Pacific’s triple burden undermine advances

THE Pacific continues to face unprecedented health challenges, says World Health Organization regional director Dr Shin Young-Soo. Speaking at the opening of the Eleventh Pacific Health Ministers meeting on Yanuca Island near Sigatoka, Dr Young-Soo said the region’s triple burden of non-communicable diseases, communicable disease and climate change complications threatened to undermine advances in health…

Minister reveals public service reforms

PUBLIC Service minister John Dean Kuku says some reforms to improve public service performances are ready underway. He revealed this in parliament. These reforms include: (1)   The Performance Management Policy (PMP) The management performance policy is aiming at improving performance at organisational, unit and individual levels. The Annual Confident Report (ACR) was the first public…

Big offer here

Dear Editor – These comments are in relation to the front page photograph over the above heading in Star Issue No.5795 of Friday 17/04/’15. The image is one of our Prime Minister (of a sovereign Solomon Islands) appearing to be quashed up by foreign economic and financial giants. Why are business people especially from China…

Fresh marketing plans

Dear Editor – The arrival of the ‘Sun Princess’ with its 2000 passengers on 24 April is set to be the first visible evidence of a raft of fresh marketing approaches that have been adopted in the past couple of months by the SIVB. A deal arranged with Solomon Airlines will soon see the arrival…

Accessing justice

Report from ODPP Gizo office THE cancellation of Magistrates court circuits due to the shortage of principal magistrates has affected the disposal rate of matters handled by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) branch in Gizo, Western Province. This is according to the 2014 annual report from the ODPP branch in Gizo…

Improving search and rescue in the Pacific

THE Pacific has moved one step closer to achieving a harmonised regional approach to search and rescue capability as promoted in the Search and Rescue Technical Arrangement for Cooperation among Pacific Island countries and territories. At the Sixth Pacific Regional Search and Rescue Workshop held in Noumea, New Caledonia (13–17 April 2015), Pacific Island delegates…