Fact or fake?

STAYING in touch with people now through the mediums of smart gadgets and new age technology has been fixed into our way of life here in the islands with an important role to our communities. Local people have been swept into the hype and need of owning a smart gadget, to be trendy, up to…

European unity and Pacific integration

LAST week, the European Union (EU) observed 9 May as Europe Day. Sixty six years ago on 9 May 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman, pleaded to fellow nations in the continent to unite and open a new chapter of peace and tranquility. The statement, known as Schuman Declaration , is considered a milestone…

Fear of falling price level

The Chinese Renminbi   Yet another advanced country is in the grip of fear of falling price level. On Tuesday, May 3, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) reduced its benchmark interest rate to 1.75 percent from 2.0 percent: the lowest rate ever. Interest rates charged by Australian banks for loans to consumers and businesses…

Believe it or not!

IMF loan for Saudi Arabia? Would you believe that Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of oil needs temporary accommodation to meet dollar shortages and might go to IMF? The culprit is the tumbling oil price: a steep fall from US$115 a barrel in 2014 to US$43 a barrel now.  Export earnings of oil exporting…

Let’s face the reality

Speech presented in parliament by the Opposition leader on the Penal Code (Amendment)(Sexual Offences) Bill 2016 THANK you for giving me the opportunity to speak on this very important bill, the Penal code (amendment) (sexual offences) bill 2016. On the outset I would like to thank and congratulate the DCC Government for bring this very,…

Who is next?

An analysis of the sacking of the SIPA chairman and board member MINISTER for Infrastructure Development, Jimmy Lusibaea, caused a political stir when he sacked SIPA chairman Billy Titiulu and Board member, Johnny Sy on the weekend. “I have taken the action because it has come to my knowledge that both men have been secretly…

SI should learn from Korea

Today more than 85% of the Solomon Islands live in rural area that include in the 3.3 billion people live in rural areas around the world. Rural development is therefore of vital significance if the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – “a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity” – is to become reality.…

Social protection is key to tackle Asia-Pacific’s inequality trap

Rising inequality threatens to derail, from the start, successful implementation of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific region. Stronger, more equitable social protection will be critical in overcoming these challenges. New research by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) indicates that inequality, related to…