BY GEORGINA KEKEA

AROUND 90 percent of blindness and vision impairment is preventable or treatable if it’s detected early enough.

Today as the world marks World Sight Day, more emphasis is placed on looking after the eyes.

A statement from ‘World Sight Day’ website says, good vision is one of those thing which people too often take for granted.

“Approximately 90 percent of vision loss and blindness is preventable or treatable if identified early, so it’s important for people to get regular eye tests – especially if over 40.”

The risk of developing an eye condition increases as people enter their forties. People who smoke, have diabetes, have a family history of eye disease are also at increased risk of eye disease.

In Honiara, activities to mark the World Sight Day will take place at the car park of the National Referral Hospital.

The theme for this year’s World Sight Day is ‘Eye Care Everywhere’.

The statement from World sight day website says, in many parts of the world, people experience significant levels of vision loss and blindness which could have been prevented.

“So we must do more to combat treatable conditions like cataracts and diabetic eye disease.”

BY GEORGINA KEKEA

TODAY marks the International Day of the Girl Child. As part of this commemoration, a dialogue between taxi fleets and a Non-Government Organization (NGO) is taking place today.

Kings Taxi Service and Aceford Taxi Services are two fleets in Honiara that will be joining the NGO, ‘Safer cities for girls’ to commemorate this event.

20 adolescent girls including 300 taxi owners will be part of the dialogue today.

The dialogue is to provide a reflective space to talk through issues between adolescent girls and the public transport owners.

Topics will be on safety issues from adolescent girls’ experiences in public transport and what they would like to see from public transport to ensure it is safe for girls.

Kings Taxi and Aceford Taxi service were selected to be part of this dialogue because of the owners’ commitment to work as partners.

According to Safer Cities, their goal as an NGO is to build safe, accountable, and inclusive cities with and for adolescent girls (aged 13-18).

Safer Cities for Girls seeks to close existing gaps between urban programming targeting either ‘youth’ or ‘women’ by focusing on adolescent girls who are often the most excluded and marginalized populations in a city.

POLICE at Auki in Malaita Province is investigating a fatal accident that occurred in the Fulo area near Bona Village in West Kwaio on 5 October 2018.

Operation Manager Malaita Provincial Police, Inspector Michael Maebiru says, “It was a sad incident that claimed the life of a male person in his 60’s from Fulo Village. It is alleged he was travelling on a vehicle owned by the Jubilant Development Company operating in the Fulo area.

Inspector Maebiru explains: “In the early morning of 5 October the deceased and other two male persons were travelling on board a company vehicle (loader) from the Fulo logging camp to Koletutu Village some 10 to 15 kilometres away to buy beer.”

Inspector Maebiru says, “It was alleged that the trio were already under the influence of alcohol at that time. It is further alleged that the three men bought about 20 bottles of the illegally brewed alcohol (kwaso) and continued with their drinking spree as they returned to the logging camp.”

He adds: “On their way back they entered the southern end of Fulo Bridge when the incident happened. It is alleged the driver was not able to control the loader as it bounced onto the bridge. The deceased subsequently fell off the vehicle onto the road and was allegedly run over.”

“The driver upon realising what happened stopped the vehicle and went down to check on the deceased whilst the third person took off on foot for fear of being attacked.”

Inspector Maebiru says, “Upon realising that the deceased was badly injured and could not help himself the driver then assisted the deceased from the road towards under the bridge.”

“The deceased’s body was later discovered by passengers of a public transport and taken to a nearby clinic where the body was externally examined by medical authorities and pronounced dead.”

“On behalf of the police, I wish to extend our condolences and sympathy to the family and relatives of the deceased for the untimely loss of their old man,” says Inspector Maebiru.

He adds: “I call on all parties involved in this incident to allow the police to progress its investigation into the matter and not to take the law into their own hands.”

Police warn employees, members of the public and responsible owners of vehicles and drivers to stop drink and drive and the common trend of unauthorised use of company, private and government vehicles for such illegal purposes.

–RSIPF MEDIA

By Gary Hatigeva

THE Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will this morning, begin to hear from the number of Ministries that were allocated funds under the 2017 Supplementary Appropriation Bill.

Submitted as the 2017 Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2018, the Committee is expected to use two days, to inquire into how these ministries have used their allocations and what have come out of them, as far as policy achievement is concerned.

The Ministries scheduled to appear in today’s hearing are, the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, and the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Management.

The others include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, and the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affair & National Judiciary, which are expected to appear before the committee tomorrow.

There were two Supplementary Appropriation Bills for 2017, one was presented under the leadership of Snyder Rini as former Finance Minister, seeking a total of over $400 million, and the other was submitted under Manasseh Sogavare who is the current Minister of Finance and Treasury, asking for only a total of $43,906,376.

Both supplementary appropriations according to their objectives, were identical in explanatory notes, which were to supplement additional expenditure and expenditure already authorised by the Minister of Finance and Treasury under provisions in the 2017 Appropriation Act 2016.

That is through contingency warrants and advance warrants, and both were also for the service of the year ending 31 December2017, and many of these services and implementation programmes were also carried forward into the 2018 Budget.

This year, a total of $226 million was approved for a number of ministries that were forced to seek supplementary allocations, after their estimates in the 2018 budget were slashed.

The hearing into the 2017 Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2018 according to Parliamentary Schedule, starts at 9:30am this morning and ends tomorrow.

BY GEORGINA KEKEA

THE people of Auki/Langalanga are requesting their Member of Parliament (MP) to visit them to clarify how the funds for their constituency had been used.

A voter from Auki/Langalanga says on behalf of his people, he is calling on their MP, Mathew Wale to visit them and explain the acquittal reports from 2008 to 2018.

He said the people only wants to know how monies for their constituency had been spent. He said the money which their MP is withholding information on, belongs to the tax payers of this country.

“The money does not belong to government. We only want to know how the monies are being spent”.

He said they are not asking about projects being built in their constituency through the different government ministries and projects but are merely enquiring about monies allocated for the constituency through constituency funds.

“It is all that we want to know. Nothing else”, he said.

He says this is the time of the year where members of parliament are obliged to respond to their electorates whether they like it or not. He said as a voter in Auki/Langalanga constituency and a tax payer in Solomon Islands, he demands accountability from his MP.

“Because he will be contesting again and we need to know how the money is being spent. This is the peak time of politics and it is our time to make our MPs accountable”.

He said their MP shouldn’t be worried if he has nothing to hide.

Island Sun has not been able to get a respond from the MP nor members of his Steering Committee.

BY JENNIFER KUSAPA

THE court was informed yesterday that the memo sent to the Prosecution for consideration in relation to the charges against the former MP for West Makira Constituency, Hypolite Taremae is yet to be considered.

The Public Prosecutor Dalcy Belapitu said that the Director of the Public Prosecution is currently overseas and the memo has been sent to him already and awaits his say on the memo sent.

Belapitu confirmed in court that the DPP will be returning on October 23.

Belapitu also said pre-trial conference has already been conducted on the case before Principal Magistrate Fatimah Taeburi.

The case was then adjourned to October 24 for mention and also for the prosecution to consider the memo from the defence counsel.

This is the case against the former MP who has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. A Pre Trial Conference has been set as he was arrested for allegation of misappropriation of fund in 2011 and 2013.

The allegation said Taremae has misappropriated more than $200, 00 for a reafforestation project for Central Makira Constituency.

He was arrested and charged with conversion late in May this year.

Office of the Director Public Prosecution appears for crown while Anderson Kesaka is representing the accused.

By Gary Hatigeva

THE Solomon Islands Electoral Commission (SIEC) is yet to determine if the former Member of Parliament for Temotu Vatud Freda Tuki, is eligible to contest in a by-election (if it is to be held) or the 2019 National General Elections.

In an earlier statement, Chief Electoral Officer, Mose Saitala said, his office was waiting for a written copy of Monday’s High Court verdict to determine the eligibility of the former.

The Commission was supposed to have met yesterday to understand if the High Court weighs its verdict on the Electoral Act 2018 or the previous Act.

According to Electoral officials, no decisions have been made yet and they are anticipating any outcome later today.

According to Saitala, understanding the verdict would help the Commission determine if Ms. Tuki is qualified to contest in the coming national general elections.

He pointed out that there is uncertainty on the penalties that will be applied, whether they will be based on the new act or the old act.

There are also questions surrounding the validity for the courts to have used the old Act to prosecute the former’s case, as it has already been replaced by the new Electoral Act 2018.

“The offence was actually prosecuted on what happened in 2014, because it is an offence under the old act, but the old act is already gone.”

Understandably, under the new Act, the former would have been disqualified to contest in the 2019 national general elections, but may not be the case under the old act.

Based on the old Electoral Act, the ousted MP may not be eligible to contest any by-election straight after the High Court’s ruling that resulted in her automatic removal, but can contest in the next national election.

Meanwhile, the Chief Electoral Officer added that at its meeting, the Commission would also decide if a by-election for Temotu VATUD was necessary when the next national general elections, are just within months away.

However, legal officials say any plans to hold a by-election would be unjustifiable and unnecessary, having only less than three months left before the 10th Parliament House is dissolved.

They also stressed that an early poll for the affected constituency to elect a representative in any by-election may not happen due to the fact that the government has never budgeted for it, meaning, unavailability of funds, but mostly, due to limitation.

They outlined that the authorities will have to fulfil a set of processes leading up to any election and the election period itself, whether it will be a national general election or a by-election.

“An election has number processes, and they include, the nomination period, the campaign period and the election period, with the first two requiring more time and could only be at the campaign period when parliament will be dissolved”.

They however warned that any intention to fast track the processes will be deemed illegal, as it will be in breach of the procedures in the Electoral Act and the National Constitution.

Despite nothing been revealed, the Commission according to officials, will have to come out with a decision within this week on the eligibility status of the former Vatud MP to contest and if a by-election should be held.

Tuki was ousted after High Court Judge Rex Foukona ruled in favour of petitioner and former Vatud MP Clay Forau in one of the last 2014 successful election petition cases.

BY JENNIFER KUSAPA

THE court has set the trial date into the case of a man facing armed robbery charge to next year.

This is the case against Gabriel Osifelo of Ata village in Malaita province. Police alleged that on March 7 this year, he with four other boys armed with a bush knife threatened the complainant of the case.

The alleged incident occurred at the Tenaru area.

Police said that the other four boys are currently at large and yet to be arrested.

Police said that around 1200hrs, at a Cocoa house, they threatened a woman and ordered her to give them her bag. The bag is said to contain a sum of $1000 and two mobile phones.

Eye witnesses said the accused went straight to the victim and pointed her with the bush knife and took the victim’s bag and escaped into the cocoa plantation.

The matter was reported to police where an operation was conducted in which the accused was arrested at the Burns creek.

This case will appear again for mention in the next 14 days.