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Gang rape case goes to High Court

Written by
Jennifer Kusapa
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The High Court of Solomon Islands. Photo by SIBC.

BY JENNIFER KUSAPA

Five individuals alleged to have involved in a gang rape will appear again at the High Court on April 29.

Their case was mentioned in court for pre-trial conference but since counsels in carriage of the case needed to sort out PTC documents, Justice Maelyn Bird adjourned the case to April 29.

This is in relation to the case against two juveniles and three adults who allegedly ganged up to rape a 13-year-old girl at a village in Weather-coast, south Guadalcanal in 2017.

The two juvenile males aged 16 and 17 are facing charges of rape and defilement while Benard Suia, 26, Thomas Ini, 24 and Joana Tatehando, 25, are facing one count each of procuration.

The allegation said the three adults assisted the juveniles to rape the 13-year-old girl on September 29, 2017 under an incomplete house at Haimarao area.

The victim had been cared for by her father after her mother died when she was very young at another village in Weathercoast.

From what prosecution gathered it says that the girl lived with her cousin sister at another village when the incident occurred.

Prosecution alleged on the day of the alleged incident at about 8pm, the female accused Joan Tatehando, sought the permission of the girl’s cousin sister for her to spend the night at her house.

Arriving at Joanna’s house, the prosecution alleged that all the other accused were there sitting at the house.

Prosecution then alleged the three adults forced the girl to have sexual intercourse with the two juveniles, who went and waited under an incomplete house, 19 metres away from Joana’s house.

The girl refused but Thomas allegedly pulled her to the incomplete house.

It was then alleged the two juveniles pulled her under the house and repeatedly raped her, before leaving her there.

Prosecution further alleged that while the rape took place, the three adults were sitting at the veranda of Joana’s house fully aware of the rape taking place.

Margaret Suifaasia of the Office of the Director Public Prosecution appears for the crown on the matter.

Trust the vaccine, take the jab: PM

Written by
Alfred Pagepitu
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Honourable-Prime-Minister-receiving-his-first-vaccine-shot

BY ALFRED PAGEPITU

PRIME Minister Manasseh Sogavare is again urging citizens to take the vaccine.

A Government communications unit (GCU) statement yesterday said Mr Sogavare brushed aside reports from the European Medicine Agency (EMA) linking blood clots to the AstraZeneca vaccine as ‘unsubstantiated’.

He however said the vaccination rollout will continue, encouraging citizens to step forward and take the jab.

In his Monday nationwide address, Sogavare said, “My good people of Solomon Islands, there have been reports linking the occurrence of clotting disorders with the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“The global scientific community and the World Health Organisation have only discovered 78 cases of blood clotting episodes out of over 200 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines administered throughout the world.

“They also could not establish a direct co-relation between the taking of the vaccine and the blood clotting episodes.

“Our COVID-19 vaccine technical working group comprising of Ministry of Health and Medical Services, World Health Organisations and UNICEF health and immunisation experts have continually reviewed global literature as well as our own records to date and our conclusion is that AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and its roll-out will continue.

“As I have stated before, every vaccine has side-effects. Just like every medicine have side effects.

“The most important thing is that we must be ready and prepared to pick up any side effect when it occurs and deal with it promptly so that those affected are assisted if there is a need for this to occur.

“In this regard I am happy to advise that our health people are capable.

“They are trained to recognise early signs of side effects and they are also trained to respond to them effectively.”

“My key message is please do not be afraid to take the AstraZeneca vaccine. It is currently the best protection any of us will have against COVID-19,” said Sogavare.

No man, woman should stand family violence: Chief Justice

Written by
Jennifer Kusapa
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Chief Justice Sir Albert Palmer. Photo by RNZ

BY JENNIFER KUSAPA

“No man, woman, or young person in the society in his right mind should tolerate the increasing surge of crimes of violence against families.”

Chief Justice Sir Albert Palmer says this in the face of rising gender and family violence in the country.

Addressing the opening of a four-day workshop on gender and family violence for judicial officers yesterday, Palmer said the rising number of cases of gender and family violence “should not only prick our consciences but everyone in the nation as well”. 

“While the courts will do the best, they can in attending to such matters promptly and timely in terms of court hearings, trials and processes, it is a concern which everyone in the society must take up, especially the churches, the Government, provincial governments and civil societies.

“The workshop commencing today should sensitize, equip and empower you, judicial officers to have a better understanding and appreciation in dealing with gender and family violence matters. 

“It is timely for a lot of focus and emphasis by Government, Aid Donor organizations, the United Nations, civil societies and the community have raised concerns and held awareness talks in the increasing numbers of crimes committed and cases coming through the doors of the courts.”

He said there have also been cases where judicial officers have increased sentences for family violence offenders to reflect the seriousness of the offence and to send a clear message to the community that family violence will not be tolerated by the Courts.  This is something which this workshop can also enter into discussions time permitting and other measures that can be considered to ensure priority in court hearings and processes while safeguarding the rights of the accused to a fair hearing.

He adds that such type of workshop, the Gender and Family Violence Workshops have been conducted in six other Pacific countries, with support from their Chief Justices and the judiciary.  We are grateful to the PJSI team for the fantastic work it has been doing in having such a workshop convened with a specific focus on empowering judicial officers.

A key element or focus of the workshop is to introduce the toolkit and the four key areas of (i) collaboration, (ii) prevention, (iii) victim focus, and (iv) perpetrator accountability. These areas will be thoroughly discussed throughout this week and help to impart relevant knowledge and attitudes towards dealing with these types of crimes.

There have been encouraging results from other countries where the workshops have been conducted including the establishment of a Judicial Gender and Family Violence Action Plan, and judges, magistrates and court staff being empowered with increased knowledge on gender and family violence.

“I trust this workshop will further improve and enhance your knowledge base and attitudes towards this unacceptable increasing trend of violence in our society and empower you with the right skills and capacity to be more effective and efficient in the discharge of your judicial functions.

“I trust that this time out for training will bear rich fruits in the discharge of your work as judicial officers.”

The workshop is organised by the Pacific Judicial Strengthening Initiative.

Malaita continues with more employment for its citizens

Written by
Samie Waikori
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BY SAMIE WAIKORI

AUKI

MALAITA provincial government (MPG) is steaming ahead with employment activities for its population.

It is currently, among others, recruiting for CLO positions.

MPG is recruiting through the Provincial Community Governance and Grievance Management (CGGM) office in Auki.

Coordinator for CGGM, Mr Emmanuel Maesua told this paper yesterday preparation is underway for roll-out of phase II of CGGM project in Malaita.

He said 216 applications have been received and submitted to Ward Development Committees of the 33 wards for screening.

Maesua said WDCs are still undergoing screening of the applicants and shortlisted applicants will be forwarded to his office for interview.

He said his office will organise four teams of panelists to the four substations of the province to conduct interviews for applicants.

Maesua said they expect recruitment process to complete before June and selected Community Liaison Officers (CLOs) to begin working thereafter.

He said initial proposal was for the project to recruit 65 CLOs, but was trimmed down by Malaita provincial government to begin with 33 CLOs for 33 wards in the province.

Maesua said MPG decided to recruit 33 CLOs for now and will be looking at the remaining 32. Thus, they had already asked MPGIS to look after the remaining number.

Maesua said in phase I of the project 13 CLOs were recruited.

He said the goal of the project is to strengthen local governance institutions for community grievance management and enhance effective linkage with provincial governments in communities.

Maesua said now that the project has expanded, his office through MPG looks forward for better coordination of the project to benefit communities in the province.

He said MPG will be the employer of phase II of this CGGM project in Malaita.

Father’s sexual assault case adjourned

Written by
Jennifer Kusapa
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BY JENNIFER KUSAPA

THE case of a father alleged to have sexually assaulted his daughter in Ngella last year will be mentioned again in court on April 19.

This is for the defence counsel Ron Dickey Pulekera to obtain further instruction from his client regarding the amended document that the prosecution has filed.

This is the case of a father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, accused of sexually abusing his own daughter various times in 2019 and 2020.

Prosecution said the accused is facing counts of sexual abuse on a child, domestic violence and psychological abuse.

It is alleged that the father sexually abused his 14-year-old daughter sometimes in 2019 but the victim did not report the matter, however in various dates of July this year he again allegedly sexually abused the victim.

It is further alleged that when the victim went to the Taroniara Clinic on July 18, 2020, she was referred to Tulagi Hospital after which she finally disclosed information to her grandmother about the alleged incidents.

Police then finally arrested the defendant on July 19, 2020 to face the court of the alleged offences.

Margaret Suifaasia of the Office of the Director Public Prosecution appears on behalf of her colleague prosecutor Patricia Tabepuda yesterday While Rodney Manebosa appears onbehalf of his colleague Mr Pulekera.

Viability of DBSI questioned

Written by
Eddie Osifelo
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MP, Rick Hou

By EDDIE OSIFELO

MEMBER of Parliament for Small Malaita, Rick Hou has raised concerns over the long-term viability of the Development Bank of Solomon Islands (DBSI).

The four areas Hou raised when debating on the $4 billion budget are:

  1. its capitalization: for DBSI to play its role effectively it needs to be adequately capitalized – at least $100 Million injection;
  2. Governance: it is critical that positions on the Board and senior management of the Bank are filled with individuals who pass the “proper and fit test” ;
  3. Political influence and pressure: this is a major reason for the downfall of the former DBSI.  

Hou said it is important that government must keep at an arms-length from the Bank.

“By the look of the current Board make-up, there may be cause for concern; iv) prudential financial management; the Bank management must maintain sound financial management.

“From the numbers provided by the Minister I am concerned that DBSI appears to be on a lending spree already,” he said.

Hou said out of the recent capital injection of $55 Million under the Economic Stimulus Package, the Bank has already lent out $58.3 Million by February this year.

“One would be concerned that sooner than its doors were opened for business, DBSI would be overleveraged already.

“Sir: Based on the foregoing observations, I strongly urge the CBSI to keep a close eye on DBSI to ensure normal prudential guidelines are observed by the Bank.  We don’t want to repeat the mistakes by the former DBSI,” he added.           

112 Chinese engineers here to work on games facilities

Written by
Alfred Pagepitu
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0
The engineers upon their arrival into the country on Sunday night.

BY ALFRED PAGEPITU

A total of 112 engineers arrived in the country on Sunday night to help with the construction of the 2023 Pacific Games stadium and other facilities in Honiara.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said all 112 engineers from China have also completed their two doses of vaccines upon their arrival.

The Prime Minister highlighted this during his nationwide address on Monday.

Sogavare said they will still serve out the normal 14 days in quarantine period at this stage.

He said there are another four flights on Friday from Brisbane, Indonesia, Port Moresby and Nadi so a total off 268 people are in the various quarantine stations, with one person in isolation.

“60 people have graduated at the quarantine stations last week,” he said.

He also said the ministry of health has commenced deployment to the border as of last week.

The flight from China on Sunday night saw the engineers and technical people disembarked just before midnight before going through immigration formalities.

They were whisked away to their quarantine stations after completing paperwork.

They will serve their quarantine period before being released to start work.

When welcoming those that arrived, Minister of Health and Medical Services Dr Culwick Togamana who was at the airport to witness and welcome the arrival of the 50,000 SinoPharm vaccine doses acknowledged the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) for supporting the Pacific Games project.

“Apart from the vaccines tonight we also welcome the 120 Chinese engineers who also arrived on board the chartered flight to assist with the 2023 Pacific Games construction project,” he said.

Minister Togamana said the current COVID-19 situation should not stop the country from undertaking some of its national projects, thus, he acknowledged PRC for its support towards a number of projects to prepare for the Games.

“Indeed, the global pandemic must not deter us from other national projects and programmes for our people and thus, sincere thank you to China and to the 120 engineers, we hope they enjoy their stay in Honiara,” he said.

It’s understood, PRC is funding and supporting the construction of about seven games’ venues and facilities.

COVID care training for local tourism operators

Written by
Press Release
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Group Photo of workshop facilitators from MCT and MHMS with the first group of tourism workers to undergo the training.

THE Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) has launched a four-day first ever training on the COVID-19 Extra Care Measures and Standards.

This followed a three year cooperation agreement signed by MCT and MHMS in August last year to incorporate COVID-19 extra care, public health and safety measures including Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) into MCT’s minimum standard requirement for tourism services mainly in accommodation, tours, transport and attractions.

As part of this cooperation, the training this week is to ensure the tourism sector is strategically and relevantly aligning itself to the “new normal”, or new way of living, working and interacting with other people to protect against COVID-19 and mitigate transmission.

In launching the training, MCT Permanent Secretary Andrew Nihopara described the impact of the pandemic on the tourism sector as immense with the sector continuing to suffer.

“The pandemic created huge negative impact and subsequent high degree of uncertainty on the global, regional and the national tourism sector.


MCT Permanent Secretary Andrew Nihopara delivering remarks to open the 4 days training

While we cannot rush forward blindly into these uncertain times, we surely also cannot shut down.

Like we took measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change, so must we also start making the necessary adjustments and taking the critical actions to adapt and be resilient to live with the impacts of COVID-19”,

Having stated this, Mr Nihopara then urge participants to learn as much as possible from the training and prepare to implement the new set of “new normal” knowledge and skills.

“Let me reiterate and remind all the participants that you are the pioneers in this new normal, being the first of many more tourism groups who will be undertaking this training. It is therefore very important that you set the standards high, as you will be the first to roll out the application of this new set of knowledge and skills across your various businesses and institutions”.

National Health Emergency Operation Centre (NHEOC) Incident Controller Dr Nemia Bainivalu in his remarks expressed appreciation towards the partnerships.


NHEOC Incident Controller Dr Nemia Bainivalu delivering health remarks at the start of the training

“Our core mandate is to protect and preserve the health of our people and this includes thousands of employees within the tourism sector, including our visitors, thus, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services is very pleased in the roll out of the partnerships agreement which includes this training this week”, explained Dr Bainivalu.

Dr Bainivalu reiterates commitment from health to supporting other government ministries, private sector and all other development and social sectors of the country to maintain and enhance work standards to protect against COVID-19 and mitigate its spread.

Around 100 tourism sector workers will participate in the training with the first 50 workers in the first two days and the other 50 on Thursday and Friday.

—MHMS

Gov’t committed to reviewing 1997 Provincial Government Act

Written by
Press Release
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Minister of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening, Rollen Seleso

MINISTER for Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening (MPGIS) Hon Rollen Seloso says the Government remains committed in reviewing the 1997 Provincial Government Act.

Minister Seloso told Parliament this week during his 2021 Appropriation Bill 2021 debate speech that as one of the redirection policies of the Government, the review of the 1997 Provincial Government Act is an on-going activity under the MPGIS.

He said the review would help bring clarity on the governance aspects of Provincial Governments, delineate different responsibilities among the administration, executive and assemblies and their relations to other stakeholders and help promote stability and good governance at the Provincial Government level.

Minister Seloso said another main aspect of the review is that it captures well some of the fundamental issues raised in the ‘Draft Federal Constitution’.

“I believe what Provincial Governments aspire to achieve is the access to resources, access to mandated functions and responsibilities and the capacity to deliver basic service to our populace,” he said.

The Provincial Government Minister said that in line with the tabling of the Revised Provincial Government Bill, MPGIS would continue to liaise with Cabinet and the Attorney General Chambers to ensure that this bill along with the Provincial Governments Revenue Sharing Bill are prioritized.

“We hope these Bills will pave way for more involvement in community development and participation for economic growth and revitalization of productive sector based programs,” he said.

—PMO

Ramofafia defends $1.47B donor injection

Written by
Eddie Osifelo
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0
Minister of National Planning and Development Coordination Rexon Ramofafia.

By EDDIE OSIFELO

Minister of National Planning and Development Coordination, Rex Ramofafia has defended the $1.47 billion injected by donors in the $4 billion budget.

Delivering his speech on the budget on Monday, Ramofafia said this demonstrates a strong donor support for our national priorities.

He said whilst some may argue that this points to a development agenda that is heavily donor financed, it must be understood that donor projects are guided by government priorities and only implemented after they have been scrutinised, modified and approved by government. 

Furthermore, Ramofafia said as an Least Developed Country and a Small Island Developing State, “we face structural challenges that hinder our ability to effectively grow the economy and increase our financing base. We will continue to need donor support to boost financing for development.”

“In this connection Mr. Speaker, as the Minister responsible for development coordination, I convey the sincere appreciation of the government and people of Solomon Islands to our development partners for your ongoing support.

“Progress that we have witnessed has been enabled by your help and ongoing support,” MP for Fataleka said.

Moreover, Ramofafia said the government acknowledges and recognises that enhancements in economic and infrastructure development, education, health, good governance, security, and gender and environmental protection will continue to depend on ongoing donor support.

He said the government values donor support in these areas and encourages donors to continue to rally support towards government priorities.

“In allocating government funding, we have also considered where donor funds are flowing, and have used domestic resources to complement such support where necessary,” he said.

The Ministry has successfully convened the first Solomon Islands Government and Development Partners Joint Dialogue for 2021 recently.

The Joint meeting provided a forum for government to dialogue with development partners on the redirection policy and provide guidance on those key areas of importance that development partners should direct and align support to.

Ramoafafia said the Ministry of National Planning and Development coordination will continue to ensure that donor support and development assistance aligns to national priorities, is owned, driven and led by national government, delivered in a coordinated and harmonised manner that uses country systems and institutions and is transparent and ensures accountability.

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