Why we remain a LDC

The  Prevalence of Trade imbalance, budget deficit, weak infrastructure, less business initiatives and high rate of unemployment are reasons why, Solomon Islands remains under the least Developed Countries (LDC) category. A management professional, who asked not to be identified, also said that trade imbalance is likely to be inherent in the island country. He explained…

Ariki to Forau: Please explain

Member of Parliament for Temotu Vattu constituency Clay Forau is being accused of mismanaging constituency funds, and constituents are demanding explanations. Constituents want the MP to explain where the 2012 Agriculture Funds amounting to $350, 890 for cocoa and coconut rehabilitation, Forestry Fund – downstream processing at $254,872 and reforestation division at $140,000, Church Fund…

Nestle Pacific donates noodle for victims

Flood relief assistance is still pouring in as Nestle Pacific Islands (NPI) delivered a container of noodle for flood victims in Honiara, Friday. The donation worth $100,000 of maggi noodles were donated through Red Cross Solomon Islands by Nestle Pacific’s local distributor, George Wu Company. Red Cross Disaster Manager, Cameron Ngatulu said Red Cross Solomon…

Officials end training

Reproductive health coordinators, teachers, Non-government organisation reps, and provincial disaster coordinators concluded their five-day training on Saturday. The training on Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) was held at the Star Events conference room in Honiara. It was facilitated by Ministry of Health’s Reproductive Division, in collaboration with United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), and…

Students welcome short bus route report

Students at the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) have welcomed parliament’s endorsement of the Short Bus Routes report. Parliament endorsed the report, Thursday. The report was produced by a parliamentary special select committee appointed to look into the issue. Caroline Roka from SINU’s Institute of Natural Resources and Applied Science said this is a big…

Voter ID cards arestate properties

Registered voters are told to respect the law and stop selling their voter ID cards, which legally, are properties of Solomon Islands Electoral Commission (SIEC). Speaking during the Transformational leadership and character education for peaceful co-existence, Friday, Ben McNair, a media trainer said ID cards are state properties and should not be sold here and…

Financial education in the Solomons

Integrating Personal Finance Management into our schools curriculum From executive meetings in corporate boardrooms to family discussions around rural kitchen fireplaces, the gradual switch from our usual subsistence to cash economy has triggered new concerns for better knowledge and understanding of this new tool-MONEY.  Just as we know how to effectively sharpen our axes and…

Atrocities in West Papua revealed

Indonesian security forces intentionally killed and raped children along with a large number of civilians at a massacre on the West Papuan island of Biak, a tribunal has found. The secret massacre which has been denied for years by Indonesia was officially detailed by a citizen’s tribunal which brought down its findings in Sydney recently.…

NZ police training in West Papua on hold

The Indonesian government has temporarily scrapped a controversial New Zealand-run police training programme for officers involved in the military occupation of West Papua. Radio New Zealand International reported that the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said only that Indonesia had pulled out of the next phase of the programme “at this time”. However,…