Monday, January 16th, 2017
PM in Port Vila for first leg of MSG capitals’ visit
PRIME Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare arrived in the Port Vila last night from Brisbane, Australia, where he transited enroute to the Vanuatu capital. The Solomon Islands Prime Minister is in Vanuatu for the first leg of his second MSG (Melanesian Spearhead Group) capitals’ visit in his capacity as the Chair of the Melanesian sub-regional group. The MSG Chair was met on arrival by the Solomon Islands High Commissioner to Vanuatu, His Excellency Patteson Oti, Director General of the MSG Secretariat, Ambassador Amena Yauvoli and MSG Secretariat staff. The MSG ChairRead More
Kasuni assures more visits for CIP schools
CENTRAL Islands Province (CIP) Education Authority PEO Mr Charles Kasuni assured there will be more visits to the province’s schools this year compared to last year. The PEO made his assurance after the CIP Education Authority Officers were criticised by teachers for failure of school visits last year to check on the progress of education development in CIP schools. According to Mr Kasuni, monitoring was usually carried out twice a year during past years but the failure for visits experienced last year was because only the CIP Chief Education OfficerRead More
Lau Valley School parents urge HCC to respond
CONCERNED parents of Lau Valley Primary School in east Honiara have called on the Honiara City Council (HCC) Education Authority to quickly respond to their concerns to replace the head of the school. Parents of Lau Valley Primary school forwarded a letter, dated February 12, 2016 to the Honiara City Council (HCC) Chief Education Officer and request for an immediate removal of the current Lau Valley School head teacher. In a parents meeting on February 7, 2016, the parents have agreed that HCC must replace the school head based onRead More
I am offended: PM
Sogavare defends text message correspondences. THE PRIME Minister has defended a publicised article in the Sunday Star quoting text message correspondences to a mine dealer granting his bauxite company zero export duty late last year. It was disclosed that the Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare did so in relation to the bauxite stockpile in West Rennell, Rennell and Bellona (Renbel) Province. According to the published article, the mobile phone text messages was cited by the Sunday Star and showed that Sogavare was assuring an official of Bintan Mining SIRead More
“Players need to adapt to pressure”: Houkarawa
Boosting win for U-17s ADAPTING to playing under pressure is still an area which the Solomon Islands national Under-17 squad for the 2017 OFC U-17 qualifies in Tahiti needs to work on. Head coach Marhlon Houkarawa said while there are improvements, playing under pressure is something his players need to learn and handle. “Players are improving a lot. They created lots of chances however the only issue I find from our friendly today (Saturday) is that most of the players seemed to be under pressure, passing the ball away unnecessary.Read More
Family Protection Bill labelled a cultural mockery
FAMILY breakup, anti-social behaviour and extra marital affairs experienced now are being described as a direct result of the family protection bill (FPA). A local, who requested his name withheld, has rise concerns that the FPA, introduced by foreigners to our leaders and passed by the Parliamentarians on the parliament floor, is a result family social issues. A respected leader in East Honiara said that during the 70s and 90s, these practices were not common compared to nowadays. “You hardly see people playing around with their marriages, everybody respects theirRead More
Key Gender Concerns under CGA Report
THE Solomon Islands Country Gender Assessment (CGA) report launched during the International women’s day last year has provided an overview of key gender concerns in Solomon Islands. This key gender concerns are within the Access to Legal and Judicial support, Health, Education, Economic Empowerment, Decision Making and Leadership and Violence against Women in the country. The key gender points are as followed: Access to Legal and Judicial Support: The Gender Equality and Women’s Development Policy provides a framework to implement commitment to gender equality. Key challenges for access to justiceRead More
FSII taking action to prevent abuse of its social network Facebook page
DEAR EDITOR, I was pleased to learn last week that the FSII President, Benjamin Afuga, announced he was taking action to remove unprofessional commentaries from its Facebook Page that undermined the vision, objectives and core values of the social networking group in the Solomon Islands. While the Solomon Islands has a free press and the right to free speech is guaranteed by its Constitution, it should be remembered that the freedom to say what one likes cannot be absolute and a person’s right not to be wrongly or unfairly malignedRead More
Vehicle collisions in Honiara over the festive season
DEAR EDITOR, I am somewhat puzzled by a report in the Island Sun in recent days in which the Director of Traffic of the Kukum based Traffic Department said there had been four major vehicle accidents on Honiara’s main road over the festive season. He went on to say, “this indicates road users are paying attention to the traffic rules”. He also added, “By comparison, this means that people are adhering to traffic rules and complying with traffic regulations.” I might be sounding a little cynical because unless the storyRead More
Commercial endeavour by a young cocoa farmer brings rewards
DEAR EDITOR, according to news related by the SIBC last week, a young female cocoa farmer from Guadalcanal Province, Ms Agnes Pilpaso, has started exporting cocoa beans to New Zealand. Agnes was recognised as a potential cocoa producer in the Solomon Islands after she was awarded as first runner-up of the chocolate competition during last year’s Chocolate week. Since her success in the competition, Agnes has partnered with two chocolate factory owners in New Zealand who are doing marketing for her and she has already supplied six bags of cocoaRead More