“Aid dependency, resource dependency, and natural disasters remain huge challenges for the region.” Securing long-term economic viability remains a challenge for the Melanesian states, with geographic isolation, climate change, natural disasters, and aid dependency presenting significant problems for these relatively young countries. Vanuatu has a population of 270,000 and a GDP of $771 million. Designing an…
Dear Editor – Grateful if my letter could be slotted in your paper at anytime convenient. I would like to raise a concern regarding short bus routes. If my memory serves me right, there was a petition presented to members of parliament to look into and come up with ways whereby this short bus route…
Dear Editor – Interestingly after much outrage and calls from the opposition, civil society and the general public in the media for SSPM Andrew Muaki to resign and further calls for the Prime Minister to leave up to his ideologies and promises, hence, should immediately sacked or terminated his SSPM, there appears to be no…
Dear Editor – Thank you for allowing a space in your paper to express my disgust in relation to an article penned by Alfred Sasako which appeared in the Island sun newspaper. The article was about the appointment of a new CEO for Solomon Airlines. I was very surprised to see Sasako firing the first…
Dear Editor – Regarding the now widely published, termination of Ron Sumsum as CEO Solomon Airlines, some reports give the impression that Sumsum was removed for shutting the airline down last week. In fact, the new CEO John McCormick was appointed on 1st June, nearly a week before the shutdown. The new CEO must have…
TWO bishops from the Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACOM) have received their awards of recognition by the British Empire during the Queen’s birthday on Friday. They are Bishop Nathan Tome from Guadalcanal Diocese and Retired Bishop Richard Basil Naramana from Ysabel diocese. “I was very happy to receive this award that makes my day brighter…
A lunch hour prayer time has been initiated for South Sea Evangelical Church (SSEC) youth members in Honiara at the SSEC central church as of Monday. The aim was to pray for the upcoming national youth convention that will be hosted at the Kilusakwalo village in central Kwara’ae, Malaita province, 25th of this month. “This…
Last week in Port Vila, a new Melanesian Free Trade Agreement was reached by Trade Ministers from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, the members of Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG). The new trade agreement, which took three years of negotiations, after signatures by MSG Leaders and ratification by parliament, will be known as…
SUVA, (FAO/UN WOMEN) – Around 1,000 women market vendors – farmers who were adversely affected by Tropical Cyclone Winston have received agriculture supplies that will help in their efforts to replant their crops. The produce will eventually be sold to market. For market vendor-farmer Adi Menani Tabua from Naqoro Village the supplies could not have…
SUVA, (RNZI) – A United Nations official says HIV infections in the Pacific are going down, but there’s still a long way to go. The director of the Asia and Pacific region for UNAIDS, Steve Kraus, said Papua New Guinea still accounts for 95 percent of people living with the virus in the Pacific. He…