaru, traditional and contemporary performances by both former and current students and staff, sporting activities, feasting, Catholic Masses, speeches and reflections by members of the school Alumni as well as a motorcade from Honiara City to the school.


Family of one of the Pioneer students of St. Joseph’s School, the late Sosimo Sifoteilia

A statement from organisers says Tenaru school is proud to produce a good number of successful scholars who have become leaders and professionals in their own right.

These include two Prime Ministers, Chief Justice, Attorney Generals, Diplomats, Professors, academics and clergies.

The three-day event is also expected to be streamed live on Facebook.

Youth groups end successful tour in Western province.

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Two youth-driven campaigns Side By Side Movement and U-REPORT successfully completed a joint weeklong learning exchange in the Western Province marking the start of a mash-up learning event for young leaders of Honiara and three provinces.

The inaugural Western Province tour was led by 27 young leaders and involved an engagement of over 60 youths from communities across Munda, Noro, Kolombangara, Gizo and surrounding areas of the Western capital.

In a statement yesterday, Side By Side and U-REPORT says the “Provincial Youth Exchange and Learning Program (PYELP)” will roll out over Western, Malaita and Guadalcanal in the coming weeks.

The PYELP is delivered with the support of Oxfam in the Pacific to communities with keen youth and gender-based interests in the form of awareness visits, music engagement, sharing photography/theatre/filmmaking skills, storytelling initiatives and an empathy building process.

Oxfam’s Side By Side Campaign Coordinator Neil Nuia who also manages the U-REPORT program in partnership with the National Government and UNICEF, says the weeklong exchange program in the Western province was an exciting achievement that was well received by the communities they had visited.

The Side By Side Campaign is a gender-based and youth-centred movement equivalent to Oxfam’s global ENOUGH Campaign while the U-REPORT is a recently designed digital program that aims to engage youths in national dialogues using mobile-based approaches and social media platforms.

“The outcome and support we received in the Western province was beyond our expectation. We want to thank all the youths that joined us, the Western Youth Council, Western Provincial Council of Women and the communities who hosted us with great hospitality,” Nuia says.

Neil added that PYELP also brings economic benefits to local women in the communities who hosted the accommodations of the 60 plus participants in the duration of the programme.

The PYELP closed on Sunday with a moving public theatre performance in Gizo, a rendition of Dreamcast Theatre’s “Freedom” play.

“Everybody loved the Freedom act and seeing it coming from youths of Western Province was a great feeling. They too must be applauded for taking leading roles in all these activities,” Nuia says.

“Our U-REPORT youth ambassadors promoted the free mobile-based text-messaging tool in Munda and surrounding areas of Gizo, including Titiana community,” Nuia explains for the U-REPORT component.

“Six registration drives have been conducted in these areas. The team was received with much excitement and curiosity following the service and it’s potential to collectively amplify nationwide youth issues.”

Documented activities including the Freedom play from the PYELP tour in Western will be highlighted this week in Honiara during an arts event at the MSG Building this Sunday. The public are welcomed to attend the event.

The PYELP will travel to Malaita later this month and wrap with a third tour in Guadalcanal.

–OXFAM PRESS

Construction to expand Hibiscus Apartment commence soon.

Written by
Eddie Osifelo
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By EDDIE OSIFELO

CONSTRUCTION is expected to commence in November or December this year on the $120 million expansion of the Hibiscus Executive Apartments and Residence for Australia’s DFAT.

Solomon Islands National Provident Fund (SINPF) General Manager stated this during the declaration of the 6 percent crediting rate for members at Heritage Park Hotel last Thursday.

Wate said tenders were issued and opened for contractors to build this property investment project.

Furthermore, he said the Board with the support of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group commenced the feasibility of developing its 90 hectares land bank at Panatina for the development of homes for members.

Wate said a business case will be presented to the Board in this new financial year.

Further to that, Water said the IFC also provided support to the Board for its derisking options in South Pacific Oil Limited during the year and they will also expect a completion of that work in this financial year.

In the meantime, SINPF has completed major refurbishments of the Anthony Saru Building (ASB) and NPF buildings during the year with ASB almost fully tenanted.

The Auki, Malaita Province Solomon Telekom Sales Office building construction was completed towards the end of the financial year.

Wate said additional specific requirements by the two new tenants extended the completion of the building.

“The two tenants are expected to move in from 1 November 2021.

“The property is the first SINPF formal investment in Malaita Province,” Wate said.

Furthermore, Solomon Finance Limited trading as Our Finance is now fully resourced with its own Board and General Manager appointed in November 2020 and early 2021 respectively.

Wate said a new interim license was issued to SFL by the CBSI in December 2020.

He said SFL Board will apply for the conversion of the interim license in October 2021, with the new nonbank financial institution expected to commence its members leading business in early 2022.

NPF membership drop

Written by
Eddie Osifelo
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General Manager for SINPF Mr Mike Wate

By EDDIE OSIFELO

SOLOMON Islands National Provident Fund (SINPF) has witnessed a drop in membership this year.

Speaking at the declaration of the 6 percent crediting rate for members at Heritage Park Hotel last Thursday, General Manager, Mike Wate said 5,967 new members were registered during the year, down from previous year’s level of 6,182.

Wate said the total membership (with credit balance) increased to 144,198 million up from 143,950 recorded in the previous year.

He said contributions received from employers and members increased to $344.2 million up from $333.0 million in 2020.

“Total member contributions balance therefore increased to $3.3 billion from $3.1 billion in 2020,” he said.

Furthermore, Wate said active contributing members slightly declined to 57,530 from 59,330 recorded in the previous year.

He said active members hold a total contribution balance of $2.6 billion.

Fiji repatriation flight proposed for this month

Written by
Mavis Podokolo
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BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO

A planned repatriation flight to bring home Solomon Island students in Fiji is proposed for 26th October 2021 if approval is given by the cabinet.

This was confirmed by Dr Jimmie Rodgers Secretary to Prime Minister in a radio talk back show on Sunday.

“We will be going back to cabinet next week for a proposal on how Solomon Islands can slowly re-open its flights. I’ve mentioned this one because we are going to be recommending first repatriation flight from Fiji to be on the 26th of October.” Rodgers said.

He said this flight if approved will only bring in smaller number of people to enter the country.

“We will be finalising a discussion paper to go through cabinet for their consideration for re-opening of flights.

“But for us to completely open our borders it’s a tough call,” Rodgers said.    

Acting High Commissioner for Solomon Islands in Fiji Ellison Mason confirmed that in term of the proposed repatriation flight his office is now working with the Fiji government to ensure clearance is given.  

SOSA gives back $645,000 to Selwyn College

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Chairman of Kirio Solomon Kalu and his comittee member present the money they raise to Principal Davidson Ngwaeramo and Arch Bishop Reverend Dawea.

Selwyn Old Scholars Association (SOSA) and students have raised $645,000 through its fundraising activities coincide with the 50th Golden Jubilee celebration of their school.

As part of celebrating the 50th Golden Jubilee the school body (SOSA) through its four divisions Kirio, MASI, Tahula and Noabu have organized fundraising activities for the past 6 months with a target of $150,000 each.

The funds will go towards schools’ renovation project set to kick start this week.

On Friday the four divisions presented the money they raised in style which brought great joy and satisfaction to former students, parents, families, students and the church.

Chairman of SOSA Robert Iroga commends each division for meeting their target adding nothing is impossible through hard work and commitment.

SOSA Chairman Robert Iroga, right, escorting the Governor General Sir David Vunagi during the presentation night on Friday.

“We are the living testimony to the success story of Selwyn College, without the school we would end up somewhere else or part of the problem but Selwyn College has transformed us to where we are today,” he said.

Iroga explains that SOSA family have the heart to support the school because they want to see future generation have access to quality education.

Kirio members showcasing school uniforms used by Selwyn College

He said with the money raised the committee will look at ways to utilize the funds.

He said the priorities areas are school sanitation and classrooms.

Tahulu division members procession to perform their presentation

He urges the new generation of SOSA to carry on the leadership so that the spirit of Unity and Faith live on forever.

School Principal Davidson Ngwaeramo confirmed the renovation of academic facilities will start this week.

The academy facilities include Science laboratory, chemistry, physics, biology and Home Economic.

He assured SOSA families that the school administration will use the funds in transparent and accountable in accordance with the ACOM and Ministry of Education.

He said if things go according to plan the school should have a new facelift by 2021.

He hopes the new facelift will serve the up coming generation for the next 50 years.

Noabu division Chairman Collin Dywane and PS Maesiola presenting amount they raise to School Principal Davidson Ngaeramo and Arch Bishop Reverend Leonard Dawea

He also stated that the renovation of boys and girls’ dormitories is the next priority area that the school administration will attain to after completing all classroom facilities.

“This means there is still a long work ahead of us,” he said.

Mr Ngwaeramo said the drama of SOSA fundraising for the past months have enacted the fundraising drive by Reverend Canon Bindon made to various part of the world to raise funds for the school after the cyclone Namu in 1986.

He said it is important that the true spirit of SOSA must keep alive at all times to ensure each generation take turn to ensure the learning environment is clean and safe for future scholars to enjoy.

He commends students from 1970-2021 for the good work they have done to raise the much-needed fund and give back to the school.

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