BY CHARLES KADAMANA

HONIARA City Clerk Rence Sore has broken his silence to clear the controversial deal fire extinguisher procurement arrangement with Chinese company, Jingsan Anbao Firefighting Company Limited.

He said the deal was for good intention to save lives and properties within the city following a fire incident when Motor Corporation was burnt down in September last year.

City council has been under the spotlight in recent weeks when the former chairman of finance Willie Billy Abae made a call to investigate the uncounted revenue collected for sale of Fire Extinguisher following his sacking.

To shed some light Mr Sore told local media yesterday that initially the idea to introduce fire extinguishers came out on September 7, 2019 when they attended Solomon Islands Football Federation (Under 23) Corporate Table Dinner at Point Cruz Yatch club.

He said on the event some members of the HCC Executive and Council Core Coordinating Committee (4cs) were attending the corporate dinner when a fire incident happened and that is when they start discussing the issue of Fire Extinguishers to protect properties and lives in the City.

He said the 4Cs then agreed to take the matter of Fire Extinguishers forward.

A day later on September 8 and onwards consultation amongst the 4Cs on the issue continued so as consultations with the other councillors had also commenced.

Sore said consultative consensus was reached to formalise the matter of fire extinguishers and a Public Private Partnership (PPP) was agreed to as a way forward.

In this process, the mayor and the clerk were consulted to progress the matter of fire extinguishers.

Sore revealed that on November 15 last year a PPP Agreement was signed with Jingsan Anbao Firefighting Company Ltd of China on trial basis.

On November 18 a purchase order was signed between the company and HCC and eight days later a purchase order was signed between the two parties.

The media was told yesterday afternoon that two containers had been ordered but only half of the first one container has been sold.

On November 30, Jingsan invoiced HCC and a day later an international transfer of $1.8m was paid to the supplier.

Sore reveals that by the end of last year, the Council had no money to pay for the fire extinguishers so they approached appointed councillor John Szetu so that they could borrow money from.

Sore said Szetu agreed to support in good faith and HCC would refund his money.

The City Clerk adds refund attracts no interest and Szetu was never part of the PPP signed between HCC and Jingsan.

“So, we signed an agreement and he gave us $1.8m,” he said.

“He came to our rescue,” said Sore.

In fact, Szetu had acted in good faith and gave his own money to the council to purchase those fire extinguishers, said Sore.

Sore maintains that the HCC Approved Fire Extinguishers were consultatively agreed and recommended to the City Mayor by the 4Cs and him being the city clerk as expected administratively implement the recommendation.

Sore said HCC is engaging a legal firm to represent and to clear out its name that was defamed by the mainstream and social media.

The City Clerk said they are engaging a private law firm because the Attorney-General’s Office is busy with COVID-19 pandemic measures.

When asked whether the deal went through a tender process, he said it is a trial project, so they signed the Public-Private Partnership programme with testing in mind.

“So, we identified the most suitable partner and signed the partnership.

He also explains that company was identity following a thoughtful search through online considering the price and quality of the products.

He said if the trial does not work out well, they will look for other suitable company to supply the fire extinguisher.

WALE calls on government to explain boundaries of Alligator Creek to Poha zone

The Leader of Opposition Matthew Wale calls on the government to take note of the issue raised by the Chief Magistrate on the lack of coordinates for the boundary of the Emergency Zone which now also the area of focus for the upcoming lock down.

In her recent ruling in the criminal case, Regina v Kevin Tarifiu & Others – CC N0. 379/2020, the Chief Magistrate stated that the lack of coordinates clearly demarcating the boundary of the Emergency Zone as defined in the Emergency Zone (COVID 19) (Declaration of Honiara as Emergency Zone) Order 2020, will have a bearing on the issue of place of residence within the emergency zone.

Mr Wale points out that, “According to the map attached to the Covid 19 plan, although there is a red line indicating the inland side of the emergency zone boundary, there are no coordinates to go with this line”. 

He says if this means there are none in place then it raises the question where exactly on the ground is the red line.

“Given the order purports to restrict the freedom of movement of people into and within, and confine people within to their places of residences, the point raised by the court must not be brushed aside.

“People must know precisely where exactly between Poha river and Alligator Creek is the emergency zone so they are clear on whether they are affected or not. 

“This is not only an issue for people residing on the fringes of Honiara but even those right in the centre.  In the absence of any coordinates, how can one say, Rove or Titinge is in the emergency zone?” Wale questions.

He says while the lockdown may be viewed as an important exercise by some, ensuring that the exercise affects people at the bare minimum is crucial. 

“We are talking about suspending people’s movement to access food, water and other basic needs on a daily basis by law and so the point raised by the Chief Magistrate is important.

“I therefore call on the government to seriously look into the issue. The last thing we want is to spend a lot of money on police enforcement only to find that there is a legal defect that might make all those efforts and spending of emergency funds futile in the end,” the Opposition Leader adds. 

–OPPOSITION PRESS

SIFF eying Asia and Europe for Kurukurus preparation

By Taromane Martin

THE Solomon Islands national futsal team, Kurukurus, will have an extra 12 months to prepare for the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania after FIFA announced the event has been postponed.

The football world governing body on Tuesday last week had confirmed that the Futsal World Cup which was original set to take place on September 12 2020 will now take place September 12 to October 3 in 2021, due to the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) President Mr William Lai welcomed the announcement saying it was expected and that the coronavirus is something the whole world had to overcome.

Mr Lai said they feel the move was necessary and not a surprise stressing the Kurukurus and SIFF can do more in this 12 months in terms of preparations and hosting futsal competitions in the country.

SIFF had planned to kick the 2020 season of the SIPA national Futsal League off in April but was forced to reschedule due to the pandemic.

Despite the situation, Mr Lai said it is still not too late to start the 2020 season again and is planning on kicking off the league soon depending on when the government will ease restrictions.

“Once the boarder is opened up between Australia and Solomon Islands we will go to Australia for a period of training- maybe two to three weeks-because our head coach lives in Australia,” Lai said.

“So therefore he can arrange all the training programmes, all the facilities at his home city (in Lismore, eight hours north of Sydney).

“We will spend more time overseas to build up our training programmes in Australia. We will do some tournaments in Asia and then, hopefully, in the final stage near the tournament we’re going to have one tournament in Europe before we go to the world cup so it’s going to be exciting times ahead for us,” Lai said.

Sydney based Kurkuru Head Coach Vinnicius Leite said the players have been maintaining their fitness individually during the COVID-19 pandemic and is hopeful they will be able to train together as team soon.

“As soon as we are able to train together we can hopefully bring the team over to Australia and continue with our preparations and to at least have two international overseas training camps,” Leite told RNZ in an interview.

“The Kurukurus are fortunate have already secured their place in Lithuania and be amongst 13 out of the 24 countries for the competition.

“To not have a stadium- a big stadium- to qualify for four straight World Cups in a row without much financial incentive compared to the other teams, having to have shoes donated to them, uniforms donated to them, balls donated- imagine how much more they could achieve and do if they had the basics, which they’re going to start having it now. I’m a very optimistic person and after this qualifiers things are going to change for the better.

“This time around our aim is to get out of the group stages. You have to have ambitions to win it but you have to be realistic and honest with yourself.

“With the team we have it’s going to be almost impossible to win but if we can get out of the group stage that will be a remarkable achievement which is what we are working towards,” Leite adds.

Meanwhile Kurkuru team captain Elliot Ragomo had called for public support towards the team’s preparation for the world cup saying the players and management now more than ever, needs the support of the whole nation as they seek to make history for Solomon Islands at their fourth FIFA World Cup.

PRIME Minister Manasseh Sogavare says the national fight against the covid-19 pandemic is not over.

In his recent nation-wide address, the Prime Minister said despite the decision to slowly re-open businesses and schools, it does not mean everything is back to normal.

“We must never let our guard down. We must continue to listen to sound advice from our authorities. We are still in a State of Public Emergency,” he said.

“Whilst we are cautious about the threat of the virus, we are also conscious about our businesses and the employment of our people. We are also equally concerned about the wellbeing and education of our students as well.”

Meanwhile, Mr Sogavare reassured good citizens of Solomon Islands that the Government remains on high alert.

He said at this stage, the behavior and trend of the virus is still unpredictable.

“The virus behaves differently in various countries and therefore we will continue to monitor the situation globally and most especially our neighboring countries,” he said.

The Prime Minister adds the Government is fully aware that the virus knows no borders.

“We are very cautious of its impacts and the threat it will have on the health, lives and livelihoods of our people,” he said.

He said the virus is not only a health challenge, but has developed into an economic challenge and a threat to our food security as well.

“Fellow Solomon Islanders, I must reiterate that COVID-19 still remains a real threat and is our common enemy. Therefore, we must continue to remain united and vigilant,” the Prime Minister said.

Sogavare also acknowledged the continuous support from citizens of the country, Churches, development partners, the private sector and all stakeholders.

“Our united stand has since placed Solomon Islands amongst a few countries around the world that are COVID-19 Free. And it is my wish and my Government’s desire to remain a covid-19 free nation until this battle is over,” he said.

–OPMC PRESS