LAND and Sea Circle Services which has been operating in Honiara without a valid Business Licence from the Honiara City Council since 2013 is facing a $5, 000 fine as well as $50 a day to be backdated to when it started, the City Council confirmed on Tuesday.
The company is jointly registered under the name of a Panaki Walter, also known as Roto, an employee of the South Pacific Oil and a Panaki Irish.
Company Haus Business Name Extract shows the company was registered on 30th April 2013.
Land and Sea Circle Services is supposed to be dive company, but those with inside knowledge of the company said Walter Roto is not a qualified diver.
“He is not a qualified diver. He has no diving equipment and one wonders how on earth the Company was awarded multi-million dollar contracts over the years. T
“The company services oil and fuel tankers coming into Honiara to fuel SP Oil’s main Terminal at Point Cruz,” someone familiar with the operation told Solomon Star.
According to him, Land and Sea Circle Services had been operating quietly until 2018, when it first put out a public tender notice for the service.
But it appeared the company has forgotten to apply for a valid Business Licence from the Honiara City Council – a prerequisite for operating business concerns within the city jurisdiction.
In a letter dated 13th September 2021, the City Council’s Business Licence Officer, Wilson Jerry Tabiru, said:
“This is to confirm to your office that the above business has no records and has no valid Business Licence with the Honiara City Council since (it has been operating) until now.
“They are operating (an) unlawful business. They have also committed an offence under s 3(2) of the Honiara City Council (Regulations of Business Licence) Ordinance,” the letter said.
It was written to a client who sought a due diligence be undertaken on the company.
Solomon Star spoke to the Council’s lawyer Paul Inifiri about what penalty the company could cough up in terms of fines.
Mr. Inifiri confirmed the $5, 000 fine as well as $50-a-day in back payment from the day the company began operations nine years ago.
A rough calculation shows Land And Sea Circles faces a potential bill of $169, 250 which include the $5, 000 penalty for operating without a valid licence.
Asked whether the Council would pursue the matter in court, Mr. Inifiri said it would be up “to our administration”.
He also said the Regulations of Business Licence Ordinance needs to be reviewed and that the Council is working on it.
SP Oil has not responded to questions sent to it earlier about the awarding of contracts over the years to Land and Sea Circle Services and who decides what company to get the three-year contract with an estimated value of $480, 000 a year.
By ALFRED SASAKO
Newsroom, Honiara
