NEWSPAGE 21 June
2010

(Photo: Samoa Government)

SAMOA: Parliamentary Updates
Source: Government Press Secretariat Press Release

Minisiters’ and Water Leaders Summit for the Asia and Pacific regions

Cabinet has approved the participation by Minister of Works Transport and Infrastructure, Afioga Tuisugaletaua Sofara Aveau and the Chief Executive Officer for the Samoa Water Authority, Ta’inau M. Titimaea at the International Water Week 2010 - Water Leaders Summit and the Asia Pacific Water Ministers’ Forum in Singapore on 28 June - 2 July 2010.

Also participating are leading water specialists and practitioners from around the world to share views and ideas on governance, technology and business issues related to water.

The meeting focuses on water developments for countries in the Asia Pacific region.

The theme of the meeting is “Sustainable Water Solutions for Cities”, to reflect the urgent need for efficient and cost effective solutions to provide safe and affordable drinking water for each country.


Central Bank Governor to attend ceremonial inauguration of banknote factory in Sri Lanka

Cabinet has approved the participation by the Governor of the Samoa Central Bank, Afioga Leasi Papalii T. D. Scanlan to the Ceremonial Inauguration of the Delarue Banknote Factory and Currency Management Seminar in Sri Lanka on 5 -6 July 2010.

The Delarue Company was responsible for the designing and printing of Samoa’s banknotes in 2008. This Company has also been printing our banknotes over the years except for the current $2Tala banknote that was printed by an Australian Company.

President of Sri Lanka, Mahindra Rajapaska will officially open the new building. Governors from other countries are also invited.

Following this ceremony will be the Currency Management Seminar.


115th/116th Sessions of the Customs Co-operation Council

Cabinet has approved the participation by Minister of Revenue, Tofa Tuu’u Leota Anasii Leota and the Ministry Chief Executive Officer, Afioga Pitolau Lusia Sefo Leau at the 115th/116th Sessions of the Customs Co-operation Council on the 24 -26 June 2010, in Brussels, Belgium.

Samoa’s participation in these meetings is important to review and endorse new plans for the development of customs duties worldwide. Some of the most significant issues that will arise are the voting of candidates for important committees of the Organisation and especially special programmes for new leaders of the World Customs Organisations that includes Samoa.


Australian Region Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians meeting

Cabinet has approved the participation by two Ministers, Hon Gatoloaifaana Amataga Gidlow and Safuneituuga Paaga Neri to the Australian Region commonwealth Women Parliamentarians meeting in New South Wales, Australia on 30 June - 2 July 2010.

The meeting will discuss close relations between participating Women Parliamentarians from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The gender issue will also surface at the meeting as well as planned development.

General issues of the meeting include:

• Media issues;
• Equal Opportunities;
• Equal rights for humanity; domestic violence.
 

(Photo: Tunaseiners)

AMERICAN SAMOA: Good News for American Samoa small businesses
Source: Office of Congressman Faleomavaega Press Release

Congressman Faleomavaega announced recently that the House, by a vote of 241-182, approved H.R. 5297, the Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010. Initially proposed by President Barack Obama in his State of Union Speech in January, this legislation ensures that enough line of credit is available to help increase lending to small businesses.

“I want to thank President Obama for his foresight and for recognizing the important role small businesses serve in our economy. I also want to commend, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Chairman of the House Financial Service Committee, Mr. Barney Frank, and Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez of the House Committee on Small Business, for their leadership on this issue,” Faleomavaega said.

“As a major source of employment, increasing lending to small businesses is essential to achieving full economic recovery. Data show that small businesses created about 2 out of every 3 new jobs across the country and I am pleased that small businesses in American Samoa are eligible for the federal programs created under H.R. 5297,” Faleomavaega added.

“Under Title I of HR 5297, the Secretary of Treasury is authorized to establish a $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund (fund) to make capital investments in eligible banks. Eligibility is limited to community banks with total assets equal or less than $10 billion. With total assets of $12.4 billion, the Bank of Hawaii exceeds the $10 billion maximum requirement and is therefore ineligible to apply for funding under Title I.”

“However, it is my understanding based on data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the ANZ Amerika Samoa Bank (AS Bank), with $132.9 million in total assets, is a potential candidate to apply for the fund. According to criteria specified in the legislation, the AS Bank is eligible to receive up to 5 percent of its risk-weighted assets, or about $5 million. Instead of the 7 percent London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), AS Bank will pay a lesser rate of 5 percent, to be reduced further to 1 percent if AS Bank increases its small business lending by 10 percent or more,” Faleomavaega described.

“In addition, under Title II of H.R. 5297, the American Samoa Government (ASG) is eligible to apply for a grant of no less than $18 million to create a capital access program for small businesses in the Territory. As part of the grant application, ASG is to submit a proposal to the U.S. Treasury for approval that includes designs of a loan program and also designate a local agency to administer the program. While I have no confirmation at the moment, I will continue to research this matter further to determine whether the Development Bank of American Samoa (DBAS) is eligible for this program.”

“Our local economy continues to slump under the strains of unemployment and the loss of revenue and I am pleased that these federal programs will bring critical capital into the Territory for small businesses to capitalize on. This legislation will go a long way to open up the flow of credit for small businesses that will help create more jobs in the Territory,” Faleomavaega stated.

“As H.R. 5297 advances through the legislative process, I remain hopeful that the Senate will agree to the underlying principles of the House-approved bill to ensure support and help for our small businesses,” Faleomavaega concluded.

Photo Caption: Congressman Eni Faleomavaega.
 

(Photo: Mike Henry)

COOK ISLANDS: $5.5m received from NZ for cyclone relief assistance
Source: Cook Islands News

The Aitutaki Recovery Committee has received the $5.5 million of NZAID money, and says they are “good to go” on rebuilding destroyed and severely damaged homes.

Materials will be going to the island on the next ship to the island next week.

The committee got the ministry of finance and economic management to agree to a partial waiver of the tender process. This means that 20 per cent of materials needed to start the work can be purchased from quotes so work can start quicker. The remaining 80 per cent of materials will go through the tender process as normal.

Committee chairman Vaine Teokotai acknowledged the process has been slow. But the reason for it was that they want homes which are built to be strong enough to withstand cyclones in the future.

“We don’t want to give the people the old house back. We want to give them a house which will withstand a category four cyclone,” said Teokotai.

The designs of the new homes have features which make them stronger, including gabled roofs which are angled so they are unlikely to be blown off in high winds. The roofs will be bolted rather than nailed on and the walls of the new homes will be reinforced with internal columns to make them stronger.

As well as this, the team have worked hard to make sure that full repairs are done on damaged houses. “We don’t want to risk the safety of homeowners,” said Teokotai.

He said that the recovery effort was “the fastest we could have come up with”. Four work teams have been working long hours since March to get the repairs on the homes with the least damage, which has now been completed. Next week those teams begin work in earnest on the homes which have been the most severely damaged.

Teokotai said the clean up and rebuild was a big job and there was a lot to be done. Even just clearing roofs away has been a big job, with an estimated 4 acres of metal roofing collected and ready for disposal in a joint effort by the community and the National Environment Service.

Now that all of the category one and two repairs have been completed, Teokotai said that work would go ahead on the next stage.

As well as rebuilding homes, other work is continuing on the island. A new electronic early warning system is being installed by the Met Office, which Teokotai said was an important way to limit damage and increase warning times in the event of another cyclone. Many of the repairs have been carried out on the cyclone shelter, hospital, college and schools.

Assessing damaged homes took place over the last three months while repairs of less damaged homes went on.

Teokotai said that the thoroughness of these assessments revealed that damage to some properties was much more severe than had been thought initially.

This meant that a $2.5 million budget shortfall was picked up and cabinet has agreed to pay this with a loan from the Asian Development Bank.

Teokotai said that the committee understood the frustrations of Mayor Tai Herman and that he appreciated his ongoing involvement. When asked if the clean up would be completed before the next cyclone season, he said, “The commitment of the labour force and the community suggests that this will happen. So many people are committed to getting the job done.”

Photo Caption: Damage caused by Cyclone Pat at the luxury Cook Islands holiday destination of Aitutaki.
 

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Community)

FIJI: Results focus for Pacific-wide meeting on NCDs
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Community / World Health Organization Joint Press Release

Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) now have initial funding and resources to make a difference on the epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) affecting the region. How they are progressing will come under close scrutiny at a major regional conference in Fiji next week.

NCD staff from 22 countries will gather at the Tanoa Hotel in Nadi to review progress on efforts to reduce the incidence of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, and related risk factors of obesity, poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, smoking and alcohol use.

NCDs are the leading cause of premature death in the region, with the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating that they account for 75 per cent of deaths. Australia and New Zealand have contributed $26 million (AUD) to a programme of prevention and remedial activities within countries. The programme is managed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and WHO.

The 70 participants at the Pacific NCD Forum 2010 will share their knowledge and experience, and provide updates on evidence-based practice in integrated prevention and control of NCDs.

The meeting will focus on building capacity in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of NCD interventions, and will provide an opportunity for network building, information sharing and collaboration between PICTs.

“This is the start of something bigger and better for the Pacific. It is now on the shoulders of countries themselves to take charge,” said Dr Viliami Puloka, head of SPC’s Healthy Pacific Lifestyle section.

WHO Representative in the South Pacific, Dr Chen Ken, said the forum will facilitate and support implementation of recent World Health Assembly Resolutions on NCDs.

During the 63rd World Health Assembly in May, delegations from all member states reached consensus on a resolution to confront the harmful use of alcohol. A new resolution on 'Marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children' was also adopted.

Participants at the forum will hear about progress on national NCD plans, nutrition plans, salt reduction strategies, food security, health system strategies, funding, mortality, M&E and surveillance.

Key tools for M&E and surveillance are the STEPS surveys, large national randomized health surveys every seven or more years, and Mini-STEPS evaluation tool conducted in certain community/agency each year.

Any changes to indicators for key risk factors associated with the long-term challenge of NCDs will show up in the comparable data collected in these surveys over the next decade.

A marketplace event at the forum will show what tools are available to assist countries in providing integrated NCD training, including on physical activity, nutrition, tobacco control and communications.

Photo Caption: Participants at last year's NCD Forum held in Nadi.
 

(Photo: The National)

WORLDWIDE: Young female pilot's aviation excellence recognised
Source: The National

Meet 21-year-old cadet first officer Rhoda Jane Ilave, who recently graduated from Air Niugini’s cadet training course for pilots and engineers, and an awardee of the Sir Donald Anderson Trophy for female pilots in Australia.

The trophy, sponsored by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority, is awarded annually to three women pilots with the highest aviation exam results over the past year.

Ilave is probably the first female pilot in Papua New Guinea to receive the honour in recognition of her outstanding academic achievements in professional aviation studies by female trainee pilots.

She received the award last week.

Air Niugini chief executive officer Wasantha Kumarasiri said yesterday Ilave’s achievement was not just for Air Niugini but also for PNG.

“Young Rhoda has made everyone proud, her family, Air Niugini, the airline industry and PNG in general,” he said.

Ilave was studying second year medicine at the UPNG Medical Faculty when she decided to apply for the Air Niugini cadetship programme in 2008.

Inspired by her elder brother, who is also a cadet pilot with Air Niugini, Ilave did very well in her studies at flight school in Australia in the 18 months she was there.

“She did very well in both her theory classes and practical tests. She passed all seven commercial pilot licence examinations in five months and accomplished brilliant results, scoring 100% for one examination, 95% and above for five other examinations and 88% for another,” Kumarasiri said.

“In the same year, she completed her seven Airline Trasport pilot licence examination in two and a half months, scoring 97% in two examinations and more than 80% for other examinations,” he said.

The cadetship programme is open to Grade 12 and above students with excellent results in all areas, particularly in physics, mathematics A and English.

Since 1989, the cadetship has seen at least six young people every year to be trained at various pilot training schools, the current being at the Professional Pilot Training at Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia.

Kumarasiri said Air Niugini invested millions of kina annually in training young pilots and engineers whose results were commendable and comforting for the airline and its valued customers.

Graduating last December, Ilave is now one of six female PNG pilots with Air Niugini.

Ilave said she was quite shocked to win the award but was grateful for the tremendous honour.
“It’s really good and I am glad the Australian Women’s Pilots’ Association does such things to recognise females and to encourage them.

“The cadetship is a good thing that Air Niugini does for young people to decide for a career in aviation.

“I now look forward to a promising career with Air Niugini and to progress onto bigger aircraft in the future,” Ilave said.