By Tanny.E.Vahi

THE Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) yesterday held its 2018 Press Seminar at the IBS Hotel.

Resident Representative Mr Kyoji Mizutani in his speech acknowledged the success of Japanese assistance and complimented JICA’s role in the development process of Solomon Islands.

Mr Mizutani expressed the wish to further relations between the Solomons and JICA.

“JICA expects volunteers to live among the people of the country to which they are dispatched and to pursue their activities with local people to contribute to the country’s socioeconomic development, making effective use of their abilities and experiences,” he said.

A panel of four speakers then explored various themes of the development cooperation that ranged from JOCV/SV, GA-Kukum Highway, TC-Healthy Village, Forestry, J-PRISM, Fisheries, JPP-LEAF, training and finally the future of the cooperation, which will likely take the form of partnership, the next step beyond development cooperation and assistance.

JICA’s goals include; (1) to contribute to the socioeconomic development or reconstruction of developing countries and region, (2) to strengthen friendship and mutual understanding between developing countries and regions and Japan, and (3) to give back to society the fruits of volunteer-activity experience.

There was also an exchange of ideas concerning JICA volunteer programmes, an area that both organisations are focusing on, and the development of institutional framework and fostering of human resources.

The relationship between Solomon Islands and Japan is getting more comprehensive and multi-layered. To cope with this change, JICA’s role needs to change from simple cooperation to mediating and promoting collaboration between various companies of the two countries.

By Mike Puia

OFFICER in charge of the Police Response Team (PRT) of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, Edwin Sevoa, says they will not be deterred by any act of aggression by communities.

Mr Sevoa uttered these sentiments while speaking at a reconciliation ceremony between representatives of the RSIPF and Koa Hill-Saua community at the central police station yesterday.

The reconciliation is in relation to an attack on members of the PRT while they were conducting a raid in the community last Friday evening.

Police raided and confiscated illegal alcohol (kwaso) and equipment used to manufacture them.

Youths in the community responded by pelting members of the team with stones, resulting in two officers being injured.

Leaders of the community voluntarily came out and asked the RSIPF to give their community an opportunity to give traditional shell money to the injured officers and to the PRT to compensate them for profane words used by the youths during the stoning.

The request was accepted by the Provincial Police Commander for Honiara City, resulting in the reconciliation.

The police all-black leader said his team was responding to a crime at Koa Hill-Saua community but was met with resistance from youths of the community.

“We were responding to a crime. Production of kawso is illegal and we cannot expect crime to continue,” Seova said.

He said they are doing similar operations everywhere in the country.

He said they will continue to do what they are doing and will not be deterred by any aggressive act.

Sevoa said members of his team are mixed race and they do not hate anyone in the communities.

“We are here to help. Communities need to work with the police to ensure there are partnerships in place,” Sevoa said.

He said communities must not take members of the PRT wrong because they are only dealing with illegal issues.

THE Taskforce Committee on Border and Ethnic Tension related claims has formally written to the Prime Minister about its longstanding log of claims, Chairman Henry Kahui told Island Sun yesterday.

“We are requesting your office to give us an update regarding our log of claims submitted a year or so [ago] regarding the former Solomon Islands Police Officers, former Special Constables, former Correctional Services officers, former and current public officers who served during the Ethnic Tension and former Marine officers who also served during the Bougainville crisis.

“We understand that your office is currently working on a Policy paper as per Special Secretary to the Prime Minister’s letter dated 12 September 2017,” the letter said.

“We wish to give your office 14 days’ notice, effective from the date of this letter to respond and to give our committee the status of the Policy paper and our log of claims,” the letter said.

Copies of the letter were hand delivered to the Office of the Prime Minister, his Deputy, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Police and National Security and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Peace and Reconciliation yesterday.

Mr Kahui said the Attorney General would be furnished a copy this morning.

He said the 13-member executive committee would convene on April 9 to consider the Government’s response before all the members meet the next day.

“The Government’s response would determine our next course of action,” he said.