POLICE in Tulagi Central province (CP) successfully mediated a suspected sorcery case at Belaga Village, North East Small Gela on August 12, 2018.
Operation Manager at the Tulagi Police Station Inspector John Sara says, “It is alleged that the family of a 51-year-old man from Belaga Village claimed that the man died of black magic.
“The matter between the parties was tense hence it needed to be promptly addressed to avoid any escalation.
“The mediation ended peaceful with the assistance of three Melanesian Brothers, the Crime Prevention Committee members, village chiefs, elders and the Section Elder Brother of the Church of Melanesia household in Koloti.
“Police in Tulagi want to thank all those involved in the mediation including the immediate relatives of the deceased for assisting the police in the process of resolving the matter.”
Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Central province, Superintendent Patricia Leta says, “I am proud of the initiatives taken by all these leaders who are always available to settle matters peacefully regardless of their nature. This is the right direction to prevent crime in our communities.
“I appeal to all the good people of Central province to continue supporting police in fighting against crime in our Province.”
POLICE in the Central province have completed high visibility patrols in 11 villages and schools on Savo Island throughout the past week.
The villages and schools included Reko, Kuila, Pagopago, Kalaka School, Paposi School Paibeta School, Bokilo School, Panueli, Bonala, Monago and Kaugele Village.
Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Central Province, Superintendent Patricia Leta says, “Police in Tulagi were engaged in visiting communities as part of the roll out of the Crime Prevention Strategy.
“Four schools were also visited. During the awareness talks topics discussed included the abuse of alcohol and kwaso.
“Consultations with chiefs were also done with the leaders expressing the need to undergo training on the Crime Prevention Strategy.
“The training will start as soon as funds are available. Savo will be among the priorities for the training.
“The trip was possible with assistance from the Central Provincial Government which provided transport and rations during the patrol. Provincial Government officers also engaged in their revenue collection.
“I wish to thank the Paramount Chief, Crime Prevention committee members, church leaders, village chiefs, women leaders and youth leaders on Savo Island for looking after your communities. We will continue to support each other in fighting against crime in our province.”
THERE are reports that the much dreaded coconut rhinoceros beetle is spreading throughout the northern region of Malaita province.
Initially sighted in Takwa, the pest is now reportedly seen in other parts of the region such as Uru-Uru and Tara’ana which is approximately 10 kilometres from Takwa.
A senior catechist under the Takwa Catholic parish, Mr Eddie Kaia conveyed to Island Sun yesterday the fear that communities in the parish have for the incoming threat posed by the beetle for their coconuts.
He said they have already seen the effects of the beetle’s activities in their coconuts, with many trees sprouting out distorted leaves.
Kaia explains that coconut is one of their main sources of income, and with the presence of the beetle, they are certain that this source will be depleted – if help is not forthcoming from authorities.
He adds that apart from the commercial importance of coconuts, it also constitutes a part of their staple diet.
This paper understands that a team from Biosecurity and Quarantine under MAL offices in Honiara and Auki went to Takwa mid-last week in an attempt to seek possible solution to the beetle issue.
The catechist confirmed their visit to Takwa as awareness was held with communities on the issue as well as the staff set-up materials in various places in Takwa for the control of the beetle.
Hon Bodo Dettke MP (RIGHT) infront of the container filled with 1,000-litre IBC of Noni
juice bound for Brisbane tomorrow
BY LYNTON AARON FILIA
Hon Bodo Dettke MP (RIGHT) infront of the container filled with 1,000-litre IBC of Noni juice that bound for Brisbane earlier this year.
FIFTEEN thousand bottles of purified and concentrated Solomon Noni juice are out and sold in the Australian market, it is reported.
The North West Guadalcanal constituency revealed that 20 tonnes of Noni produce taken to Australia recently as sample from Solomon Islands has yielded 15,000 bottles out in the market in Australia.
This was revealed in an exclusive interview with the Chairman of the North West Guadalcanal Subsistence Farmers Association Mr Francis Orodani yesterday.
Orodani said MP Bodo Dettke and his wife will be going to Berlin this month for an Expo on Solomon Noni but it will be under the Australian flag.
“The government is not really promoting it, so sad to say that but this Expo and marketing activities will be work under different flag which is Australia flag,” Orodani said.
Orodani explains that the couple are flying the Australian flag because the Solomon Islands government does not recognise Noni as an official export product.
“We already reach out to government and have been corresponding with each other.
“At the moment, the Noni association is planning on having a factory because the interest in this type of business is increasing to people of the North West Guadalcanal constituency.
“This development still needs to come out at this stage when the government recognizes the product, and if this is one of country’s economic recoveries then surely Noni needs to come up as national sector.”
Meanwhile, Noni fruit is sold in local market at $3 per kilo and as time goes it will rise to $6.
Currently, they are paying Noni every day at King George VI particularly members of the Noni Association.
At the moment Australian is the only market for Solomon Noni, and it will be under the Australian branding, not Solomon Islands.
It is reported that MP Bodo Dettke has been purchasing land and sub-dividing them to people of North West Guadalcanal who are registered under the Noni association. This land is meant for noni plantation.
Interest in such business is also high with people keep flooding to North West Guadalcanal constituency office at Point Cruz to get registration form.
THE three Real Kakamora FC players who were asked by the Telekom Soccer League competition manager to leave the field before their match with Henderson Eels FC were registered KOSSA Honiara Football Association players.
The explanation comes following last Saturday’s incident which left Real Kakamora FC Head Coach Sam Wa’aria furious after his side lost 8-1 to Eels.
“What we were very disappointed was the last minute disqualification of some of our key players by the organisers of the competition during our warm up,” he told SunSPORTS.
“Their actions really affected our preparations because we were caught by surprise. Our loss came as no surprise because we were already mentally defeated by the organisers before the whistle blew.
“I think this was some sort of strategies by people to disadvantage other teams and it affected us all mentally for the match,” he said.
However, the organisers explained that the club had failed to finalize the three players transfer documents to the TSL Board before the closure of the HFA and TSL transfer window last month.
“At the close of the transfer window for the new season these three players remained registered KOSSA players because Real Kakamora FC failed to finalize their transfer documents,” organisers said.
“The transfer window was made possible by HFA to allow HFA registered players to transfer to TSL and HFA teams for those moving out of the HFA league into the TSL.
“But since moving to Real Kakamora these three players had infringed HFA regulations and TSL because at the close of the transfer window they failed to finalize their moves resulting in the situation,” they said.
However a statement from an official within the club said as far as they know there are no regulations between these two competitions.
“As far as we know TSL and HFA are two different competitions therefore there are no regulations between these two comps.
“If this is what Kossa stands on then might as well cancel the TSL Comp because it will also affect all the other clubs.
“The only rule that is known is that as long as a player from HFA joins a TSL club, they cannot ever go back and play in the HFA. Something needs to be corrected,” he said.
Meanwhile HFA President Baddley Alaha , on July 23 to July 27 last month had opened a transfer window for registered HFA players who wish to transfer to TSL clubs for the new season of the completion.
THE final 20 man squad for the Solomon Islands Under-16 soccer team for the 2018 OFC U-16 Championship have been revealed.
Six provincial players are selected in the 20 man squad with the rest playing their trade in Honiara with various clubs.
The team will be coached by former Solomon Islands international Stanley Waita and will be captained by forward Charles Mani.
Junior Kurukuru duo old Raphael Lea’i and Leon Kofana are also named in the final team for the OFC tournament while fellow Junior Kurukuru team mate Frankster Rukumana was unable to make the final cut.
Meanwhile the 2018 OFC U-16 Championship tournament is set to kick off on September 9-22 in Honiara.
Lawson Tama and Town Ground rugby Stadium have been identified as potential hosts for the OFC youth competition which will serve as qualification for next year’s FIFA U-16 World Cup in Peru.
Tourism Minister Hon Parapolo, supervising Provincial Government Minister Hon Manepora at the opening of Parasi
Ngella constituents question their MP’s priorities
BY BARNABAS MANEBONA
Tourism Minister Hon Parapolo, supervising Provincial Government Minister Hon Manepora at the opening of Parasi
NGELLA people feel betrayed by their Member of Parliament (MP) having time to attend the Yam Festival at South Malaita when he could not even attend Ngella’s Pana Festival.
People of the Constituency point out that if MP Bartholomew Parapolo knows much about the economic and social benefits of such festivals then they do not understand why he could not even attend and address such in his own constituency for the knowledge and development of his people.
“Our MP and the Minister of Culture and Tourism Hon Bartholomew Parapolo commented at the yam festival opening ceremony in Saraiselu Village, Small Malaita, that yam festival can bring both economic, cultural and social benefits.
“He said such cultural festivals play an integral part in the current direction of tourism development in the country.
“He also said that the Government through his ministry is taking the lead in implementing tourism initiatives through these cultural festivities. This is in recognition that tourism in Solomon Islands offers a far more sustainable and prosperous future for our country.
“He further stated that his ministry together with other line ministries and key stakeholders are very keen in transforming the tourism industry to new heights which will focus on promoting culture and tourism at the provincial level.
“Did our MP mention such during the recent Pana Festival at Haroro,” concern constituents of Ngella commented on Ngella’s famous social media forum (NGF).
With this concern causing high debate right now, others contribute that it is not only attending the Yam Festival that is bothering them too but from observation, they say that since their MP has taken the portfolio of being the tourism Minister, he has only been instead seen busy going around cutting ribbons in other provinces in relation to tourism programs having always by-passing Ngella, his very own Constituency.
The Pana Festival that was recently launched at Ngella in line with the country’s 40th Anniversary was a significant event for Ngella people being the first time to remember and showcase the significance of the root vegetable (Pana) in Ngella’s culture.
Without the support of few within the Sandfly Community assisting Imperial Travel Service and other contributors, the memorable event would had not been possible which is why Ngella people thank Imperial Travel Service for setting a historical mark for them.
During the progress to host the Pana Festival, there was quite a stir in non-cooperation especially between significant leaders and Officers in the constituency, maybe being a result of conflict of interests too.
Solomon Islands under-19 boys celebrates Patrick Taroga’s winning goal against Vanuatu.
Will play Tahiti in second semi on Thursday
BY ROMULUS HUTA
Solomon Islands under-19 boys celebrates Patrick Taroga’s winning goal against Vanuatu. Photo by OFC.
THE national under-19 soccer boys have made a clean sweep in their Group B campaign as they claimed a 1-0 win over neighbours Vanuatu in their third match of the OFC Under-19 championship in Tahiti yesterday.
The victory enabled them to finish the pool campaign at the top of the group remaining undefeated.
With nine points on their cards after three wins, they will play Pool A runner-up Tahiti on Thursday for a place in the finals.
A win against the hosts will see them earning a historic qualification into next year’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Poland.
Patrick Taroga was the hero for Solomon Islands yesterday with his lone winning goal against a determined Vanuatu side.
New Caledonia qualified alongside Solomon Islands from Pool B for the semis after finishing with a 1-1 draw against Fiji in the later match of the day.
The young Les Cagous will play Pool A winner New Zealand in the other semifinal.
Solomon Island head coach Batram Suri was excited with the well-earned semi qualification.
“The boys did very well to win the final match and finish at the top of their group.
“A win is a win although it’s 1-0. I’m very proud of the boys despite not putting up a good performance and managed to maintain our winning run right until the end of our pool games.”
Suri made a few changes from his usual line-up in yesterday’s match where he fielded in new faces onto the fray.
“I have seen some weakness in our forwards and came up with the changes.
“I also gave opportunities to my other boys so that they could have a game time,” he said.
The tournament is not yet over and Tahiti as the hosts, buoyed by their home fans has been described by Suri as a team to beat in Thursday’s semifinal.
“The boys are ready for the semifinal.
“Tahiti as the hosts will be tough given their supporters will be behind them. But we are here to challenge them and will not be going easy on them.
“They have their game plan. We also have our game plan. We’ll see how things go.
“I’m confident we can win the semis and qualify into the final.
“But overall, this is the stage that we’d very much wanted to reach and we are looking forward to it.
“A few of our players are nursing injuries at the moment and we’d very much want them to recover quickly as possible ahead of the semifinal.”
WIS STEM students arrive safely in Mexico as they were welcome at the airport.
BY LYNTON AARON FILIA
WIS STEM students arrive safely in Mexico as they were welcome at the airport.
FOUR Science Technology Engineering Mathematic (STEM) students of the Woodford International School have landed safely in Mexico yesterday for the 2018 FIRST Global Challenge.
The WIS students arrived have arrived in advance purposely to explore and adapt to the Mexican environment before competition kicks off on August 15-18 at Mexico City’s Arena Ciudad de México.
This year, more than 160 countries are participating in the annual event of FIRST Global Challenge – it convenes STEM students to solve energy-efficiency problems with robots created by student participants.
Here is a profile of the WIS four students representing Solomon Islands
Renney Sufiona— I want to make mistakes and learn from them.
My name is Renney Sufiona, from Solomon Islands. I am a risk-taker; always very eager to try out new things and learn from mistakes I make.
I am very interested in robotics because it is something that makes me curious and I am keen to learn how it is like and how it is going to help us in our daily lives.
My hope for the future is to use my talents, which is drawing to become an architect.
My artwork has been on the cover of my school diary for one whole year. I have always loved playing video games, drawing and listening to music in my spare time.
Edward Patternot—you can be my personal hero.
I am a year 9 student at Woodford International School from the Solomon Islands. When I was younger, I always loved playing with Legos, creating my own machines that worked and operated only in my imagination.
Robotics can give me the opportunity to bring my creations to life and allows me to share them to the world.
Art became a hobby of mine, constant drawing became a habit, and it is just something I do in my spare time. I loved it so much because it gave me the ability of putting my imagination on the canvas like a picture from within my mind.
Maths is my favourite subject of all time and it is something that always makes me want to improve on my skills and understanding; my favourite part is when I try to solve a problem racking my brain just to get to the satisfyingly correct answer.
I do not have a personal hero but I do look up to anyone that inspires others to follow their dreams and to be themselves in their own unique way.
If you are someone like that, then you are my personal hero.
In the future, I aspire to have an occupation that involves my strengths and passions, which are art, creativity and design.
This got me interested in being an architect in the future.
Something unique about me is that I actually love to think about random things and I always try to open my imagination to a wider range of things.
However, I always think about what the world would be if something changes, “What would happen”? This always leaves me with curiosity and I enjoy it.
I would like FIRST Global to know that if I put all my efforts into something I would give my best.
William Poznanski—Being a Politian gives you the power to bring about a change.
I am William from the team Solomon Islands. I am a year 9 student. I aspire to be a politician.
I take inspiration from my grandmother Ms Lily Ogatina who happens to be the first woman parliamentarian in Solomon Islands and who has dedicated her life to improvement of people in my country.
Not only that, I also wish to change the negative ways in which politicians are seen in my country.
I want to work for my fellow citizens and bring my country to the forefront of global innovation.
I am interested in robotics because it is not a usual subject in our country and therefore I challenge myself to be involved in robotics this year.
My hopes for the future are to lead my country and not to follow around, nor to work for a corporation. In my spare time, I like to wander and keep myself fit.
My favourite subjects are math and ICT as they both are related to logic and both are needed in innovation.
The unique thing about me is that I am willing to take challenges, learn new things, fail and learn from my mistakes.
FIRST Global is the platform that allows me to do exactly this and more. I look forward to my participation along with my team from Solomon Islands.
Tania Douglas Uale—I’m a 9th grade student attending Woodford International School.
I’m interested in robotics because of the concept of the potential it offers for creating a solution that would help shape our future and otherwise I’ve always been curious about what it would be like living with robots! I hope the future would become a better place and a brighter home for the next generation, I hope it becomes liveable and suitable for our growing population.
Drawing and sections around art (such as designing) have become a keen hobby and passion of mine. I like to bring out my imagination and put it on paper so it can remain forever.
My favorite subjects are Art, Literature and science because of my passion for creating, learning and logic.
I don’t have a personal hero because I’m inspired by many people that have achieved many great things around this world.
What is unique about me is that I’m a keen learner who is curious about the world and how it works.
I would like FIRST Global know that I am determined to achieve and to put my all into this year’s challenge.
The FIRST Global Challenge is an annual robotics game that addresses one of the 14 Grand Challenges identified by the national engineering academies of the US, United Kingdom, and China.
Each year, a different issue of global importance will take centre stage as the theme of that year’s challenge, which will be held in a different nation across the world.
The challenge reflects how science and engineering, in an environment of cooperation, communication, and teamwork, can achieve transcendent actions and solve many of the great challenges humanity faces.
In July 2017, the first edition of the FIRST Global Challenge was held in Washington, where young people competed in a challenge about providing access to clean water.
Pre class and Primary school students of Belaha school walking back home after classes.
BY GEORGINA KEKEA
BELAHA School in Central Guadalcanal is located in one of the lucrative spot of royalty. In Guadalcanal, people from Central Guadalcanal are said to be one of the prime beneficiaries of monies from operations through mining, logging, gravel but to name a few.
Host to Belaha School, the status of the school itself does not reflect a school that comes from such background.
With more than 300 students ranging from Early Childhood, Primary to Secondary, Belaha is one of the many schools in Guadalcanal that still practice open-defecation and also faces deregistration.
Speaking to Island Sun last week, School Principal Francis Labu says Belaha School is a long way to meet the WASH Standards set by Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD). He said the recent launched WASH standard calls for greater cooperation from the schools.
The Tenaru river that some students cross daily to go to school.
“We do not really have the support from our parents as one would expect. Probably because they do not see education as important for their children because they already benefit from monies from royalty and do not see the need to have their children going to school. Because school or no school, they will have money anyway,” Labu said.
He said these are some challenges the school is faced with. Though there is support for the school, it is very minimal.
He said often, Solomon Islanders relate education to work to make money but this is not the case.
“Education makes us think and open our minds to new ideas. Education is not only to have a job to make money.”
He said being a school in rural area, they are quite flexible with how they do things.
Some of the students walk an hour to get to school and some crossed rivers and streams prone to flash floods and so they do not really have an accurate data on why students do not come to school.
However in a study done by UNICEF, girls are often the ones most prone to miss classes when there is lack of water and sanitation.
The report said lack of adequate WASH facilities and supportive environments at schools disproportionately affects girls.
The report continued to say that absenteeism is high when there is lack of water and sanitation.
For Belaha School, it was reported that they do not groom much students in the work force as much as they would love to.
So far since its establishment, only two ni-Belaha students had been able to further their education to University level.
It is the trend to see students going to school for a short time only and mostly those from outside the community has been able to complete their studies.
Pre class and Primary school students of Belaha school walking back home after classes.
He said it is often the norm to see students from that area dropping out from school when they reach higher education.
This is often attributed to the fact that they do not see the need to further their education because they have an avenue where they can earn money without the need for education, Labu said.
“First through Goldridge, during the mining days where people pan for gold and then now the current logging operations and we still have the Tina Hydro project forthcoming.
“We have been established for quite a while now. The registration of this school was done during the Goldridge days. That was when the company provided water supply and other basic needs to keep the school running. When they left, everything just went downhill from there,” Labu said.
Despite the shortfalls and lack of support for the school, Labu is optimistic that they will meet the standard expected of them soon.
He said things are starting to change for them as the connection they have established with the company operating in their area has shed some positive light in their development plans.
Also they are now waiting for the implementing agency for their WASH project to assist them implement their water and sanitation project.
Last week, Galego Company the company doing logging operations in their area had donated $20,000 for the school.
Labu says if the WASH project is not forthcoming as yet, they will then use this money to build an ablution block for the students.
Currently Belaha School has 18 teachers but only eight staff houses.
They are now planning to visit Galego soon for assistance of timber to build new staff houses and for transportation of logs to their area so that they can start work on the staff houses.
Labu says they have big plans for the school but they need the support from their local community.
