Economy Archive October 2011

Solomon Islands Police in Gizo are cautioning commercial cargo ship owners and captains to thoroughly check cargoes aboard their ships.

Ten civil society groups from Fiji, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, will receive small grants between US$2500 and US$10,000 in 2011 to continue peace building efforts in the Pacific region.

Selected reports of human rights violations in the Solomon Islands communities were made public at a launch yesterday in Honiara.

RAMSI wants to work closely with all levels of Solomon Islands society to make sure confidence is maintained throughout RAMSI's transition, the Special Coordinator, Nicholas Coppel said.

The New Zealand defence force vessel HMNZS Resolution yesterday travelled to Vella La Vella in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands to repair and rededicate a World War Two memorial.

The Solomon Islands Honiara City Council has passed more than 22 million dollars budget for the 2012 financial year.

The Solomon Islands Government and the Asian Development Bank, ADB, is now funding a new monthly shipping service to the furthest of the Islands in Western Solomons.

A forum on a 'good practice' governance cycle for the Solomon Islands nine state-owned enterprises opened in Honiara yesterday.

Prime Minister Danny Philip has deplored the Opposition group's campaign to destabilize his government through continuous misinformation.

Fiji and it's future role in gatherings such as this week's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is just one of the issues that Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Peter Shanel believes will be raised at the gathering in Perth the capital of Western Australia.

The Solomon Islands Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Hon. Manasseh Maelanga officially opened the 5th Premiers Conference and Trade Show on the provincial capital Taro, Choiseul Province this week.

Papua New Guinea's Dash8 on lease to Solomon Airlines in Solomon Islands remains grounded whilst the airline awaits further information from Airlines PNG regarding outcomes of investigations on the accident of one of its Dash8 in PNG some 12 days ago.

The Solomon Islands Foreign Affairs Minister, Hon. Peter Shanel has described the opening of Solomon Islands newly built Chancery in Canberra, Australia as a momentous occasion for the Government and the people of Solomon Islands.

RAMSI is working closely with Solomon Islands to ensure confidence is maintained as the mission gradually transitions its programs and operations after eight years in the country, RAMSI Special Coordinator, Nicholas Coppel stated yesterday.

The New Zealand naval vessel, HMNZS Resolution, is delivering much needed supplies to one of the Solomon Islands more remote islands.

A man from the Temotu Province has been arrested and charged for murder over the body found floating in Mataniko River last week.

The Solomon Islands Festival of Pacific Arts committee has last week sealed a deal with the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE) for the use of its grounds during the Pacific Festival in 2012.

Solomon Islands have been ranked 74 out of 183 economies in a new report from the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank that measures the ease of doing business.

The Booval Rotary Club in Australia is sending surplus furniture donated by the Bremer TAFE to the Auki Primary school in Solomon Islands that was destroyed by fire earlier in the year.

With his colourful clothing and mis-matched socks, Jim Adam was a man not to be missed, but he will be, as the affable cabbie, keen cyclist and dedicated Rotarian this week, died suddenly during a charity trip to the Solomon Islands.

The Solomon Islands' global ranking leapt forward seven places between 2010 and 2011 in a new report from IFC and the World Bank that measures the ease of doing business.

The Solomon Islands Acting Commissioner of the Royal Solomon Islands Police, Walter Kola, has confirmed that the dead body of the man discovered in the Mataniko river on Wednesday was a result of Homicide.

A group of Bundaberg students, doctors and volunteers have returned from a moving trip to the Solomon Islands determined to improve the lives of their hosts.

The High Court has ruled that the MP for North Malaita, Jimmy Lusibaea, should have ceased to perform his functions as a Member of Parliament and vacated his seat on the 30th of January this year.

The Central Bank of Solomon Islands, CBSI, has joined others, particularly those within the business community, in commending the commercial banks for reducing lending rates to their clients and customers.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish trade links between Vanuatu and Temotu Province will be signed in late November.

Chief of the Pacific Islands Unit, Asia and Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund, Patricia Tumbarello says the government needs to prioritize and make sure funds are available for its newly launched National Development Strategy (NDS).

The visiting New Caledonia Arts Festival Delegation yesterday visited a number of sites and facilities to be used during the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts in July 2012.

A 10-day visit to the National Referral Hospital by an Australian volunteer ear, nose and throat (ENT) medical team has been successful, with the team holding more than 105 consultations and performing 21 operations during their visit.

Solomon Islanders have been warned to look out for individuals or groups who claim to be recruitment agents under Australia's planned Pacific Seasonal Worker's Pilot Scheme.

The Parliamentary Opposition is advising Papua New Guinea that the recently announced SBD$300 million dollar budgetary support for the NCRA government be paid directly to the Ministry responsible for Rural Development and not the Bureau for Social and Economic Reform.

Prime Minister Danny Philip has congratulated President Ma Ying-Jeaou on the occasion of Taiwan's National Anniversary celebrations in Taipei, on behalf of the Government and People of Solomon Islands yesterday.

Landowners of Gold Ridge in Central Guadalcanal are calling on the government to pay them about one million dollars in outstanding royalties following four shipments of gold from their land.

Solomon Islands Police Force Deputy Commissioner, Edmond Sikua has pledged the RSIPF to boost policing services to Isuna and surrounding communities on the Weathercoast following the closure of RAMSI's Participating Police Force (PPF) post last week.

The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MEHRD) and the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands (CBSI) are in the midst of exciting work towards determining the best means of introducing financial education within the school curriculum.

Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are championing moves for greater integration of the economies of the Melanesian Spearhead Group of countries.

Prime Minister Danny Philip yesterday visited the multi billion-dollar Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) base outside Port Moresby as he winds up his official visit to Papua New Guinea.

The Leader of Opposition, Dr Derek Sikua, has gone on the attack against Prime Minister Danny Philip, accusing him of interference in the work of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Danny Philip, is visiting Papua New Guinea for two days - his first since being elected Prime Minister last year.

Finance Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo says people who leaked his letter of nominee for the Solomon Airlines Board to the media have breached the country's State Owned Enterprises (SOE) Act.

The Honiara Council of Women, HCW, strongly condemns the alarming increase in sexual offences against women, which include rape, defilement and incest.

The Government maintains Solomon Islands will host the 2012 Festival of Pacific Arts in Honiara mid next year.

The Solomon Islands National Teachers Association (SINTA) has called on responsible authorities to seriously investigate circumstances surrounding the illegal sale of exam papers to students.

The Solomon Islands Tobacco Control Act recently passed by Parliament will be effective from January 1st, 2012.

The Solomon Islands Director of Public Prosecutions, Ronald Bei Talasasa strongly warned that his office will not tolerate offenders of sexually-related cases.

Outgoing Solomons Island's High Commissioner to Fiji, H.E Moses Kouni, says the Melanesian Spearhead Group has no intention of replacing the Pacific Islands Forum as purported by certain observers.

Australia and European Union have pledged commitment to ensure Solomon Islands achieve the objectives of the Solomon Islands National Development Strategy, NDS.

The Solomon Islands Olympic Committee has so far avoided suspension from the Oceania Olympic committee (ONOC), as the regional group's chief calls for investigations into allegations of fund mismanagement.

Solomon Islands made significant commitments to make progress on human rights before the UN Human Rights Council last week.