INLAND Revenue Division in the Ministry of Finance and Treasury has collected about $10.7 million from issuance of passports from 2021 to 2022 (January to July).
This after the Passport Unit in the Ministry of Commerce, Industries, Labour and Immigration issued a total of 13,304 passports in that 19-month period.
Permanent Secretary, Riley Mesepitu told the media last week that in the whole of 2021, a total of 8804 passports were issued, which was equivalent to $6 million.
He said from January to July this year, a total of 4500 passports were issued and costs about $4,713,000.
This brings the total to 13,304 passports, and equivalent to $10.7 million.
Mesepitu said more than 90 percent of passports issued were for seasonal workers.
Further to that, the PS clarified the delay of issuing passports due to only four people working in the office to meet the high demand of people every day.
As part of managing the inflow of people, Mesepitu said allocated days for seasonal workers are Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
He said Tuesday and Thursday for others.
Moreover, Mesepitu said the ministry plans to open mobile units in provincial centres like Auki and Gizo to help reduce costs of people coming to Honiara.
He said people in the provinces can enrol in the provincial centres to get their passports.
UNITED Nation wants to see more youths and women participate in provincial and national political levels.
United Nations Resident Coordinator (UN RC), Sanaka Samarasinha told the media after he met with Speaker of Parliament, Patterson Oti in Honiara last week.
“One of the key areas for us ensure young people are engaged, have jobs, political participation at provincial and national levels is key,” he said.
Further to that, he said they need to ensure greater participating of women in political and decision making.
“Example in Parliament to increase those numbers,” he said,
Furthermore, Sanaka said they talked about the need to ensure Parliament exercises oversight and legislative role in a robust manner, so they can provide support in analysis, data and research.
Sanaka had visited Solomon Islands for the last 22 years. He led a team of UN agencies to the Solomon Islands for the first time since COVID-19 forced its borders closed in 2020.
The team engaged with key Government counterparts, the Parliament and development partners.
During discussions with Government, the UN Team discussed key priorities of the Solomon Islands and highlighted potential support by the UN, including in the areas of sustaining peace in Solomon Islands, achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), governance reform, better coordination, a scale-up of the UN presence and assistance in the Solomon Islands.
Other issues discussed were Least Developed Country (LDC) graduation, job creation, service delivery, especially in the provinces, as well as disaster preparedness and COVID-19 response.
Suidani's awareness talk at Takwea market in Mbaelelea.
BY SAMIE WAIKORI
AUKI
COMMUNITIES in the Mbaelelea and Baegu Asifoloa constituencies have shown overwhelming support towards Premier Daniel Suidani’s recent awareness program to the northern region of Malaita province.
The awareness talk is the second phase of his awareness program to communities to inform people about the work of the provincial government.
The awareness tour began last Wednesday where Suidani and team visited the Urudao market, Abuisaia community, Suluone/Sasava market, Takwea market and Ata market.
In his addresses to the people during the tour, Suidani said the right and honorable thing for any government to do is to bring the government to the people they represent.
Premier Suidani receive by elders from Abuisaia during his awareness tour to their community last week..
He said only through meaningful engagement with the people that the government will see their need and discuss how they could work together to achieve them.
Suidani said being a government owned by the people is important to engage them on issues they need to know to make better decisions.
Issues that Suidani and his team had talked about and discussed with the people include, MARA government’s restorative economy policy, development aspirations of the province and the work of his government.
Members of communities within Sasava during the awareness talk at Suluone market.
Suidani also clarified other issues like MARA government’s stand on china, MP’s road construction in the province, MARA government’s stand against cross border voting, land court system, proposed political party, Auki communiqué and others.
Suidani, although met resistance at the Urudao market, people within the area had shown overwhelming support and were eager to learn from their government.
Similar sentiments was also received from people in other venues like; Abuisaia community, Suluone/Sasava market, Takwea market and Ata market where Suidani and team had visited.
Lack of staff, facilities and vital medicine has long been a problem for rural clinics.
So, with COVID adding to the pressure clinics are under, Island Sun set out to investigate the state one rural health clinic – the Kalenga Clinic in Isabel province.
Rural health facilities are the first-place people turn at times of medical need and the backbone or our health system.
While there have been more financial resources allocated to health budgets as a result of COVID-related initiatives, rural clinics still have the same load of other illness and accident to deal with.
Run-down labour room for mothers
In many ways Kalenga Clinic is an average clinic – not particularly better or worse than so many across the country.
What we found were some big gaps in basic services and not much improvement from the time of the last major assessment of the state of medical services done in 2018 by the Ministry of Health, despite fundraising efforts of the community.
In 2022, Kalenga clinic is sometimes without a nurse to look after almost a thousand people, including boarders at its primary and high schools.
Island Sun arrived at Kalenga’s beautiful beach early in the morning of June 3, 2022 after a four-hour boat ride via outboard motor to Isabel from Honiara.
Kalenga is located at the southern end of Isabel, the longest island in the Solomon Islands.,
Upon our arrival we were welcomed by villagers.
Not so welcome was the bad smell that greeted us – a sign that this community does not have proper sanitation and that people are having to use the beaches for convenient purposes.
Sanitation is a basic building block for health, but it is just one part of the the health picture.
A roof inside the clinic beign destroyed by white-ants
Island Sun was there to look more specifically at the status of Kalenga Clinic and to see if it is adequately serving the people of surrounding communities.
We asked the villagers to introduce us to Kalenga Clinic’s newly-appointed nurse, but the nurse was not there.
Having found a lack of crucial medical supplies when he arrived to take up his post, he had set off for Honiara to obtain medicines to restock the dispensary.
That left the clinic without its only trained medical staff.
Back in 2018, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services found that lack of trained staff is an all-too-common occurrence across the country.
The Ministry’s Statistical Health Core Indicator Report showed most provinces had rural health clinics with no registered nurse.
Isabel was not one of those provinces, so it seems that in 2022 things have not improved despite new COVID funding.
Kalenga Clinic Chairman Josie Gedi revealed the clinic has been struggling since 2015 despite the surrounding communities working hard to raise funds to make up for gaps in services.
Josie Gedi Kalenga Clinic Chairman infront of the highfloor clinic
“This clinic was built almost 25 years ago and due to its closeness to the seashore, the clinic committees then, agreed to build a high floor building to avoid high tides or king tides washed inside the building.
“But a high-floor building is not suitable for women, elderly and people with disability, as there was no access for such people and they always find it difficult to climb up the stairs”, Gedi said.
Gedi who is now taking up the position of chairman has been organizing his committee to raise funds to build a new clinic convenient to all people.
His committee has been seeking funding from leaders and authorities since 2020 to re-construct a concrete floor clinic, but there has not been much support.
Gedi said only the members of their communities contributed but that was not enough.
“As you can see this clinic is without a bathroom and toilet and it has been difficult for sick patients and even women who come here to give birth.
“Authorities should come and assess this place properly and see for themselves the problems we face, even our Provincial leaders and Health authorities never address the problem this clinic face,” Gedi highlighted.
Gedi also said the clinic often runs out of medicines, leaving sick patients to turn to home remedies or herbal medicines for their health problems.
Clinic Pharmacy without panadol and antiobiotic drugs for sick people
Meanwhile, Provincial Member for the Kalenga clinic area Tony Vahia, said that the provincial government does not have enough funds to support all rural clinics within the province.
“Even-though we knew that our rural health centers need funding support and it is a need for us leaders to support, as our health is important, we did not have the funds to build proper facilities, unless donors support us”, Vahia said.
He said with the current state of Kalenga clinic and with COVID cases in the country, proper health facilities are needed in the rural areas.
Annette Kafa, one of the women representatives in her late 40s, shared her concern that, as a woman and mother, she wants the Ministry of Health and the Provincial Health to always make sure that nurses posted to rural clinics do not leave clinics unattended.
She said during the recent COVID community transmission Kalenga clinic was without a nurse for almost four months and it really affect the communities especially women and children.
“Provincial health should always bear in mind that whenever a nurse is on annual leave, they should send a nurse to relieve the nurse on leave to avoid inconvenience for our community” Ms Kafa said.
GUADALCANAL Premier Francis Sade has called on the national government to return the Perpetual Estate titles for alienated lands to the province and its people.
In his speech on Guadalcanal’s 38th second appointed day celebration yesterday, Premier Sade said his executive is looking forward to work with the national government about who should now hold the Perpetual Estate (PE) title to those parcels of land, or if the FTE titles should be transferred to the Guadalcanal Provincial Government.
He said it is important for the national government to assist Guadalcanal province in addressing the long-standing issues affecting the province.
“As old as these issues are, it is therefore crucial that the National Governments helps the Guadalcanal Provincial Government address these issues, and do so urgently.
“Our policy is clear! We want the PE title for alienated lands to be returned to the Guadalcanal Provincial Government and eventually to the people of Guadalcanal.
“This will ensure that our Province and people benefit from our lands and lessen the fast land selling issue without any proper social and economic regulation services.”
He also said due to the migration of people from different parts of the country in search of opportunities, many of them have built settlements beyond the town boundary, on customary and alienated lands.
“Many of these are informal or squatter settlements.” He adds.
“This creates challenges as well as opportunities. As stated earlier before, due to Nahona’ara, Guadalcanal Province hosts people from all over the country and is in many ways the center of Solomon Islands, it has also created tensions between indigenous Guadalcanal people and our fellow citizens from other provinces. It also increases the competition for social services.”
DEVELOPMENT Bank of Solomon Islands, Relationship Manager says the bank has injected close to 80 million into the local economy through its lending programs.
Patrick Suti made the statement during DBSI’s awareness program held at Gizo on Friday.
He said DBSI is looking at increasing the figure to 100 million before the year’s end.
Suti said the bank received two to three million per month in its recovery payments – an amount he described as significant as the bank is only two years old since its reestablishment.
He said the focus for cash flow is looking good for the next six to 12 months and into the future.
“We have received interested organisations trying to lend us funding for certain objectives. For example; Asia Development Bank is showing interest to provide special funding that looks at green energy and climate change related programs.
“Business Link Pacific has been on the list of interested lenders through concessional loan programs. BLP provides 2.4 million dollars in its first collaboration with DBSI. Note, that this fund is managed by DBSI and not the lender which is BLP,” Suti explained.
He said the future of DBSI is looking good, however, close collaboration between business operators and the bank is important going forward.
Asilaua's uncle, Mr Miniti shakes hand with Premier Suidani as Asilaua's dad, Mr Belo (at the back) also look on Talifilu for hand shake.
BY SAMIE WAIKORI
AUKI
MALAITA Premier Daniel Suidani and his political advisor, Celsius Talifilu were threatened by the immediate family members of rival politician Elijah Asilaua during a tour to the Urudao market within the Baegu Asifoloa constituency last week.
The threats were made over issues relating to the Motion of No Confidence that the Provincial Member for ward 11 took against Suidani last year.
That motion failed to make it to the floor of the provincial assembly as it was withdrawn following public pressure in Auki late last year.
The incident happened last Wednesday when Suidani and his team arrived at the Urudao market for awareness talk to the people of that side of the Baegu constituency.
The team was welcomed by one of the chiefs within the Urudao area and privilege was given for Suidani and members of his team to organize the awareness program.
After formalities and words of welcome were said, Suidani began his talk and halfway into it, one of Asilaua’s uncles, Mr Miniti intercepted Suidani and started accusing him.
He accused Suidani and Talifilu for disrespecting Asilaua and his family and for incident the incident that happened during the motion which is yet to be settled between them.
Miniti said all criticisms and whatever received by Asilaua during that time were engineered by Suidani and Talifilu and they should not just ignore them and visit Asilaua’s ward.
He demands Suidani and Talifilu address the issues by compensating members of their families with talufi’aes (shell money).
Asilaua’s father, Belo was also there with his cousin brother as well as Miniti who accused and demanded apology from Suidani in the form of compensation.
An Anglican priest, Fr Sam Kete a respected leader of the tribal land that hosted Urudao market intervened and demanded a stop to the commotion.
He asked both Miniti and Belo to stand down on their demand and called for an apology from each party in which they humbly accepted and reconciled with each other.
Premier Suidani and Talifilu on that note conveyed their apology to members of Asilaua’s family for what they had in mind relating to the motion.
Suidani said although the matter is political, he respected members of the Asilaua family for taking it up and to say sorry to each other and solve it.
He said that he had already settled the matter with Asilaua and they have nothing between them.
After the matter was settled, Suidani and team continued with the awareness program until they left to Abuisaia village along the Sasava River in Mbaelelea constituency.
DEFECTS have been identified on Guardian patrol boat, RSIPV Gizo 05 during its refitting in Australia.
Minister for Police, National Security and Correctional Services, Anthony Veke confirmed this when asked by Leader of Opposition, Mathew Wale in Parliament on Wednesday.
Veke said at the moment they haven’t still receive a specific report on the defects.
“But coming back to Guardian Patrol boat, we still have Taro operational and Gizo was sent back for refitting and this is a normal exercise under the programme,” the police minister said.
“It is when Gizo in Australia that they identified some defects,” he added.
Veke said the defects that has been emerging shows to Guardian class patrol boat for the last 18 months.
He said this include cracks between engine and gear box, ventilation on seat base and crack on engine exhaust silencer.
Furthermore, Veke said in terms of reporting, the Australia government take this matter very seriously and committing to address this problem as soon as possible.
He said they are developing a report which will presenting to Solomon Islands Government through his ministry to inform government of Solomon Islands in relating to Gizo and Taro on specific defects.
“Actually, the Australia Government report to us not until our officers travel with Gizo patrol, when they identified the defects, they sent our officers home.
“They gave us initial reports on three areas identified for the last 18 months,” he said.
“My ministry is working with Australia to make sure we have this report.
“The manufacturer, which Austal, is sending team around Pacific including Solomon Islands for initial assessment of the boats within Pacific.
“Maybe when do assessment, we will have clear definite report on the defects of the Guardian Class Patrol boat,” he said.
Government has received the first RSIPV Gizo 05 in 2019.
It took the second Guardian-class patrol boat, RSIPV Taro 06 in June last year.
This was made possible under an existing Defence Cooperation Arrangement, which saw continuous support by Australia to Solomon Islands for more than 30 years.
The purchase of the donation is to tackle illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing on the Exclusive Economic Zones in the country.
DBSI Relationship Manager Patrick Suti speaking during the awareness at Gizo
BY BEN BILUA Gizo
The interest in the country’s Development Bank (DBSI) is apparently huge in the Western province.
This was clear in the huge turnout for DBSI’s awareness programme in Gizo this week.
Owners of small to medium enterprises as well as informal business operators flooded the conference room eager to listen.
Most participants expressed keen interest in the different types of loans, loan application processes and loan security.
As a result of the throng of interested participants, application forms ran out.
In his presentation, DBSI’s Relationship Manager, Patrick Suti spilled out types of loans, loan processes and requirements, repayment rates and period of payments for different types of loans.
He said DBSI has six lending opportunities under its lending programs.
“The first one is; Livelihood and investment facility which aimed at improving the living standard of people who are formally employed to invest for future benefits.
“The second one is; Investment property loan facility aimed at those who are interested in investing on properties to run a business.
“The third one is; Small and medium enterprise aimed at small to medium enterprises.
“The government also provides other loan opportunities to support respective sectors such as Agriculture, Tourism and Commerce.
“Central Bank of Solomon Islands also provides a scheme to assist applicants in circumstances where applicants security unable to meet the repayment requirements.
“Business Link Pacific also provides special lending opportunity for SMEs that are badly affected by the pandemic.
“The special lending opportunity is to assist SMEs to restart their businesses,” Suti said.
In her presentation, DBSI’s Business Support Officer (SME) Annie S Wate said all the lending opportunities has limits with certain repayment rates.
“For example, loans under the Tourism grant is ranged from 50,000 to 300,000. Percentage rate of payment is eight percent per annum for over five years.
“This is similar for Agriculture,” she said.
Wate said youths and women have special rates – a decision made by the government to encourage women and youths to go into business.
In his opening remarks Suti said the aim of reopening DBSI is to provide sustainable financial services to all Solomon Islanders with particular focus on the development of rural areas.
“Since the closedown of previous DBSI, there was no financial services and lending activities that took place in rural areas.
“Reason is that; rural areas are too risky for commercial banks to invest. That is the gap the government saw to need to reestablish DBSI with one aim and that is to provide financial service for small to medium business in rural areas,” he said.
OFFICE of Prime Minister and Cabinet has ordered Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) to do self-censorship on its news and programmes.
This means SIBC is not allowed to broadcast any news and paid programmes that are against the government.
Acting Chairman of SIBC Board, Dr William Parairato met with staff of SIBC yesterday and informed them that any news or talkback show must go through a vetting process to make sure it does not create disunity.
Island Sun asked what this means for news or press statements from the Opposition Leader, who has the mandate as the watchdog of the Government to be critical of its decisions.
Parairato said it is not clear but all news and talkback shows must now go through a vetting process.
Previously, SIBC had allowed talkback show paid programmes like Transparency Solomon Islands, National Council of Women and Opposition Leader, Mathew Wale, MP for Small Malaita, Rick Hou and former Auditor General, Edward Ronia to be broadcasted on air that were critical of government’s decision to extend Parliament from four to five years.
SIBC had also provided full live coverage of Australia Minister of Foreign Affairs Penny Wong’s visit to Honiara recently because the Australia High Commission paid for it.
Unlike the visit of Peoples Republic of China (PRC) Foreign Minister, Wang Yi visit to Honiara, there was no full live coverage because the PRC Embassy did not pay for it.
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told Parliament this week when asked by Opposition Leader, Matthew Wale on government’s level of control in transition period over SIBC editorial policy.
Sogavare said they will not go to the extent of telling everything government wants to say.
“We are concerned about certain things we are not happy about.
“In the Broadcasting Act, I can report to Parliament,” he said.
SIBC was added to the schedule of the State-Owned Enterprises Act 2007, however the Government omitted it because it did not perform its core functions and not giving any dividends to the government since 2018.
Special Secretary to Prime Minister, Albert Kabui told media yesterday SIBC still remain as a statutory body under the Broadcasting Act Cap.112.
Kabui said its operational and functions will be guided by Broadcasting Act which established SIBC way back in 1977 and which SIBC has been operating up until 2007.
“I think the broadcast content management will determine, more of an administrative operation thing.
“Only Board Prime Minister can appoint,” he said.
Kabui said off course there is provision in the Broadcasting Act where PM can ask SIBC to broadcast any news on national interest.
“To take full control is not necessarily correct,” he said.
