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Walking the talk or taking a walk?

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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DEAR EDITOR, this is what has transpired over the weeks with our 4billion dollar budget.

It baffles me a lot how politicians here in the Solomons do their daily business and expects the public to just swallow the outcome of their actions.

Better be warned that China town burning can repeat itself.

A strong democracy is where there is stability in all levels of governance, a good opening remarks published in the Island Sun by Hon Manele in the DAP party’s fundraising drive.

What the government has done has been a mockery to what they have been advocating all along.

The Finance minister has rightly spelled out the anticipated revenue collection points and has warned that the forestry sector has stabilised at a very high level.

Not only that but very unsustainable and once not acted upon, the country is to lose a great deal of its natural forest in few years’ time.

Sadly, the newly lodged JICA programme in partnership with the ministry of forestry will be of no good at this current rate of forest depletion.

The SI Finance has further reiterated that the other strong collection points will be fisheries and the Agriculture sector. Where have you injected your 2018 budget? CDF?

Have you gauged your achievements? Please publish quantitative data for the public to see. The PCDF has done that in the paper recently.

Why have you taken the $70m from the Solomon Islands and selfishly increased your share through the CDF?

Is this combating corruption head-on or committing corruption head-on?

Why have we ingested the financial system with all these?

Have we taken some time out to rethink of our actions?

A strong institutionalized fund; is the PCDF, please give back to the people what rightful is theirs.

This is the only successful programme the SIG has ever partnered with – Availing infrastructures in the provincial level to boost your anticipated revenue collection sectors!

A “natural death” to PCDF as pointed out by Malaita premier will be slap on the face of all Solomon Islanders.

The world will witness what next year will be like with PCDF & our current Highest House representatives.

The SIG highest house has been mocking the citizen of this country for too long; a public protest is thus guaranteed – It’s time we exercise our powers – the people’s power.

By Deebonz

Honiara

SIPEU loans

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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DEAR EDITOR, I have been waiting patiently for my loan for almost two months now. SIPEU keep on saying that next week, next week! I am left confused.

Please credit committee show some commitments to the people whom you serve. Enough of this $500 sitting allowance.

My saving should be rightly available for me when the need arises.

The fund has been there for many years and the construction of the box SIPEU house shouldn’t be an excuse for funds depletion.

Take for instance for every paydays (monthly) an average of $250 saving X 1000 workers equate to a quarter million SBD deposits excluding the 5 percent interest paid by members for their advances.

A general meeting for its members is yet to be done so as the financial status update of the saving.

This is people’s money and its dealings has to be disclosed to its rightful owners.

Where investments are made and returns are made must be made to its owners. This is another saving club like the NPF.

But the difference is that with NPF, Contribution are given electrically to its members, SPO returns are published and so forth.

I think SIPEU should be better off since individual investments on average is more compared to NPF, if I am right.

The credibility of NPF is through the strive by the workers themselves. Creativity and taking initiative to make a change in the organisation.

With SIPEU, the problem was created by taking on board incompetent workers. Are we employing this workers on merit basis?

We should only have one teller lady there to stamp and give out advances.

The rest should be well trained people who are vigilant in their hunt to grow the investment.

A manager who has the vision for the fund must be put in place before we encounter the similar fate of the police saving club.

All that is happening behind the SIPEU doors now is usual old fashion working style.

Even with simple desk customer service was lacking as well. Once I asked for the status of my loan and the reply was, “we give priorities for school fees”.

Where on earth did you take that answer?

I am loaning against my share. I have contributed over 10 years and this is what you have to tell me.

To conclude, an audit to the saving must be immediately carried out and financial statements must be made to the members.

Qualified people must be taken on board and rid-off the unproductive bunch.

Deebonz

Honiara

Did the party to party executive meeting end it all?

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

By Alfred Sasako

IT was supposed to be a private affair. But private it was not. This is because it was the first time the executives of the Kadere and Democratic Alliance Party (DAP) met face to face in four months.

To everyone it was a bad marriage.

But at the meeting, everything reportedly flowed freely – trays of crayfish, mud crabs and fish of all descriptions, according to insiders who attended the 26th March top level meeting.

The importance of the meeting could not be understated. The reason(s) are obvious. DAP and Kadere have the controlling share so to speak in the company called Solomon Islands Democratic Coalition for Change Government (SIDCCG).

Without a course mutually agreed for the nine months’ journey to the next election, there could be a lot of detours along the way. And so the meeting was very important in that aspect.

It was also important because the Government’s budget for 2018 was by then still in the air. Any wrong move could trigger unwanted outcomes.

SIDCCG’s Coalition Minor Party, the People’s Alliance Party (PAP) was represented at the meeting by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Hon Milner Tozaka MP.

If there were a star performer at the meeting, it was none other than the President of Kadere Party, Peter Boyers, according to one insider.

He spoke at length about the importance of the customary governance system in a show intended to impress his political masters. Some were not impressed.

“You cannot apply that in every province. It may work in provinces such as Isabel and Choiseul, but certainly not on Malaita. It simply would not work,” some observers said quietly afterwards.

After his verbal presentation, Mr Boyers was confronted with the reality.

“Would you prepare a report on the customary governance system for our consideration, one Minister reportedly told Mr Boyers.

A deadline was reportedly given the former finance minister to furnish the executives of the ruling coalition parties his report, something which almost cost him his job when the issue consultants (political appointments) came before the new Prime Minister Ricky Houenipwela in January this year.

Being President of Kadere Party saved his job, except that the legality of such appointment is still under question mark based on sections of the State-Owned Enterprises Act.

That said, it was admirable to see the two leading parties accepted the need to convene a meeting with the aim of resolving the impasse, which had kept them apart for four months.

Leadership is about making tough and courageous decisions in tough times. Tough times call for tough decisions. They did. Whether or not both Parties have buried the hatchets so to speak, no one really knows.

The fact that no public statement came out after the meeting of feasting seems to suggest many outstanding issues were never resolved. They might have been swept under the carpet.

The half-day meeting was held in what was certainly a tough time for the coalition partners. It was even tougher for the people of Solomon Islands who expected political stability but instead witnessed the removal of Hon Manasseh Sogavare as Prime Minister last December.

The sad fact that no statement was made about the outcome of such an important meeting suggests that the undercurrents would continue undeterred.

One can only hope that Prime Minister Houenipwela has his sights firmly on his vision for the nation. He will certainly need all the support he needs particularly from within to arrive at the destiny he has set for our struggling nation.

People power for health

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

Anything is possible if we set our mind to it.

RECENTLY, within a week, a father’s plea had been answered when he appealed for assistance from the public to send his daughter overseas for medical check.

His plea came out the same time we received news that our 10 beds arrangement with St Vincent hospital had been suspended.

St Vincent hospital 10 bed arrangement had been described as discriminatory by some on social media citing it as an arrangement for the ‘elite’ only, whilst for some, it had served its purpose in ensuring genuine citizens have access to medical treatment not offered in the country.

That aside, this is proof of what we as citizens can do if we set our mind to it.

‘People power’ though might be defined as campaign to overthrow the government or a social movement to have the voices of the people heard, this recent ‘people power’ demonstration is neither a social movement calling to government for recognition nor one intended to overthrow the government.

This demonstration shows how we as Solomon Islanders can unite in times of need. It shows that despite the much talked about high cost of living, people still practice compassion and have shown what true charity is.

Such an act should be highly commended by our leaders.

True a CT scanner might be costly and run into millions of dollars but what is more important than life itself?

We have demonstrated already that nothing is impossible.

Thus it is pleasing to see youths initiating innovative ideas to raise funds with the knowledge and skills they have.

Thumbs up to everyone who have supported one way or another.

Let us not stop there.

Let us continue to raise funds for our health sector and let us lead the way for our leaders to see how things should be done.

Because at the end of the day, while our leaders have their privileges, we the grassroots people will be left to seek medical assistance from our local health centres.

Pricing scandal?

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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Billions of dollars robbed from SI economy through logging

By Gary Hatigeva

THE Solomon Islands economy is believed to have been robbed billions of dollars through exported logs under prefixed prices outside of international market tags.

The government has been asked by Independent Member of Parliament and Public Accounts Committee member, Matthew Wale, on what it is doing to address the issue of transfer pricing amounting to billions of dollars lost, which he said is continuing unrestricted.

Wale further suggested that the determined price mechanism was used as a tool to legalise the transfer of profits offshore, legitimising the theft of government dues, and the robbing of resource-owners.

Wale in parliament claimed that the determined price mechanism provides legal cover for the theft to be conducted in broad daylight, right in front of everyone and that the level of theft of dues rightfully owing to resource owners and the government are in the billions of dollars.

“We must ask, why is the determined price for logs always lower than the market prices published by our own central bank?

“This difference has averaged at around USD100 to USD180 per cubic metre at various times and there have been quarters that the determined price has been reduced when at the same time the market price was actually rising. How can this possibly be?

“There is no reasonable explanation for this phenomenon and why are the people of Solomon Islands being treated with such contempt by their own leaders of government?

“The government has been so beholden to the logging industry that the industry dictates the price to the government. But the reason for this highly irregular decisions must be more sinister,” he stressed.

He said there is only one word that can accurately describe government in this matter – ‘shame’.

“How can the people’s government advance, protect and defend the criminal interests of the loggers against the interests of the people? And not be ashamed of it?

“On rough estimates based on the 2.6 million cubic metres of logs exported in 2017, based on prices published by the central bank, the government has been robbed of SBD936 million and the resource owners were robbed of SBD561 million, just for the one year 2017.

“So in just the one year 2017, the Solomon Islands economy was deprived of a total of SBDSBD1.497 billion,” Wale claimed.

He said the people of this country can be assured that this robbed money was transferred offshore.

Meanwhile, Wale said imagine the effect that $1.5 billion would have had on the Solomon Islands economy and on the capacity and quality of social services in 2017.

“Instead 2017 was a very difficult year in which clinics lacked basic supplies, if they remained open at all, the NRH suffered basic supplies and equipment and staff over-worked, to say nothing of provincial hospitals.”

He however pointed out that if only the country get the rightful dues, Solomon Islands will not need aid donations that makes it become so vulnerable to foreign interests.

“Then we will be truly independent and can have true meaningful sovereignty to be proud of – not sovereignty in words only.

“On the other hand, export in 2016 was slightly higher than 2.6 million cubic metres, we estimate similar amounts were robbed of landowners and the government in 2016.”

So he further suggested that just for the two years 2016 and 2017, the government was robbed of a total of SBD1.9 billion and landowners were robbed of a total of SBD1.1 billion and the Solomon Islands economy was criminally deprived of a total of SBD3 billion.

He claimed that these values ought to be higher but added that it is unfortunate, loggers are exporting premium natural growth forest declared as cheap wood, such as mixed red and mixed white.

He further claimed that there is obviously collusion between forest rangers, customs and the loggers to allow what he described as criminal practices, to carry on for so many years.

“And nothing is being done to stop it? How much are the resource owners and government losing due to this practice?

“We have no way of know, because government is not interested in finding it out because it may then have to do something about it.”

He said the logging sector’s production appetite is not likely to be tamed soon, even if government has said it wants production to fall to 2 million cubic metres for 2018.

He added that more than 80 percent of logging is re-entry/secondary logging and resource owners do not seem able to resist the temptation of quick and easy money that comes from trees they never planted, and therefore the government must take a policy position so that it is able to properly deal with this as an important matter for the sake of the people and the economy.

Titinge 2 can now walk safer in any weather

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0
Titinge community members were trained and organized to work on their prioritised access infrastructure

UP in the steep hills of Titinge, a new small access infrastructure subproject was recently completed making daily travels much easier and safer for its users.

The new Jacob’s ladder is the second subproject under the Rapid Employment Project (REP) pilot activities agreed to by the Honiara City Council and the Guadalcanal Province.

It was built by 30 community members from Titinge 2 and Valeato communities who had previously undertaken a one week Life Skills Pre-Employment Training under the Rapid Employment Project in preparation for the implementation of their subproject.

Work started on the 100-metre long Jacob’s ladder on March 6, 2018 and was completed after three weeks on March 28.

Total cost of the subproject came to around $62,000 including labour and materials.

Completion could have come earlier if it were not for several days of heavy rains which interrupted work activities.

The Jacob’s ladder is a big leap from what was once a slippery track especially in the rainy season to an all-weather concrete foot path and ladder.

Philistus Meke said she was able to apply what she had learnt from the Pre-Employment Training about ‘Safety at Work’ such as wearing proper work clothes and how to handle hand tools and now understands how concrete ladders are made.

David Koevania, the group leader said he has picked up skills in ‘form work’, laying down wire mesh and scaffolding for the concrete to run along.

Christina who is a Form 2 student at Mbokona and Stella a Form 1 student said that it was very hard to get up the hill in rainy weather, and one has to find a safe foot rest and use the aid of a stick while going up or down the path.

The Jacob’s ladder has changed all that now for them. It is no longer a tiring job like before and they do not have to take the long way around.

It is also the women and girls who have to do the washing at the Community western top end of the ridge and the Jacob’s ladder has made a big difference in their lives in terms of easy access and time to get to and from the water source.

As of today REP has already completed 49 community access infrastructure subprojects (41 Jacob’s ladders and eight stream crossings/footbridges) around Honiara and in a few communities along its boundary with Guadalcanal Province.

The project’s Rapid Employment Scheme (RES) has now generated nearly 800,000 paid labour days (over half for women) and provided short-term employment to 13,000 people (including 6,900 women) in Honiara since the project began in 2010.

The Pre-Employment Training (PET) has trained about 12,000 participants, and provided one on one coaching services to about 1,700 persons.

REP which is supported by the World Bank shall close by the end of 2018, but preparations to commence with its successor project called Community Access and Urban Services Enhancement (CAUSE) Project are now well underway.

Building on the original parent project (REP), CAUSE will cover Honiara and additional urban and peri-urban locations in Guadalcanal, Malaita, and Western Provinces.

The project has been designed building on REP’s proven track record and the experience of the implementing agencies, HCC and MID, in partnership with GPA, MPA and WPA. World Bank-IDA has initially committed US$15 million in grant funds to finance CAUSE.

–REP MEDIA

RSIPF and stakeholders discuss youth concerns at Honiara Botanical Garden

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

THE Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) and other stakeholders met on Thursday, March 29, 2018 at the Rove Headquarters in Honiara to discuss concerns raised regarding the possibility of young people living at the capital’s Botanical Garden and being put at risk.

“RSIPF decided to host the problem-solving workshop aimed at reducing harm at the Honiara Botanical Garden after concerns have been raised regarding the possibility of homeless young people living in the garden and being put at risk,” says Supervising Assistant Commissioner of Police, National Capital and Crime Prevention, Superintendent Solomon Sisimia.

“We were very pleased that representatives from a wide range of organisations were able to attend including the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Honiara City Council Youth Division, Botanical Gardens, Honiara Youth Council, Oxfam, Salvation Army, Seif Ples, the South Seas Evangelical Church (SSEC) and the Solomon Islands Planned Parenthood Association (SIPPA).

“A key part of our Crime Prevention Strategy is working with a wide range of stakeholders to collaborate and problem solve effectively. That is why it is so good to have such a great turn out at the workshop.

“The workshop used the SARA problem solving approach, which stands for scanning, analysis, response and assessment.

“All stakeholders agreed that accurate data and evidence is needed to help truly understand what the problem is.

“The group has agreed to meet again in the near future to share data and work together to improve the situation.”

Director of the Children Division in the Ministry for Women, Youth and Children, Goldie Lusi says, “It is good for stakeholders to get together and discuss the problem. We now know different organisations are already working on it and now we can help.”

The Honiara City Council Clerk, Charles Kelly says, “I endorse the action with our stakeholders, so that the public are aware of the issues at the Botanical Garden. The Honiara City Council plans to have a project to work with tourism, conservation and lands regarding the Botanical Garden in Honiara.”

–POLICE MEDIA

MAL emphasises local food consumption

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

BY LORETTA BRIGIDIA MANELE

THE Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAL) has a policy which promotes local food consumption.

“It’s not only our ministry that is involved in this policy,” MAL Permanent Secretary, Mr Jimi Saelea TOLD Island Sun yesterday about the National Lokol Kaikai Policy.

He said that while the policy is still valid, there are multi-stakeholders who are involved in its implementation including development partners and line ministries.

Moreover, Saelea stated that the policy is basically about addressing the country’s food security.

Additionally, he explained that the policy focusses on areas such as emphasising the importance of growing local food and consuming it, the link between non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and food and the impact of imported food consumption.

“It is about giving emphasis on growing local food and consuming it,” said Saelea.

He furthered that they are reviewing the policy and noted that the review is funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Foreigners cheat system: Aihari

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

By Mike Puia

DIRECTOR of Foreign Investment Division of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration, Derek Aihari, revealed there are foreigners who cheated the country’s Foreign Investment Act by using locals to run their bus and taxi services.

Aihari said operating a bus and taxi service in the country is under the Act’s reserve list which means the business is meant for locals only.

But, he said it appears some foreigners have “come through in any way” to own and operate buses and taxis.

Aihari said the Act clearly stated that any application from a foreigner to run a bus or taxi service must be automatically rejected by the Registrar of company.

He said they know foreigners who own and run these public transport services are using locals to register their company.

Aihari said the Honiara City Council (HCC) is the body that issue a licence to operate in the city but can issue a licence without knowing the owner of the company.

He said they have been expecting formal report from members of the public of any bus or taxi service operated by any foreigner but until today since 2004, they haven’t got any report of such.

The foreign investment director said members of the public must report to them any issue of foreign ownership of public transport service so they are dealt with using their processes.

Temotu police search for 2 boats with 9 people

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

POLICE at Lata in the Temotu province are searching for two boats with nine people on board, reportedly missing since March 30, 2018.

It is alleged that one of the boats, painted light blue with a red cabin powered by a 40 horse power (HP) Yamaha engine with three adult females and two males on board left Reef Islands on March 30, 2018 to travel to Lata, Santa Cruz Island and but have not arrived since then.

Another boat painted white with a blue cabin and powered by a black 40 HP engine, carrying four men all serving public servants, left Lata to travel for the Reef Islands on March 30, 2018. They have not arrived at their destination since then.

Temotu Provincial Police Operation Manager (Ops Manager) Inspector Lily Dagi says, “Officers at Lata and in the Reef Islands have started the search for the missing boats and people after the matter was reported to police at the Lata Police Station yesterday March 31, 2018.

“So far there has been no sighting of the missing boats and people as the search continues.

“The bad weather including continuous rain and rough seas is making the search difficult and I appeal to any travelling vessels or boats to be on the lookout for the missing boats and people.

“I also appeal to coastal communities in Temotu Province to also look out for these missing people and boats and report any sightings through VHF radio to Lata police or may call phone numbers 53023 or the Police free toll 999.

“I want to ask all people in the Temotu Province not to travel at sea during this time of bad weather unless it is absolutely necessary. Please consider your safety first before planning to travel by boat.”

–POLICE MEDIA

 

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