BY JUNELYN KELLY

The President of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Directors has highlighted the importance of leadership transition and good governance during the opening of the directorship training programme yesterday.

Speaking at the event, Clarence Hood said that under the Institute’s constitution, board members are limited to serving five consecutive terms, after which they must step aside to allow new leadership.

He said this practice promotes accountability and strengthens governance within organisations.

Mr Hood shared his professional background as managing director of the investment promotion authority, an agency responsible for company registration and promoting Papua New Guinea as an investment destination.

He emphasised that the training is conducted in the spirit of strengthening governance and leadership capacity.

The President expressed appreciation for the collaboration with the Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) in organising the programme.

He concluded by stressing the importance of good governance, saying it builds strong boards, and strong boards build strong nations.

Over the three days training, participants will cover key topics including governance fundamentals, financial literacy, risk management, and board excellence, tailored to the local context.

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BY ALICE T CAMPBELL

The Solomon Islands Electoral Commission (SIEC) has confirmed that the Honiara City Council (HCC) by-election for Kola’a Ward 8 will take place on Wednesday, 3 June 2026.

This election date was formally declared by the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr. Isikeli Tuwai Vave, through Legal Notice No. 166 published in the Solomon Islands Gazette on 7 April 2026, officially triggering the electoral process under the Provincial Assemblies and Honiara City Council Electoral Act 2023.

Multi-Purpose Hall in Honiara has been designated as the official nomination venue, where candidates will submit their nominations between 8 April to 2 June 2026, a statement from the SIEC yesterday said.

The election office for this by-election will also operate from the same location.

Chief Electoral Officer Jasper Highwood Anisi has appointed Ms. Annette Tanda as Returning Officer, with Mr. Nelson Bilau serving as Assistant Returning Officer, according to the statement.

These arrangements, made under the Electoral Act 2023 and Election Regulations 2024, ensure the by-election is conducted in full compliance with the law.

Preparations are progressing steadily, with the Commission working closely with stakeholders to deliver a smooth and credible process, SIEC said.

The SIEC encourages all eligible voters in Kola’a Ward 8 to participate and exercise their democratic right to elect a representative to the Honiara City Council.

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BY SAMIE WAIKORI

The Minister for Finance and Treasury of the Central Islands province (CIP), MPA Dagnal Meleha, has provided an overview on the expenditure of the recently approved $34,381,840 budget for the 2026/2027 financial year.

The budget comprises of SBD $8,231,685 in recurrent expenditure and $26,150,156 in capital expenditure.

Minister Meleha explained that recurrent expenditure will primarily cover staff salaries and benefits, as well as operational costs, while capital expenditure will fund key development projects across the province.

Meleha said under recurrent expenditure, staff salaries and wages are projected at $4,235,144, representing a 23 percent increase from last year’s budget.

He added that the increase is attributed to the inclusion of Ward Support Officers’ salaries and measures to standardise employee leave entitlements starting this year.

The Minister noted other operational expenditures, which include funding for divisions’ annual work plans, estimated at $3,996,541 for the fiscal year.

Regarding the capital budget, he said CIP will continue to invest in both ongoing and new development projects under its transformation agenda, including micro-ward development grants.

The capital budget of SBD $26,150,156 is allocated as follows:

PCDF – SIG/IEDCR/LoCAL/UNDP Projects:

• Administration projects (12 percent) – SBD $1,877,383
• Economic/Productive Resilience projects (54 percent) – SBD $10,615,142.47
• Social Infrastructure projects (24 percent) – SBD $3,220,146.70
• General Investment Servicing costs (10 percent) – SBD $1,630,385.42

Other SIG Capital Projects:

• Nambawan House Reconstruction – SBD $174,328
• Tulagi Historical Sites Development – SBD $1,000,000
• Nambawan House Museum Exhibition – SBD $2,590,936
• Provincial Youth & Children Resource Center – SBD $2,762,738
• Tourism Operators Support Carry-Forward Grants – SBD $244,950

The Minister also announced that the Ward Development Grant for this year totals to SBD $1,145,092, with an allocation of SBD $88,084 per ward, marking a 2 percent increase from the previous year.

The grant is reallocated from recurrent expenditure to the capital budget to balance the differences between revenue and spending.

Meleha cautioned that budget projections inherently carry risks, as experienced in previous years and as a responsible government, they remain committed to enforce financial discipline, strengthen budget management, and pursue reforms to address ongoing challenges.

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BY SAMIE WAIKORI

The Central Islands Provincial Assembly has passed a budget of $34,381,841 for the 2026/2027 financial year (FY)—the highest in more than 20 years, after the closure of key investments in the province such as Solomon Taiyo, RIPEL, and Anuha Island Resort.

The budget was approved under the theme, “Empowering Transformations, Resourcing Our Future,” which underscores the government’s commitment to driving positive change and laying a strong foundation for future development in the province.

The theme also reflects the province’s shared ambition to move decisively by ensuring financial resources are strategically mobilized and effectively utilised to transform the province and improve the livelihoods of its people.

Presenting the budget, Central Islands Province Minister for Finance and Treasury, MPA Dagnal Meleha, said the $34,381,841 budget comprises of $9,555,263 in recurrent revenue and $24,826,577 in capital revenue.

The capital component includes funding from donor partners as well as carried-forward balances from the previous fiscal year.

He noted that total recurrent revenue for 2026/2027 represents an increase of around 21 percent compared to the last financial year, mainly due to a projected rise in Fixed Service Grants (FSG).

Meleha said the FSG for the 2026/2027 financial year is estimated at $6,711,933, reflecting a 12 percent increase from the previous year.

He added that this increase follows a successful bid by the Ministry of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening (MPGIS) for a 5.5 percent rise in recurrent revenue.

An additional 5 percent increase in FSG has also been allocated to support the consolidation of Ward Support Officers’ salaries and employment benefits under the provincial government staff establishment, effective this financial year.

In terms of capital revenue, Meleha highlighted a significant increase of around 92 percent compared to the last financial year.

He attributed this increase to several key funding sources, including:

• SIG PCDF (SBD $11,473,992): The province is projected to receive new grants totalling SBD $2,262,136.49 following its qualification in the last financial year’s PCDF assessment, along with a carried-forward balance of $3,025,797.
• An additional SBD $6,186,058.50 is expected from the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) as arrears owed to the province for its qualification in the 2023/2024 PCDF assessment.

“I must acknowledge both the Salini-led former executive and the current government for their consistent pursuit of these PCDF arrears with MPGIS. We must continue to pursue the final payments of outstanding arrears, as these are funds legally owed to the province,” Meleha said.

• PCDF-IEDCR (SBD $3,925,780): No new allocations will be transferred to the nine provinces this year due to low utilization rates. This amount is a carried-forward commitment from the previous financial year.
• PCDF-LoCAL (SBD $1,943,286): This allocation represents a 100 percent increase from the previous year.
• PCDF-GOV4RES (SBD $169,512): This is a carried-forward balance from last year.
• UNDP-EU (SBD $541,056): This funding supports the School and Health WASH projects under the UNDP-EU PGSD program.

Meleha said these allocations mainly form the bulk of the recurrent and capital revenues under the total SBD $34,381,841 budget for the 2026/2027 financial year.

He emphasized that the budget reflects the Central Islands provincial government’s vision, priorities, and commitment to its people.

Meleha said provincial government aims to empower communities, transform service delivery, strengthen the local economy, and build a resilient and prosperous Central Province through this budget.

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BY IRWIN ANGIKI

Ports workers will stage a sit-in strike today, Thursday, April 9, after negotiations between the Ports Authority (SIPA) and the Workers Union (WUSI) broke down this week.

A general meeting between Ports workers and WUSI yesterday reached the decision. The sit-in strike takes effect 12am last night.

SIPA had not shown commitment to negotiations, which saw the 14-day extension to the original 28-day strike notice lapse without any tangible resolution to the demands by the workers through WUSI.

The original strike notice was dated February 25, which was then extended by another 14 days on Tuesday, March 24.

The extension was to allow for further negotiations between the union and SIPA on the workers’ log of claims.

But, negotiations hit a snag when the SIPA CEO did not attend meetings during the 28-day strike notice and subsequent 14-day extension, instead sending the HR and lawyer who did not have authority that only the CEO has.

This stalled negotiations until the 14-day extension lapsed yesterday, April 8.

Speaking with Island Sun last night, General Secretary of WUSI Adrian Tuhanuku said all the SIPA workers agreed in their meeting yesterday to carry out the strike.

“The Ports workers will show up at the SIPA compound but will assemble at the Unity Square, they will withdraw their services,” the General Secretary said.

Mr Tuhanuku said all the issues raised by workers in the general meeting are divided into three submissions.

1. Log of claims accompanied by the strike notice.

2. Misconduct by some senior officers will be directed at the SIPA board requesting investigation.

3. Some item will be addressed direct to responsible ministers of finance and MID as oversight for SIPA.

The log of claims which the strike notice pertains to goes way back to 2018.

WUSI fought for the SIPA workers’ claims through three Chief Executive officers (CEO).

The first two CEOs had not recognised WUSI as a legitimate representative of the workers.

However, a secret ballot vote on March 17, 2025 saw 374 out of 383 workers choosing union representation by the Workers Union of Solomon Islands (WUSI).

Following this, SIPA was forced to sit with WUSI and dialogue over the workers’ claims, and the new CEO signed the recognition agreement of WUSI representing SIPA workers.

But, disagreement arose when SIPA demanded that the log of claims be back-dated to 2024. WUSI refused to budge and argued that the log of claims should be back-dated to 2018.

Failure to reach a compromise led to WUSI deciding to issue the 28-day strike notice on February 25, 2026.

Negotiations could not come up with resolutions and a 14-day extension was given, starting March 24.

One of the contributing factors to why negotiations failed is the slow and ‘time wasting’ pace of dialogue between WUSI and SIPA because SIPA was represented by its Human Resources Officer (HR) and lawyer.

These two personnel do not have authority to make decisions. This authority rests with the CEO.

During negotiation meetings, attendants would include WUSI officials, in-house committee members of SIPA workers and the SIPA HR and lawyer.

During the meetings a lot of items could not be decided on because the SIPA representatives did not have the authority to decide.

If the CEO was present, the decision on the items would have been made straight away because the CEO would give his decision there and then, WUSI secretary told Island Sun.

According to the February 25 strike notice, the workers’ claims include:

– Deliberate Avoidance and Delay of Settling negotiations on Terms & Conditions of Service of the Employees of SIPA.

–  Preferential Award of Benefits to employees (eg. Education funds, Special advances, School fees, Bonus payment, Acting Allowance, etc)

– Salary Structure not reviewed since 2018

– Preferential appraisal

– Unfair and preferential disciplinary

– Sexual harassment

– Nepotism – current employment recruitment

– Covid allowance

Comments are being sought from SIPA.

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