MEMBER of Provincial Assembly (MPA) for Varisi Lavata at Ward 12 Northwest Choiseul Hon Gideon Panisaga rebuff using alcohol to bribe voters at a recent hearing at Taro Station.
Speaking earlier to Island Sun, the media coordinator for Christ the King Parish at Voruvoru Mr Nerio Ulemiki reported that the MPA used four cartons of beer to lure voters during a Timber Rights Hearing.
According to Mr Ulemiki, the action had caused disagreement from citizens of Ward 12 in which they described it as a sign of corruption that needs to be stopped.
However, Hon Panisaga when contacted yesterday said that what he did is not bribery at all.
“During such meetings is the only time I have meeting up with most of my Ward people especially the young youths who normally want to enjoy alcohol,” said Hon Panisaga.
“I know my boundaries as a leader and to do such bad practise to my own people will be wrong.
“Whatever done during that time I am accused off was only for that time with no motive behind it.”
Launching of Tuvaruhu Community clean-up campaign 2017.
BY GEORGINA KEKEA
Launching of Tuvaruhu Community clean-up campaign 2017.
FUTURE generations in Honiara City will not be able to enjoy a walk along the city’s Mataniko river banks nor enjoy a stroll along the coastline of Honiara if nothing is done about the way we dispose our rubbish and look after our environment.
For a long time, the Mataniko River had been a dumping site for the general public at large. Collection of waste over the years has made the once pristine river now a sight for sore eyes as well as destroying most life under it. How much worst would it be for our children and grandchildren?
Given the close inter-connections between land, water and coastal systems, it is considered very important how we look after, plan and manage our land, water and coast.
In the Pacific, integrated approaches to how we look after our freshwater and coastal area management have been termed ‘Ridge to Reef’ (R2R). The goal of the R2R program is to maintain and enhance Pacific Island countries’ ecosystem goods and services through integrated approaches to land, water, forest, biodiversity and coastal resource management that contribute to poverty reduction, sustainable livelihoods and climate resilience.
In Honiara, the Mataniko river catchment is a project site of the R2R program in the Solomon Islands.
The GEF/SPC International Waters R2R Solomon Islands project has started in January 2017 and will be implemented along a four year period meaning it will end in 2020.
IWR2R & CEFAS Team- Water quality monitoring using YSI Meter
Speaking to Island Sun, R2R National Project Manager, Sammy Airahui says for 2018, for the first quarter they are set to roll the Mataniko river water quality monitoring which includes collecting of water quality samples and sediments (looking at solid wastes also) along the Mataniko river from Tuvaruhu upstream down to estuary.
“The monitoring will be done on quarterly basis”, Mr. Airahui said.
“We are putting much effort in trying to educate our communities as much as possible to look at ways to manage our Mataniko river”, he said.
“The river is heavily polluted from solid and liquid waste from human settlement, residential areas and shops operating and living adjacent to the river”, he said.
“Currently the project also works with SPREP in carrying out the Honiara coastal survey as well as collecting samples for micro-plastics and results are yet to be presented to the Ministry of Environment Climate Change Disaster Risk Management (MECDRM) for launching”.
Mr. Airuahui said currently the project is reviewing existing literatures for Honiara coast. Later they will be carrying out a baseline study on the coastal environment of Honiara.
“The baseline study will look at pollution and nutrient loads entering the coastal environment. The project is currently designing a Term of Reference (TOR) for the baseline study’, Mr. Airahui revealed.
Meanwhile, also speaking to Island Sun a community elder from Tuvaruhu, Kalisto Kwaru said since last year he had been participating in a number of workshops organized to make awareness on the R2R concept. Appointed as team leader in Tuvaruhu on the ‘clean up’ of Mataniko river, Kalisto Kwaru says he had tried his best in raising awareness on the importance of keeping the river clean but it is quite difficult.
“Especially for the youths, all they need is incentives to keep them happy. We have a lot of youths, almost 150 and they can be able to assist in the campaign to keep Mataniko River clean but you know how it is with youths, they need incentives to drive them forward”, Mr. Kwaru said.
Mr. Kwaru said they understand the need to keep the river clean and in the past they had participated in activities on the Mataniko cleanup campaign as well.
“If we keep our river clean, people wouldn’t have to come upstream for recreational purposes but this looks like it will be a long term project”, Mr. Kwaru said.
He said their community is very keen to be divided into zones so that delegation of work and activities will be done in a timely and orderly way.
“Our second step, we will divide our community into zones so that we will participate in cleaning the river but we really need to strategize in order for us to achieve this goal and it shall all depend on funding as well”, he said.
Apart from the attitude of crude dumping of rubbish and wastes in to the river, R2R is also looking at other alternatives that will enable communities and commercial houses that live along the river help to minimize waste and also to look after the river.
A part of the R2R project was the distribution of rubbish bins amongst other tools to assist communities’ dispose of their rubbish properly.
For Tuvaruhu, Mr. Kwaru said they had also benefitted from rubbish bins including other work tools.
“However, for the bins, slow collection of rubbish from the Honiara City Council (HCC) had caused the bins to ‘slipshod’ into a bad state thus we need new bins”, Mr. Kwaru said.
However Mr. Kwaru said his community is very willing to work with the project and the MECDM. He said these are long term goals for the government more-so for the Tuvaruhu community as well.
The Mataniko Project is an initiative undertaken by different stakeholders to showcase the importance of maintaining a clean river ecosystem through proper waste management practices that includes cleaning the river ecosystem and cleaning the river as practical approach of awareness to the general public on the importance of our environment.
Data used from the river baseline study in 2015 will support the implementation of mitigation measures to reduce pollution levels as well as support implementation of recommendations identified under the Mataniko baseline study.
Western Provincial Peace and Reconciliation Deputy Director Mr Wilson Liligeto (filephoto).
BY ALFRED PAGEPITU
GIZO
Western Provincial Peace and Reconciliation Deputy Director Mr Wilson Liligeto (filephoto).
THE Western and Choiseul provinces have openly welcomed the formal signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Autonomous Region of Bougainville council of chiefs (AROB) in Gizo, Western province.
The parties witnessed the signing ceremony during the border dialogue on November 29, 2017, held at the Wesley United church hall.
Western Provincial Peace and Reconciliation Deputy Director Mr Wilson Liligeto told Island Sun Gizo yesterday that the MOU is between AROB and Lauru Pade Vatovato, Lanlala’aha of Famoa and Western Region Vetu Bangara.
Liligeto said the AROB chiefs and traditional representatives of Lauru Pade Vatovato Lanlala’aha of Famoa and Western Region Vetu Bangara met on November 29, 2017 to revisit and finalise discussions of the Bougainville crisis spill-over effects in the Solomon Islands.
He said the Dialogue noted the discussion by the parties to this MOU and acknowledged this process as a follow up from the 2014 Buka meeting.
Liligeto said the parties are committed to carry out traditional or customary reconciliation by way of Bel’Kol (AROB), Bauru (Lauru), Baulu (Shortlands and Inira/Ronu/Here/Tonu of Western Region.
The parties agree to inform and update their respective government at each stage of the process towards the reconciliation, and the parties agree to be represented by focal-points for purposes of information sharing towards the reconciliation process.
“We also allocate four members under the focal-points working groups from Autonomous Region of Bougainville Council of Chiefs (AROB), Lauru Pade Vatovato Lanlala’aha of famoa and Western Region Vetu Bangara.
“Those parties agree in principle that the reconciliation ceremonies between all parties concerned at the traditional and community level will take place before the Solomon Islands National Healing Program this year,” said Liligeto.
Signing for AROB was paramount chief of Lavelai Mr Isaac Laiben; Lauru Pade Vatovato was signed by Vice President Mr James Alepio; Lanlala’aha of Famoa was signed by Chief Mr Benjamine Bising and Western Region Vetu Bangara was signed by President/ Kulugha Council of Chiefs Mr Amon Redley.
Those who witnessed the MOU are Supervising Premier, Minister of Health, Western Province Hon Jane Tozaka, Bougainville Affairs/Veterans Core Group for Unification Mr John Duni Deputy Director Western Peace and Reconciliation Office Mr Wilson Liligeto and Deputy Director Choiseul Peace and Reconciliation Office Mr William Kutini.
THE Ministry of National Unity Peace and Reconciliation is planning a customary reconciliation between the chiefs and traditional leaders of Choiseul province and Shortland Islands.
The planning process will collaborate with the Autonomous Region of Bougainville’s council of chiefs (AROB) under the framework of the 2014 MOU signed in Buka between leader representatives of Choiseul, Shortlands and Autonomous Regions of Bougainville Council of Chiefs (AROB).
Western Provincial Peace and Reconciliation Deputy Director Mr Wilson Liligeto told Island Sun Gizo yesterday the representatives of the MOU are prepared to advance further negotiations with respective government agencies to achieve lasting peace.
Liligeto explained that on the margins of the border dialogue, the representatives of Choiseul province, Shortland Islands and Western region hereby demand the national government – “To assist financing the National Healing and Forgiveness Program as agreed in the NMOU signed by Chiefs, Traditional Leaders and Representatives of the Government Agencies on 29th November 2017 at Gizo, Western Province.
“To settle the compensation claims by Choiseul Province, Shortland Islands and the Western Region of Western Province prior to the National Healing and Forgiveness Programme in 2018 in line with the customary reconciliation together with AROB.
“Failure by the National Government to settle the claims by the Parties, the Parties shall boycott the National healing and Forgiveness Programme in 2018,” said Liligeto.
CONCERNED parents of Malaita province are calling on the government to consider introducing more early childhood education (ECE) schools across the country.
They stress the importance of ECE in the development of the minds of children as they grow up, adding that early nurturing will allow children to perform better in later stages of education.
“The early stage is the most important stage that our children must involve and go through ECE education.
“To bring our children into better education the government should improve our ECE schools throughout the country, the concern parents stated.”
This call was also made during registrations last week in Auki and around Malaita province, where it was found out that the existing number of ECE institutions is not enough for the growing population of Malaita.
“As the nursery of education in the country we also want to have better and qualified ECE teachers to take up responsibilities in our ECE schools.”
THE current increasing of school contributions is affecting most parents in rural areas.
A concerned parent Luke Devi said, “During our times our parents paid school fees which is much cheaper that the current school contributions that currently introduce at the moment.
“To us those that lived in rural areas where we depended on gardens for consumption have finding it hard for our children that attended high schools this year.
“Compared to last year it’s much cheaper for us to do installment payment with smaller amounts towards the school contributions.
“I understand that those that are employed and have jobs also have difficulties in finance while compared to us unemployed people living in rural areas where we depend on what we have from our gardens.
“Sometimes our children with smart brains leave school unnecessary because we fail to support them especially in school fees.
“We call on the responsible authority to address this issue and to make it fair to all of us and also to develop our children in our rural areas in better, quality education.”
THREE men have been convicted of harbouring non-citizens, an incident which occurred in 2016.
Principal Magistrate Augustine Aulanga in delivering the judgment said the three men; John Mamiong, Charles Takule and Loh Jing Sing, their actions amounted to harbouring unlawful four Bougainvilleans at Metuai camp in 2016.
This occurred at the Metuai camp, SKT Wavasan logging company at Shortland Islands.
The company was also charged with employing non-citizens.
Prosecution said on July 23, 2016, Mamiong, Takule with other men went over to Bougainville by boat. They returned to the logging camp the same day with four Bougainvilleans. Mamiong straightaway accommodated them in a leaf house at a log pond located several hundred metres from the logging camp.
Mamiong and Takule knew very well they were not Solomon Islanders or non-citizens, in other words and their presence at the Metaui log pond area was illegal since they did not have entry visa.
Their unlawful presence at the camp was later communicated to the RSIPF and on July 26, 2016, RSIPF sent a team to the Metuai logging camp and carried out a raid, and arrested the four Bougainvilleans together with the defendants.
The four Bougainvilleans were interviewed by immigration authorities and were ordered to pay spot fines. Thereafter, they were deported to Bougainville.
Aulanga in analysing all the evidence put before the court convicted the three men and acquitted the SKT Company.
“To prove this, the Court must be satisfied with the evidence that the Bougainvilleans were employed by the defendant. Mamiong in his oral evidence admitted that his business entity was responsible for the employment of the securities for the logging operation.
“There is not any direct evidence from the prosecution that the four Bougainvilleans were employed by SKT to work as securities. There is not any written agreement or documentary evidence such as payslips, cheques etc, or any form of evidence akin to this to establish this crucial aspect of the prosecution’s case. Takule and Sing denied employing the Bougainvilleans and said that it was ALRC that employed them to provide security for SKT,” Magistrate Aulanga said.
Aulanga said the admitted evidence of the four Bougainvilleans did not specify which company they were working for at the logging camp given that there were three corporate entities involved or contracted in the logging operation. Their evidence was vague and unhelpful.
Magistrate also said prosecution could have explored more in cross examination but was unable to negate this evidence adduced by the defence.
“I cannot even draw any inferences to impute the defendant to this charge given the flimsy state of the prosecution’s evidence.
“Therefore, the defendant, SKT, must be given the benefit of the doubt and must be acquitted forthwith of the charge of employing unlawful non-citizens, contrary to section 69(1) of the Immigration Act 1,” Aulanga added.
THE investigator in the alleged burglary incident at Lungga has been summoned to appear in court on the next court appearance.
Principal Magistrate Augustine Aulanga summoned the investigator following the explanation made by the prosecution that they have emailed the investigator about the warrant of arrest issued against the defendants last year.
However, since then the investigator has not made any attempt to update the prosecution on the message sent.
The prosecutor told the court that the case was investigated by Henderson police.
This is the case against Margret Lingali, David Kereka and Charles Sanga.
The trio were charged in relation to an incident which occurred in 2016; it was said that the trio were stealing from a school store at Lungga.
The three defendants were still under warrant and the case is adjourned to next 14 days for the investigator to explain in court of the status of the case.
Police Prosecution Service is prosecuting the case.
THE case against three Chinese business men will appear in court today.
They are Zhangs Tongzhi, XU Qiang and Sheng Song Frank; the trio were charged under the Fisheries Management Act.
Their case will be mentioned before Principal Magistrate Ricky Iomea in the Honiara Magistrate Court.
The trio were facing four charges; count one, Artisanal Fishing in indirect association with a registered company without valid and applicable license contrary to section 43(1)(a) (c) Fisheries Management Act 2015; Count two, Buy or otherwise trade in Fish taken in contravention of the Act contrary to section 27(1) Fisheries Management Act 2015; Count three, Engage in activities relating to fish processing for the purposes of export without valid and applicable license contrary to section 44(1)(a) as read with section 44(1)(b) and (c) Fisheries Management Act 2015; and Count four, cause or permit a person acting on his behalf to engage in activities of such a kind or type, at a time for which a valid license or authorisation is required contrary to section 56 (1) (a) as read with (b) Fisheries Management Act 2015.
The trio were charged in relation to the illegal harvesting of the sea cucumber species at Ontong Java atoll when the ban was still effective last year.
The defendants on the matter were the beche-de-mer licence export holders which government had issued with licence when the beche-de-mer ban was lifted last year.
The office of the Director Public Prosecution appears on behalf of the crown.
