Waitt institute acknowledged

Government through the ministry of environment, climate change, disaster management and meteorology has thanked Waitt Institute from the United States (US) for freely offering their facilities and boat to conduct a two week of marine research in the Western province. The institute works with committed local governments and the scientific community to develop comprehensive, practical…

New species found here

New species of frogs, birds and snakes have been discovered at Borukua Island commonly known as Mary Island at the border of Western province and Russell Island. One of the local environmentalists Patrick Pikacha who accompanied a team of US scientists conducted marine research in Western province onboard   MV Plan B discovered these species during…

NPF: Don’t use double names

Solomon Island National Provident Fund (SINPF) has discovered that a number of employees have registered more than one names when paying their contributions. In an interview with the Solomon Star during the financial inclusive expo held at the National Art Gallery (NAG) on Friday a spokesperson for the fund said they have found out that…

NPF urges employees to fill nominee form

Solomon Island National Provident Fund (SINPF) is urging employees who fail to nominate someone in their NFP nominee form to do so. This was highlighted during the financial inclusion expo held at National Art Gallery last week. The spokesperson said many employees who pay their NPF contribution failed to fill their NPF nominee form and…

Journos urged to advocate in mine watch

Foreign miners are digging deep into our land while local journalists are not digging enough stories says an environmental activist. PNG’s mine watch organization ‘Bismarck Ramu Group’ networking coordinator Rosa Koian during an exclusive interview last week urged journalists in Solomon Islands to actively participate and acquire know-how basis about mining operations. Concentration of mining…

Call for more financial expo

The deputy premier of Renbel province has commended the two days financial expo held in Honiara last week and suggested that such event be organized every month. Kusol Tepuke made this remarks when he visited the expo on Friday. He said the expo is an excellent initiative to pass vital financial information to people who…

Marine gets tough

Seafarers without qualified safety training warned to vacate ship The Solomon Island maritime division is taking tough measures against seafarers who are working in inter-island vessels without any marine basic safety certificate (MBSC). Those found without any qualification will be asked to vacate the boats. Marine principal officer Kendol Boso made this strong reminder in…

Rising tourism in the Pacific

Pacific tourism is in the news again. The South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) released this week its latest estimate of tourist arrivals. The number of tourists who flocked to Pacific island countries (PICs) last year is 1.7 million. The figure for the previous year is 1.5 million. Certainly, tourism to the Pacific is on the…

Foreign aid and growth

Last week’s visit to Fiji by Australia’s foreign minister, Ms. Bishop has raised hopes of return to normalcy in bilateral relations between the two countries. The visit has been fruitful in many ways: Fiji has been added to the list of Pacific island countries (PICs), which are eligible for Australia’s Pacific Seasonal Workers Program. This…