Wednesday, February 8th, 2017
Guardian of the people and environment
ONLY respected Solomon Islanders take up three important roles in serving the government, church and culture. One such person is Reverend Green Zino of Zaira Village in South Vangunu, Marovo Lagoon, Western Province. After serving as a teacher and minister of the church for over five decades, he was enthroned as the tribal chief of his Dokoso Tribe in South Vangunu on Friday 27th January 2017. His enthronement was witnessed by more than 200 men, women and children from nearby villages of Nineveh, Bopo, Seghe, Patutiva, Nazareth, Buleani andRead More
Court finds man guilty of conversion
A man charged for one count of conversion has been found guilty by the court and remanded in custody yesterday. Jack Liadron Kaota, a former employee of the King Solomon Hotel, pleaded not guilty to the charge and a trial was conducted on the case. Principal Magistrate Jim Seuika after hearing all evidence during the trial and considering all submission from both defence lawyer and the Prosecution found that the prosecution has strong evidence and proved their case beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty as charged. Magistrate SeuikaRead More
Man intends to enter guilty plea on rape charge
A man charged with one count of rape has told the court that he wants to plead guilty, though he is without legal representation. Appearing before Principal Magistrate Ricky Iomea yesterday, the accused admits that he will enter a guilty plea to the charge of rape. Meanwhile the Public Prosecutor said investigation is yet to be completed thus the accused cannot be arraigned. The Prosecutor said the Doctor’s report in relation to the victim needs to be obtained before disclosures can be provided. The court also questions prosecution whether theRead More
Global company extends help to cocoa farmers
A global agri-business company called Olam International Ltd is showing interest to assist our local farmers. Yesterday Pacific Horticultural and Agriculture Market Access Programme in collaboration with Olam International Ltd organised a first-ever training for local cocoa farmers and exporters as part of the ongoing assistance toward the country’s cocoa industry. In an interview with this paper, Manager of Olam branch, OUTSPAN Papua New Guinea Limited Mr Tarun Suvarna said there are positive programmes outlined to assist our local farmers and exporters. He said Olam will first provide a marketRead More
Bad weather halts flights
INTERNATIONAL and domestic flights to and from Honiara were cancelled yesterday. Domestic flights are said to resume today. Solomon Airlines Travel Centre said this is due to the wet weather experienced in the country over the past few days. Virgin Australia flight which should have arrived at 2pm yesterday has been rescheduled for 2pm tomorrow Thursday. Air New Guinea which was supposed to have arrived yesterday afternoon was also cancelled for 1.05pm today. The national flag carrier’s Boeing 737 has also cancelled its flight for 4pm today. The domestic fleetRead More
Government to spend $15.5 million on political appointees in 2017
THE Government will spend $15.5 million on salaries and entitlements of political appointees and domestic servants this year, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told Parliament this week. The amount is $200,000 less than what it spent on political appointees last year, according to figures produced in Parliament. Mr Sogavare was responding to a series of questions asked by the Opposition Leader Jeremiah Manele on Monday. Mr Manele wanted to know the number of political appointees engaged to date under the Prime Minister’s private and political office. He also wanted to knowRead More
Bad weather tolls heavily on capital’s water supply
SOLOMON Water advises public that the heavy rainfall in the capital has caused high turbidity and extensive damages to their distributions main pipeline. In a media statement, Scravin Tongi, the Operations Manager, said that while his team is working on getting full assessment report of the damage, the following are confirmed; Rove gravity main pipeline has been damaged and areas such as Rove Police Headquarters and Ministry of Infrastructure Development will be without water for the next 24 hours. The Kongulai Pump station has been temporarily shut down due toRead More
Rain stops accused from attending court
THE heavy rain on Monday night stopped men from attending their court appearances yesterday. The court was told that two co-accused with Nelson Maeta on a false pretence case were not able to attend because of the rain and flood at the Burnscreek, as they live further up the Lungga area. Meanwhile the Public Prosecutor also said the case is a matter taken carriage of the Office of the Director Public Prosecution but did not have any instruction to assist the court. Adding that any direction given by the courtRead More
Call for more organisation in Auki market
THERE is a growing concern over how the Auki market is being organised. Currently, venders sell wherever they can find a space, and many do not agree with this. Concerned Auki residents shared to this paper their suggestion that responsible authorities allocate spaces to the different types of produces being sold and in neat and customer friendly arrangements. “Most spaces have been occupied by those that sold second hand clothes,” they complain. “As we can see a lot of our local famers just put their market products on the mainRead More
Cocoa export volume still low
REPORT has highlighted that the country’s cocoa export volume is still low despite potentials to make improvement. Cocoa Industry Adviser of Pacific Horti-cultural and Agricultural Market Access Programme (PHAMA) Ms Hanna Wheaton said the country’s cocoa export volume is currently at 500 tonnes per year. She described the amount as lesser compared to 20,000 hectares of cocoa farms which has big potential to increase the export volume. “There is no consistent to cocoa industry as farmers consider cocoa as just a cash crop for fast cash without having bigger picturesRead More