DEAR EDITOR, as we await an outcome from the meeting between the govt caucas and NOCSI, I thought I’d share some information re previous Solomon Games hosted in other provinces for our information.

To start with I’d say that none of those SGs were better prepared nor offered better support services to athletes, officials and guests compared to what Renbel has prepared to offer.

In previous SGs most play grounds/facilities earmarked for competitions were largely existing ones that were either upgraded, cleared or cleaned only weeks or even days before the kick off dates.

Some sports like volleyball, swimming, boxing, beach sports and other minor indoor sports had to scramble or improvised to find an area to host their competitions.

Food was not fitting for sports men and women as they were tea/milo with navy biscuits for breakfast, rice, noodle and taiyo for lunch and again for dinner. Sometimes lunch is navy biscuits and luncheon meat, or if we’re lucky cabbage, fish or chicken, but this were rarely offered.

Most of the time there were food shortages either daily or/and when contingents are waiting to return to Honiara or their provinces. Some teams bathe in empty 44-gallon petrol drums filled with water and some used the sea.

Mineral water was the main drinking water coz water supplies were either dirty or just unsafe to drink. Some lodging areas were without proper beddings, not even a mat on offer.

Some rest rooms were very unhygienic yet athletes/officials just have to use them because they have no choice. Transportation were disorganised and sometimes unreliable.

Security was left to the good behaviour of the public. Ceremonies were often late, disorganised and more than often flat. So the list can go on. Of course we acknowledge that there were also some good things that did occurred, but they weren’t much beyond the excitement of winning medals.

Point is Renbel has learnt from these shortcomings and shortsightedness and are prepared to offer a better tournament compared to previous ones.

Nick Hatigeva

Vice chairman for Renbel SG Committee

DEAR EDITOR, “The beginning of the race already starts”, commented one observer.

As anticipated, its coverage dwarfed the front pages of the local newspapers.

To a layman on the street, its business as usual.

For those who missed out on the handouts, it’s time to lurk around etching where the tide goes; whilst those on the band wagon would spent sleepless nights counting the till.

How much more will this culture of cargo cult ever ends?

Thanks to the genius of our former leaders to bring us this far.

Jay Leemans,

Honiara

DEAR EDITOR, this is a growing social issue in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

The so called fund raising activity at night is increasingly becoming one of the main sources of common nuisance today in the residential areas of Honiara.

The night fund raising activity using amplified music and unwanted noise from the dancing groups tends to aggravate everyone’s nerves not to mention the noisy contribution from the drunkards in the neighbourhood.

It is annoying especially when a tired worker who needs a good rest, a sick member of the family who needs a quiet time, a student who needs to study at home while a new born baby at home is trying to get a peaceful night’s rest just could not do so because of the noise pollution at night.

According to section 172 of the Solomon Islands Penal Code, common nuisance is an offence and any person who breaches this provision shall be liable to imprisonment for one year. It is important that the public know about this law especially when it comes to dealing with noise pollution in residential areas.

The urgent call to the public now is to report to the police any form of noise disturbance in your area.

Let us all be responsible to maintain a peaceful and quiet night for all families in our neighbourhood by reporting common nuisance.

Thank you for your consideration.

Geoffrey Mauriasi

Laucala Campus, USP

DEAR EDITOR, these are some of the characteristics of a good leader that we should look for and vote for in year 2019 general election.

Your vote will become a leader that can represent you, your community, our future and our country as a whole.

Enough is more than enough to vote for leader with little vision for the future, lack of accountability and poor integrity.

However, here are leader that we should cry for and vote for in year 2019.

Leader with Honesty and integrity, confidence, inspire others, commitment and passion, good communicator, decision making capabilities, accountability, delegation and empowerment, empathy and creativity and innovation.

As a Solomon Islanders our votes can determined the future of our beloved country and whether our country will developed or not.

Therefore, gratify your ballot for a leader that has all these qualities mention above.

Because if we don’t, then we might struggle to make the mark in the world of leadership.

You have to set a good example for others to follow this coming general election.

To conclude, to all candidate for 2019 general election, this is when your commitment, passion, empathy, honesty and integrity come into play.

Good communication skills and decision-making capabilities also play a vital role in success and failure of a leader.

Therefore, innovation and creative thinking, as well as the futuristic vision, are a couple of key traits which make a leader stand out.

Steven Rako

Law student

USPSI