PM’s Christmas visits successful

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day with patients at two of the nation’s hospitals. On Christmas Day, he visited and presented gifts to those at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) in Honiara. On Boxing Day, he travelled to north Guadalcanal to visit and spent time with patients at the Good Samaritan…

Ex-militants to be paid $300m

THE Government has agreed to pay ex-militants from Malaita and Guadalcanal $300 million, well-placed sources from the Prime Minister’s Office say. Up to 2,000 ex-combatants are likely to benefit, with each receiving $150,000 each. Members of the now defunct Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) received part of this package last Thursday when Cabinet approved $3 million…

Call to support Opposition & Independent office

Parliamentary Opposition Leader Jeremiah Manele has urged the government to create a separate budget for the two constitutionally established offices, namely the Opposition’s office and the Independent group. Manele highlighted this during the sine die motion in the national parliament last week that resourcing of these two institutions is critical for a vibrant democracy in…

Why we sell rice

SIPA says it wants to break the monopoly SOLOMON Islands Ports Authority (SIPA) wants to break the monopoly on rice sales in the country. This came after the country’s long time rice importer, Sol Rice has been dominating the market for years now. Even the government’s effort to help local farmers plant rice to reduce…

Courts go on vacation

THE High Court goes on vacation as of this week. Hearing of criminal and civil cases is halted until it resumes its normal official opening hours on January 18th 2016. Only urgent matters will be heard during the vacation. However, this does not mean the High Court is completely closed to the public as its…

Hospital theft on the rise

Latest victim loses laptop, cash HEALTH authorities are working on beefing up security around the National Referral Hospital (NRH) premises in light of the increasing incidents of theft in there. NRH chief executive officer Dr Steve Aumanu revealed this to the Solomon Star. “Security is a long standing issue for the hospital,” Dr Aumanu said.…