West steps up covid-19 preparedness

PREPARATION by the Western Provincial Government (WPG) disaster committee is at a high level says Chairman of the National Camp Management Sector Committee (NCMSC), Karl Kuper. This was during his visit with heads of WPG and disaster operations counter-parts in Gizo on Monday. Having made the statement, Kuper said the people of Western Province should…

USAID assists cyclone victims

UNITED States Government representative Keithie Saunders and World Vision Response Manager Shupayi Mpunga-Direen visited Lelea Lau and Rurete communities in East Honiara this week to hand over needed relief supplies for the victims of Tropical Cyclone Harold. The assistance is part of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) US$400,000 commitment to support the…

Relief supplies to be dispatched soon

THE Ministry of Environment Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorological Service (MECDM) will soon start dishing out relief supplies to affected communities by the recent tropical cyclone Harold. Permanent Secretary Melchior Mataki said the ministry has already completed the assessment on the damages caused by tropical cyclone Harold is ready for the dishing out of…

Schools in non-emergency zone to resume

NON-examination classes in both the primary and secondary schools throughout the provinces will join the rest of the secondary examination classes to proceed with their normal classes as of the 4th of May 2020. Under Secretary and Chair of COVID-19 Communications Committee in the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development James Basamata confirmed this…

How Strong Democratic Values Help Defeat a Pandemic   

If ever the world needed a reminder of the critical importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is it.  The coronavirus knows nothing of national boundaries, race, religion, nationality, or politics.  We are at risk simply because we are human. But we can – and we will – defeat this virus using the strengths that respect for human…

RESHUFFLED MINISTERS SWORN-IN

FOUR ministers of the current Democratic Coalition Government for Advancement (DCGA) have been sworn-in before the Governor-General Sir David Vunagi at Government House on Wednesday morning. The swearing-in ceremony now formalized their appointments to the respective ministries they have been assigned to look after as ministers, a statement from the Government Communication Unit said. Former Education…

Donors dismiss Sasako report

AUSTRALIA, European Union, and the United States have dismissed a report journalist Alfred Sasako wrote in the Island Sun newspaper on Sunday. Sasako claimed that European countries Australia and the United States will provide a €250 billion humanitarian grants program to the Solomon Islands.  He cites unnamed sources in his “unsubstantiated” article. In a joint…