NEWSPAGE 08 November
2010

(Photo: New Zealand Nurses Organisation)

(Photo: Samoa Government)

SAMOA: Parliamentary Updates
Source: Government Press Secretariat Press Release

Judo World Cup 2010

Cabinet has approved SIFA (Samoa International Finance Authority) as the Major Sponsor of the 2010 Judo World Cup which will be held in Samoa from the 12 - 16 November 2010.

Sponsoring such a World Cup event will allow great exposure for the SIFA into the world arena. Judo, being predominantly an Asian sport, the interest in this region is quite high as evident in the number of teams which will be participating in the Championship. Judo Association has confirmed direct coverage of the event into homes across Asia, which will not only promote SIFA but as well as Samoa.


16th Asian Games

Cabinet has approved attendance by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Hon. Faumuina Tiatia Liuga of the 16th Asian Games which will be held in China, from the 12 - 27 November 2010.

This was an invitation from China’s Minister of Sports for the Hon. Minister to lead a five member delegation for a 5 days visit to attend the Opening Ceremony. Samoa will be hosting the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2015 and this will be a great opportunity for the Hon. Minister and his delegation to witness this event to prepare the Authority for the 2015 Games.

The Hon. Minister, Faumuina Tiatia Liuga is also the Chairperson for the Samoa Sports Facilities Steering Committee.


Ca’Bella Kramer Ausenco Ltd awarded contract

Cabinet has approved awarding of contract to Ca’Bella Kramer Ausenco Ltd to construct a three storey building as part of the Molesi Re-development Project under the Samoa National Provident Fund (SNPF).

Requests for proposal were advertised for Construction of the new Building and ten (10) Companies showed interests. Six Companies were invited for interviews. The Ca’Bella Kramer Ausenco Ltd was considered the most suitable candidate after final assessments and interviews.


International Services rates for the MV Lady Naomi vessel between the Satitoa, Aleipata and American Samoa route

Cabinet has approved the rates for fares and international services of the MV Lady Naomi vessel between Satitoa Aleipata and American Samoa, which is scheduled to resume on Thursday, 11 of November 2010.

The MV Lady Naomi will depart the Aleipata wharf at 10.00am on Thursdays and return at 9.00am on Friday of the same week.

The Samoa Shipping Corporation (SSC) has also assigned a bus to transport passengers from Apia to the Aleipata wharf. The bus will depart the SSC office at Matautu-tai at 7.00am.

All cargos for American Samoa should reach the SSC Office before 12.00 noon every Wednesday. The Corporation will also process the paperwork for cargo freights. The focus is to make things easier for the public.

The MV Lady Naomi has offered Promotional Rates for the Aleipata-Pago Pago-Aleipata route in the month of November 2010.

Areas including cabins or seats:

* Adults $100.00
* Children (2 - 12 Years) $60.00
* Infants $20.00

Normal Rates for International Services

Normal Rates for the Aleipata - Pago Pago - Aleipata route.
Areas including cabins or seats:

* Adults $120.00
* Children (2 - 12 Years) $75.00
* Infants $35.00

Normal Rates for the Pago Pago - Aleipata - Pago Pago route.
Areas including cabins or seats:

* Adults USD$65.00
* Children (2 - 12 Years) USD$40.00
* Infants USD$20.00


Parliament to host CPA Workshop

Cabinet has approved the hosting by the Samoa Parliament of a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Parliamentary Staff Development Workshop for the Pacific Region to be held on 8 - 11 November 2010 at the Tofilau Eti Alesana building.

The Workshop will focus on staff development for Members of Parliament. There are 40 participants expected at the meeting including representatives from New Zealand, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Tonga, Niue, Tasmania, Papua New Guinea, and also representatives from the CPA.


Health workers to attend Commonwealth Secretariat meeting

Cabinet has approved the participation by two representatives of the Ministry of Health to a Commonwealth Secretariat meeting in Auckland, New Zealand on 11 - 12 November 2010.

The meeting will focus on “Human Resources for Health in Small States”. Discussions will base on problems faced by many health workers that migrated to other countries and worked there.

It will also include:

* The development of small size work force to become multi skilled health professionals;
* Sharing of ideas;
* Review the Commonwealth Secretariat Code of Practice.

Representing Samoa will be Dr. Robert Thomsen and a Ministry of Health Senior Officer Ms. Catherine Viliamu.
 

(Photo: Agence France-Presse)

AUSTRALIA: Military head warns of Pacific climate instability
Source: Agence France-Presse via France24

Australia's military chief has warned that his troops are likely to be sent to the Pacific more often and on bigger missions as small island states become increasingly unstable due to climate change.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has been deployed to the Solomon Islands and East Timor in recent years to enforce law and order, also assisting in a 2009 relief operation in Samoa after a devastating tsunami killed 143 people.

Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said these types of operations would probably be more frequent in the future, The Age newspaper reported Wednesday.

"It is highly likely the ADF will be engaged in disaster relief and stabilisation operations in the south Pacific into the future," the paper reported him as saying in a lecture last week at the University of Canberra.

"With the effects of climate change compounding existing pressures, future operations will be more frequent and more intense than those currently underway in East Timor and the Solomon Islands."

Houston said that rising sea levels caused by climate change would worsen social problems on the islands, many of which are poor and underdeveloped, with the potential for sustained economic growth low in all but a few countries.

This meant island nations would struggle to adapt to climate change, he said, while changing rainfall patterns, extreme weather and rising sea levels would threaten the agriculture and fisheries on which they depended.

"From there, it is a small step to political instability and social disorder," Houston said.

It could take two decades before climate change began to inflict major damage on the South Pacific, said Houston, but he warned that Australia would need to be prepared well before that.

Australia has some 110 troops in the Solomon Islands and 400 in East Timor.

Photo Caption: Australia's military chief Angus Houston has warned that his troops are likely to be sent to the Pacific more often and on bigger missions as small island states become increasingly unstable due to climate change.
 

(Photos: International Union for Conservation of Nature)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Light comes to remote Nahu
Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature Press Release

The remote village of Nahu, located in West Areare - deep in the province of Malaita in the Solomon Islands - is still in jovial celebration following the commissioning of solar lights installed in all 39 homes in the small village on Tuesday 2nd November 2010.

For the very first time, the villagers of this small rural community are now relishing the experience of better, cleaner lighting in their own homes. What was once a dream is now reality, made possible by the tireless efforts of the village’s Women’s Group, who has been operating a battery charging station in the village for over 3 years. With the little income the Group has been able to save over the years, they have invested in procuring solar systems that are now providing lights to their homes.

“We use kerosene lights everyday to give us light at night and when there is no more kerosene we use the dried sap of our local trees to give us light,” says Ms Basilisa Hasiau, the leader of the Nahu Women’s Group.

“Now that we have our solar lights, it will save us some money from buying kerosene and the long hours we spend to search for wood sap”

The village of Nahu is only accessible by sea transportation taking about 7 hours to reach from Honiara, the capital city. With a total population of about 200 people in 39 households, the village is spread over a large area along the coast and live mainly on agriculture (copra and betel nut mostly) and fishing.

With the support of the Solomon Islands Department of Energy, Willies Electrical and Solar Systems and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) this venture has been made successful.

“The initiative taken by the Nahu Women’s Group is indeed inspiring and one that will be exemplified in the years to come for other communities to learn from,” says Mr. Anare Matakiviti, Energy Programme Coordinator at IUCN Oceania Regional Office.

“IUCN supports efforts being made by all Pacific Island Countries to explore and sustainably exploit their renewable energy resources for energy production as well as to improve peoples livelihoods.”

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Group photo with the Nahu Women's Group.

Photo 2 - Solar panel mounted on a pole.

(Photo: Australia-Pacific Technical College)

VANUATU: New students begin course with a tour 
Source: Australia-Pacific Technical College

Newly arrived APTC students at the Vanuatu campus recently took part in an industry tour of Port Vila and its surrounding tourism attractions.

"The students are beginning the School of Tourism and Hospitality (STH) Certificate III Tourism course," explained APTC Tourism trainer, Mr Mike Keating.

"The purpose of the visits was to orientate the new students, many of whom are newly arrived visitors from the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. They also had a chance to watch their trainer 'in action' on a real tour, and observe some of the fundamental skills required to be a successful tour guide," continued Mr Keating.

Mr Keating went on to explain that the students will then be asked to use these new skills and knowledge during their own studies, eventually deciding on locations to visit during their final unit of study 'Work as a guide', where they will be expected to plan, develop and deliver a tour to a site of their choice.

Local tour operators, Adventures in Paradise, provided a minibus and organised a two-hour itinerary that took in popular tourism sites including the Mele Cascades, Hideaway Island, Erakor Island, the Port Vila CBD and several of the local resorts.

Mr Keating said that in the past, student-organised tours, both walking and vehicular, have been an extremely effective way for students to demonstrate their competence.

"The range and style of tours presented has always been impressive, and this cohort of students, now armed with more advanced knowledge of the local options, should be no different," concluded Mr Keating.

Photo Caption: On tour with trainer Mike Keating; new Tourism students in Vanuatu.
 

WORLDWIDE: Improving access to credit a priority in the Pacific region
Source: World Bank Press Release

Getting credit has become easier among Pacific businesses in the past year, according to the Doing Business report launched today. The Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea strengthened institutions and systems to give entrepreneurs greater access to finance. Timor-Leste, Tonga and Samoa also continued to pick up the pace of business reform with improvements in the areas of enforcing contracts, paying taxes and registering property.

Doing Business 2011: Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs, the eighth in a series of reports measuring the ease of doing business in 183 economies, shows that world-wide it is easiest for firms to do business in Singapore, Hong Kong SAR China, and New Zealand. Vanuatu, at rank 60, is the top performing country in the Pacific region.

The Marshall Islands improved business regulations most among Pacific nations in the last year, moving up 15 places to 108, by strengthening its legal framework to facilitate access to finance with a new secured transactions law. The law establishes a collateral registry and broadens the range of assets that can be used as collateral. Solomon Islands also passed a new secured transactions law and established a collateral registry, improving its ranking by 10 places to 96. In Papua New Guinea, a new private credit bureau that makes it easier for lenders to access credit information helped to improve the country’s ranking by five places to 103.

Samoa used new information technologies to become the most improved economy globally in the area of property registration. Samoa reduced the time required to register property by four months by shifting from a deed system to a title system and fully computerizing its land registry.

“New technology underpins regulatory best practice around the world,” said Janamitra Devan, Vice President for Financial and Private Sector Development at the World Bank Group. “Technology makes compliance easier, less costly, and more transparent.”

Changes in enforcing contracts saw Timor-Leste increase court efficiency by training and appointing new judges and passing a new civil procedure code.

Tonga simplified the payment of taxes by replacing a two-tier system with a 25 percent corporate income tax rate for both domestic and foreign companies, and introducing tax incentives with a broad-based capital allowance system to replace tax holidays and other tax concessions.