NEWS coming from the troubled and enclosed nation of West Papua over the weekend are historic. Indonesian president Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo granted clemency to five political prisoners who have been serving various jail terms for their alleged role in a raid on an Indonesian Armed Forces weapons arsenal in Wamena on 4 April 2003. The…
THE Parliamentary Entitlements Commission (PEC) is at it again. As though they have not awarded enough yet to the Members of Parliament, this year PEC has given the MPs tax free salaries, life-time pension, and a 3.5% pay rise. It was only two years ago that PEC increased MPs terminal grant from $100,000 to $400,000.…
PARLIAMENT on Wednesday passed the Fisheries Management Bill in its second reading. Members of Parliament who participated in the debate spoke highly of the bill and its intention. This is a bill that has taken officials in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources several years to put together. So it was a well-thought out…
MAY we repeat it again! Solomon Airlines board and management owe this nation an explanation as to why it suddenly sacked chief pilot Gibson Galo and demoted its chief engineer Trevor Palmer. The decision may be an internal company matter. But it only fuel speculation as to the future of this State-Owned Enterprise. Already rumours…
THE legalise enrichment of our Members of Parliament continues to go unabated. It was only two years ago that MPs were awarded a cool $400,000 non-taxable terminal grant that they received at the end of each term in parliament. That’s besides the numerous benefits they get during their term. This week, the public woke up…
THE Honiara City Council has indefinitely closed down the central market for repair. This is a welcomed decision. The market has been in operation for the last 15 or so years since the Japanese government built and handed over the facility to the council. It has never undergone any major refurbishment. The decision to close…
THE Honiara City Council recently inspected a line of buildings at Point Cruz with the view of pulling them down and replacing them with new facilities. The exercise was part of the council’s efforts to give Honiara a new-look image. This line of buildings runs from the Point Cruz Hot Break Kitchen right next to…
A PHOTO of a fully-formed dead baby was posted on social media yesterday. It was a gruesome and heart-breaking photo of an innocent child who, unfortunately, was not given a chance to have a go in life. Police believed the baby – eight to nine months old and freshly delivered – had been pulled out…
MALAITA provincial executive met the new government for the second time this week. The first meeting was between premier Peter Ramohia and Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. The second was between Mr Ramohia and his executive and deputy prime minister Douglas Ete. Both meetings discussed proposed development projects for Malaita. Premier Ramohia, who assumed power for…
THE opposition leader Jeremiah Manele has said the right thing yesterday that a motion of no confidence in the DCC government would be too early. This paper on Monday ran a front page article quoting a reliable opposition insider revealing an open plan by the opposition group of a possibility to move a motion once…