THE Minister of Finance and Treasury, Manasseh Sogavare has reassured that the government’s finances remain stable due to reservation measures and adjustments in the recently passed Supplementary Bill. Responding to questions from Opposition Leader Mathew Wale in Parliament Tuesday, Minister Sogavare acknowledged a budget deficit of $41 million—an improvement from the initially projected deficit of…
PAPUA New Guinean marine services business, Pacific Towing (‘PacTow’) has appointed a new manager to its Solomon Islands operation. The new manager is Derek Saru, who has vast experience in marine onshore and offshore engineering, as well as maritime safety environment management. Saru took up the position in late August. Manager of PacTow Gerard Kasnari…
CHINA is no longer a strange land to me after my recent third visit to the municipality of Chongqing. My relationship with China began during a trip with the Solomon Islands delegation to the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010. Though brief and largely confined to the Expo village, that initial visit sparked my interest. …
THE Perch Christian School in East Honiara held its annual speech contest on Friday with impressive speeches from contestants in three categories: Senior, Intermediate and Junior. The Speech Contest, held at the school, was based on the theme: ‘Developing Confidence. Embracing Our Culture’. The senior category speeches focussed on the topic, ‘Is Tourism a Gain…
The Government for National Unity and Transformation’s (GNUT) policy plan to establish a National Trade Laboratory and Policy has taken a step forward with the government engaging a consultant to develop its policy. This was revealed in the National Parliament by Prime Minister Honourable Jeremiah Manele MP when he moved the motion for Members of…
LEADER of Opposition Matthew Wale says government’s ambitious policy promises can only be delivered by government ministries. Speaking in Parliament, Monday, in response to the Speech from the Throne Wale therefore urged ministers to provide political leadership and direction to ministries in their delivery of government policy ambitions. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Aoke…
SOLOMON Islands need a vision that is realistic, reasonable and focused. The Leader of Opposition Matthew Wale uttered this in Parliament during his response to the ‘Speech from the Throne’ on Monday. Wale said unfortunately the National Development Strategy (NDS) in its present form has fallen short and cannot fill this void. “We do need…
MEMBERS of the Honiara City Council (HCC) Executive and official got the opportunity to learn about the new Education Act 2023 last week. The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MEHRD) organized and facilitated the week-long briefing and consultation, a statement issued by the HCC Media said. It was held from the 3rd to 6th of September…
Solomon Islands Council of Trade Union (SICTU) has welcomed the decision to remove officers involved in the illegal disbursement of drugs and medicines from the drug stores. In a statement on Tuesday SICTU President Mr Tony Kagovai supported the directive by the Minister of Health and Medical Services to terminate officers involved in in removing medicines from Provincial Health Facilities.…
Lata Provincial Hospital in Temotu Province is now fully equipped with a biomolecular laboratory thanks to the Australian Government. The Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Paul Popora Bosawai and Australia’s High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, HE Rod Hilton officially launched the new facility on Tuesday, a statement issued by Ministry of Health and…