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Hiking rate of malaria in Malaita province

Written by
Samie Waikori
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BY SAMIE WAIKORI

AUKI 

MALAITA Provincial Vector Borne Disease Control Office in Auki has reported an annual increase of malaria in the province over the past years.

Programme Manager of Vector Borne Control programme for Malaita province, Mr John Susubi said in 2020, an increase of eight percent parasite incidental rate of malaria was recorded for the province compared to 2019.

He said the summary of records collected in the past years showed malaria keeps increasing year after year on a head-on rate.

Susubi said there were causes identified for the increase, but the primary cause was due to weaknesses in malaria control activities in the province.

He said there was also finding that an upsurge of malaria cases is always recorded from the month of November to April then May to October every year.

Susubi said whether this can be related to weather pattern of the country is interesting to know and is subjected to scientific study.

However, he said in order to reduce the rate of malaria in the province, it’s everybody’s business to work together in malaria control activities in the province.

Susubi said under vector borne control, three major components involved in the fight against malaria are, human being, environment and chemical.

He explained that under the component “human being” it comes with medication or treatment for people when tested positive and sick of malaria.

And this is the common malaria control people often resolve to, but this should be the last control people should seek in the campaign against malaria.

Susubi furthered that the second component is “environment”; this involves proper clean-ups in and around homes to avoid malaria and its reproduction in the environment.

He said the third component is chemical; that involves anti-malaria chemicals like Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) and others that applied in homes some years ago.

Saying that under the component is bed-net commonly known as mosquito net that is distributed to communities and can be accessible in malaria centres in the country.    

Susubi said another factor that keeps malaria active is because it has treatment in place, so people tend to become complacent since they think that treatment is available so everything will be ok.

He said fight against malaria should be a joint effort by everyone that requires personnel commitments to reduce the rate of malaria especially in Malaita province.

Bangladeshi man on rape charge out on $5000 bail

Written by
Jennifer Kusapa
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BY JENNIFER KUSAPA

A Bangladeshi man facing rape charge has been released on bail.

Principal Magistrate Felix Hollison released the Bangladesh national on bail yesterday following application by defence lawyer Hubert Fugui on Monday.

Mr Hollison ordered that the man be released on a cash bail of $5000 with other strict bail conditions.

Meanwhile three additional charges have also been filed yesterday by prosecution on the accused.

The additional charges are one count of indecent act, one count of criminal trespass and one count of intimidation.

Therefore, the Bangladesh national is now facing four charges, as the first charge is the charge of rape committed on a child under the age of 15.

The Bangladeshi man is accused of raping a girl 11-year-old at the Lungga area.

According to Police the case was reported to the Henderson police station last week by the mother of the victim.

Police said the victim’s mother called in at Henderson Police Station and reported that her daughter was raped by a Bangladesh national in his bedroom weeks ago.

The mother said she only knew of the incident when she heard stories from other girls about what happened to her, it was at that time the mother asked her daughter and confirmed that the accused has been doing sexual action on her about a week ago but she was afraid to tell anyone about it.

Premier condemns Mamara incident.

Written by
Jennifer Kusapa
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BY JENNIFER KUSAPA

GUADALCANAL Premier Francis Sade has condemned the recent damage incident at the Metropolis Development site at Mamara.

He said the armed group of men should not take the law into their own hands by entering the site and do what they wanted to do.

He said there are avenues to sort their grievances as resorting to violence is not a way forward, and there were allegations that some police officers were involved, which is not a good thing to do.

“Police officers are people who should mediate and inform the people about the rule of law, they must always abide by their code of conducts under their act.

“And for them to involve inside such practice does not speak well of the organisation,” Premier Sade said.

Sade said from some rumours the incident escalated as a result of harassment on some local young ladies who are working for the company by foreigners.

He said if such rumours are true the national Government and the company must be more responsible to avoid such from occurring in the future.

“There should be some orientation done before foreigners come inside our country, because we have our customs and culture in place and any foreigner coming in must always respect that.

“I totally condemned such acts by foreigners if the rumours are true, but I will call the director of the company to discuss those issues with him,” Sade said.

Auki Taxi Service repairs road in Auki

Written by
Samie Waikori
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Status of deteriorating roads in Auki town.

BY SAMIE WAIKORI

AUKI

MANAGEMENT of Auki Taxi Service on Monday this week took efforts to temporarily repair parts of the deteriorating roads within Auki town.

The brief repair of the roads was made following the impacts the road on road transport services especially in Auki.

According to report from the management of Auki Taxi Service, the condition of the road was a barrier to the taxi service they provide that affects their business.

It reported that upon the road condition faced, the newly established taxi based decided to temporary rehabilitate the road to ease the situation.

It said on Monday, members of the taxi service helped to refill potholes with gravels from Sikitae to Auki clinic a distance of 100 metres along the road.

The report said there are other segments of roads within Auki town with similar bad conditions and they are looking at temporary rehabilitation to the roads soon.

It said the effort is to relief the situation for time being while waiting for national government to fix the road.

This paper understands that Auki township road is part of SIRAP programme for Malaita province that also includes other road infrastructure like bridges and road rehabilitations outside of Auki.

National government through responsible aid donors are working on the programme and soon it will implement in the province.

PM agrees to address Gender Based Violence

Written by
Eddie Osifelo
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By EDDIE OSIFELO

PRIME Minister Manasseh Sogavare has agreed for the government to seriously address Gender Based Violence in the country.

This came after Opposition Leader Mathew Wale urged the Prime Minister to increase the funding to address GBV after it does not receive enough allocation under the Ministry of Women, Youths Children and Family Affair’s budget.

Responding to Wale in the Committee of Supply in Parliament on Monday, Sogavare said to address gender based violence needs cross section of the society to deal with it and not only the government.

This include the donors and churches to help the government curtail this issue which is described as a ‘cancer in the society’.

Sogavare said the government will need to discuss it with the right ministry to look at ways to address it, such as building more safe nets.

He said it is a serious issue that needs to be addressed now.

Wale earlier said the government is not serious about the scourge of domestic and gender-based violence in our society beyond the rhetoric.

“If it did, the size of allocations would show it,” Wale said.

“We are not unlike any other country in the world in this matter unfortunately.

“Gender based violence has increased sharply in recent times, at least by 15 percent where records are kept, and we don’t even have a proper recording system for this problem,” Wale said.

Wale said the need for refuge or safe houses in each province is both urgent and desperate.

He said the Government cannot continue its current business as usual attitude to this problem in our midst.

“It must collaborate with the churches and NGOs and invest in a rollout of safe houses across the nation, whilst simultaneously adopting a proactive preventative approach.”

He added that given the urgency and desperation of this situation, it is important that government considers renting properties for safe houses, as it plans for long term solutions.

“There is nothing in this budget to address this cancer. Is it because this problem predominantly affects women, young girls and children?” Wale questioned.

According to MWYCA, based on data collected from the Safe nets, Christian Care Centre at Tenaru recorded 10-15 percent in 2020.

While Family Support Centre recorded 10-11 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Both centres have received new cases like victims and clients trafficking and People Living With Disability and children besides the ongoing GBV on women.

3,000 babies die every year

Written by
Eddie Osifelo
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0
National Referral Hospital

By EDDIE OSIFELO

ABOUT 3,000 babies are dying every year from an estimated 20,000 babies born throughout the country.

Minister of Home Affairs, Christopher Laore confirmed this when asked by Leader of Opposition, Mathew Wale during the Committee of Supply in Parliament yesterday.

However, Laore said until recently, less than one per cent of those babies would have been officially registered and provided a birth certificate, placing their rights and protection at risk.

He said concerted and collaborative efforts by the Government and its development partners since 2010 have brought this figure closer to 34 per cent.

But Laore said still only 12 per cent of deaths are being registered, missing this indispensable opportunity to understand who is dying, where and why.

Furthermore, Laore adds that as of 31st December 2020, total registered babies are numbered at 249,190, a coverage of 34.53 percent of the 721,455 population on the current census.

He said out of the 34.53 percent, 87 percent (216,795) of it are under year olds.

“Ministry of Home Affairs and Development partners have been working closing in rolling out the new birth and death notification forms to register all new born babies across Solomon Islands and also capturing real time death data.

“A nationwide drive to register the birth of every person in the Solomon Islands is a must,” he said.

Tandai house of chiefs pay courtesy visit to Mayor Siapu

Written by
Press Release
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Deputy Paramount Chief of Tandai of Chiefs Peter Sageliverana (second left) presenting the Malona to Mayor Eddie Siapu. Witnessed by Deputy Mayor Robert Oge and Tandai House of Chiefs executive

The Tandai House of Chiefs Executive have made a courtesy visit to the new City Mayor Eddie Siapu.

The delegation led by Deputy Paramount Chief Peter Sageliverana, made the visit to show recognition and congratulate the new Mayor since he was elected last week.

Tandai House of Chiefs appreciated the shared common knowledge and recognition shown by Honiara City Council towards the people of Guadalcanal, who access the services provided in the city.

The Tandai House of Chiefs acknowledge the importance of HCC’s role as a local governing body with multi-cultural populace.

They presented traditional shell money (Malona), which has a traditional significance and value in Guadalcanal, to the Mayor as a token of appreciation.

Mayor Siapu responded by saying that he is overwhelmed by the visit and gift from the Tandai House of Chiefs.

He stated that HCC is always trying it’s best to provide better services and will continue to maintain and improve these services which will benefit everyone from different Provinces and the people of Guadalcanal.

Siapu said HCC appreciates the cordial relationship with the Tandai House of Chiefs and Guadalcanal Province and is looking forward to work together and maintain the relationship.

–HCC PRESS

MV Cheefo under strict Quarantine here: PM

Written by
Press Release
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0

THE cargo vessel MV Cheefo that the latest COVID 19 case was detected on-board has now come under strict quarantine.

Prime Minister Manasseh in his special nation-wide address yesterday said no one apart from authorised health officials are allowed to board the vessel and no one from the vessel is allowed to disembark.

This followed the latest Covid-19 case detected on MV Cheefo that arrived from Lae, PNG to Honiara over the weekend.

The Prime Minister said the Ministry of Health is working with the vessel’s agent to swab and test all the remaining crewmembers.

“This is a critical requirement to ensure the COVID-19 status of each crew is established and known,” he said.

The Prime Minister said once all the results are known an appropriate plan will be discussed with the shipping agent to be implemented.

Prime Minister Sogavare said the vessel will then be allowed to be cleared to discharge cargo under strict supervision.

“The timing of this will be determined by Health authorities following availability of test results. Any cargo that are disembarked from this vessel cannot be cleared immediately. They will first all be decontaminated before they can be cleared. This may take between 7-10 days before the cargo can be released,” the Prime Minister advised.

The Prime Minister said the Ministry of Health is also working closely with the Comptroller of Customs, other border agencies and the Shipping Agent.

He said this is to achieve the most appropriate and effective outcome for the country and the vessel owner, operator, and shipping agent in the most expeditious manner.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said he has advised the Oversight Committee to assess entry of people to our borders from PNG at this time when there is widespread community transmission of COVID-19 in PNG.

“Given that the last three cases of COVID-19 diagnosed, two from entry by air and one from a vessel all originated from PNG, I have asked the oversight committee to assess the current situation,” he said.

—PMO

Third conservation area for leatherback turtle in Isabel

Written by
Charles Kadamana
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BY CHARLES KADAMANA

Kolebara descendents of Isabel province have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the provincial government and The Nature Conservation (TNC) to conserve leatherback turtle at Litogahira.

The MOU was signed by Premier Leslie Kikolo, Director of TNC Willie Atu and Kolebara descendent representative Anette Ofu and witnessed by Paramount Chief James Mason and Chief Clement Eta last Friday.

Litogahira, which has the longest beach on Isabel province and accommodates the highest leatherback nest in the country, will become the third conversation area to preserve the largest sea turtle species on earth.

The other conversation areas that are already operational are Haevo Khulano Integrated Conversation and Soisoilo Conversation.

Paramount Chief Bishop James Mason, who was involved in the ground work to convert Litogahira beach into a home for leatherback turtle, is happy to support such project.

He recalls that when he attended junior school in Litogahira during the 1940’s they used to eat the leatherback turtle, but now he has learned that the species are just like human beings trying to survive.

He said the largest sea turtle species is endangered and their survival depends on our goodwill.

“It is time for us to come to terms with them so that we can treat them like our neighbours and protect them,” he said

Mason said with the signing of the MOU the three parties should show their commitment towards implementing the project.

Premier Leslie Kilo added that the MOU comes at a right time for them to come to one mind and strengthen their commitment towards the project.  

He said TNC has been implementing similar conservation projects like in Arnavon, Haevo and Soisoilo and the province is honoured to host such projects.

He assured resource owners that the province will try its best to comply with the condition set out in the MOU to ensure the project becomes successful.

He believes other communities and resource owners in Isabel will follow suit in terms of turning their area into conversation areas.

He acknowledged the national leaders of the province for working together with the province to see such project taking place in the province.

Member of Parliament for Hograno/Kia/Havulei Jeremiah Manele commends the three parties for recognizing the important of protecting marine species that are endangered.

He said such project will benefit the future generations to be able to learn about the species.

Manele welcomes such initiative and will support it.

Director of TNC Willie Atu added the leatherback turtle is a species highly bred in Isabel and Western provinces.

“Some species are new so connectively between land and sea is important,” he said.

Atu thanked the landowners for taking on board the project.

EDITORIAL- People, not MPs, should decide on extending life of parliament

Written by
Admin
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SO the Sogavare Government intends to extend the life of parliament from four to five years.

Its intention was revealed in a secret cabinet paper that was leaked to the public.

The leaked document confirmed cabinet had approved the proposal.

That decision was made on the following grounds:

  • Government needs ample time to fully implement its development plans and programs.
  • Government needs time to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Report and the Federal State Government System. It argued previous governments have swept these two issues under the carpet.
  • Conducting the national election in 2023, the same year the country is hosting the Pacific Games, will be costly. Delaying the election to 2024 will enable the Government to absorb the cost.

At the same time, cabinet agreed that a nation-wide consultation must first be carried out to get people’s views on the proposal.

In Parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Sogavare says there is no urgency in the policy to extend the life of parliament.

He said consultations would have to be carried out first before a final decision could be made.

To extend the life of parliament needs the support of 32 MPs of the 50-member House.

The Sogavare Government already has that number.

If it wants to have its way, it could have easily pushed the proposal through.

But it would be too dictatorial if it does that.

Extending the life of parliament is no small matter. It’s a decision that has wider implications, and one that should be left to the people to make.

While the Government has the duty and right to come up with policy matters, extending the life of parliament is not an issue that should be left to politicians alone to decide on.

It would be an absolute shame if the Government goes ahead and do that without consulting the people.

The most appropriate step to take in deciding on the issue is through a national referendum.

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