NEWSPAGE 28 October
2009

(Photos: New Zealand AIDS Foundation)

NEW ZEALAND: Love Life3 Fono targets HIV prevention and AIDS awareness

(Photo: Samoa Government)

SAMOA: Parliamentary Updates
Source: Government Press Secretariat Press Release

Samoa invited to Pacific Regional Child Protection Meeting

Cabinet has approved the participation by the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development ACEO, Ms Kuiniselani Tago and Mr Henry Leavasa to the Pacific Regional Child Protection Meeting to be held in Nadi, Fiji from the 2nd to the 6th of November, 2009.

The purpose of the meeting is to review the implementation of the Child Protection Programme and to continue the exchange of experiences and lessons learnt between countries. The meeting will also provide an opportunity to enhance monitoring of results of the programme.

It is expected that the meeting will result in draft Annual Work Plans (AWP) for 2010.

The meeting will be hosted by the UNICEF-Pacific (United Nations Children's Fund)


Northpower Ltd awarded won the bid to upgrade switchgears in local Power Stations

Cabinet has approved the awarding of the winning bid to the Northpower Limited New Zealand, to upgrade switchgears at four Power Stations in Samoa.

This project is funded by the Asian Bank, JICA and AusAID.


Rehabilitation and Upgrade of Independent Water Schemes

Cabinet has approved the recommendation by the Tender Evaluation Committee to award the winning bids to the Kings Construction Ltd and the Lucky Construction Ltd to rehabilitate and upgrade the Independent Water Schemes at Matautu, Saoluafata, Aufaga and Vavau.


Report on Alliance for Financial Inclusion’s meeting

Cabinet has approved the report by the Samoa delegation of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion’s (AFI) meeting that was held in Nairobi, Kenya on the 14th - 16th September 2009.

This was the first meeting to be held by the AFI. It aimed at bringing together representatives from Central Banks and other Banks in Developing Countries to share and discuss policies and programs to improve their services for the public especially in the rural areas. Other issues that were discussed include:

• Agent Banking
• Mobile Phone Banking
• State Bank Reforms
• Financial identity and consumer protection and,
• Diversification of financial product and providers.
The establishment of a Credit Bureau in Samoa was also brought into attention.

Fiji and Samoa also lobbied for financial assistance from the AFI to fund a meeting for the Pacific Island States to further discussion Bank Services issues. The AFI accepted the request and the Pacific meeting is scheduled to be held sometime next month (November 2009).


Food Tender for Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital

Cabinet has approved awarding of contract to nine (9) Companies mentioned below, for supplying of Food items for the National Hospital, Tupua Tamasese Meaole for the next twelve (12) months starting July 2009 until June 2010.
1. Melini Gae’e
2. L.A Lome
3. Rocky Westerlund
4. Semi Ah Lam
5. Aiono Afaese
6. Apia Quality Meats
7. Tradepac Marketing
8. Frankie Company Ltd
9. Ah Liki Wholesale

An invitation for Tenders’ Bids was advertised on the 3rd of August 2009, where ten (10) Companies expressed interest. Assessments of bids were carried out by a Sub Committee which includes a visit to vegetable gardens, plantations and assessment of Food Stocks. The nine (9) Companies selected have been assessed as the most qualified bidders, having met the necessary requirements and conditions.


Report on the International Telecommunication Union’s meeting

Cabinet has approved the report by the Samoa delegation of the International Telecommunication Union Meeting and Exhibition that was held in Geneva, Switzerland from the
5 - 9 October 2009.

The meeting aimed at bringing together representatives from different nations to share their knowledge and opinions on the development of technologies and ways of communication. In addition to the meeting, an Exhibition was also held for displaying new technologies and improved ways of Telecommunications.

Samoa made a formal request for assistance to put in place Early Warning Systems such Siren Networks on high areas to warn the public during tsunami warnings. Samoa also asked the International Telecommunication Union for experts’ advice on Disaster Management area to help improve the country’s Emergency plan.

The Hon. Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Safuneituuga Pa’aga Neri and Tuaimalō Asamu Ah Sam Chief Executive Officer for the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology represented Samoa at this meeting.
 

(Photos: Australian Government)

AUSTRALIA: Australian Assistance to Samoa and Tonga
Source: Australian High Commission Press Release

The Minster for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, and the Minister for Defence, Senator John Faulkner, yesterday announced further Australian support to Samoa and Tonga following the tsunami that devastated both communities on 30 September.

The Royal Australian Navy’s heavy landing ship HMAS Tobruk will depart Sydney today, loaded with a range of goods, equipment and relief aid destined for the two countries.

“The Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade has donated a fire truck to Samoa to replace one destroyed during the tsunami,” Mr Smith said.

“A large consignment of heavy machinery and donated goods from the Australian community - including the Samoan and Tongan communities in Australia, non government organisations and several businesses - will also be delivered to both Samoa and Tonga.”

“Tobruk will carry earth movers, generators, cement mixers and other heavy machinery, provided by the Australian Government, to be used in Tonga to clear debris and rebuild over the next 12-18 months.”

Total Australian assistance to Samoa and Tonga now stands at $13 million.

This includes $3 million for emergency relief and recovery activities ($2 million to Samoa and $1 million to Tonga) announced in the days immediately following the tsunami.

It also includes Australia’s contribution of $5 million of reconstruction assistance for Samoa announced on 11 October with New Zealand Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, and matched by New Zealand.

The further $5 million announced today will be provided to Samoa for additional recovery and reconstruction activities, including:

$2.5 million to help re-establish infrastructure and ensure affected communities have access to essential services such as power, water, health and education. Australia will also provide support to help businesses re-establish quickly, and improve disaster monitoring and warning systems;

$1.5 million for recovery and relief operations, including $500,000 to Australian Non Government Organisations; and

$1 million to assist the Government of Samoa’s own reconstruction planning and coordination.

Senator Faulkner said, “HMAS Tobruk will enable access to the remote island of Niuatoputapu in Tonga, where the delivery of the earthmoving equipment will allow reconstruction efforts to begin earlier and at a faster pace than would otherwise be possible.”

“This assistance mission will provide tangible support to the people of Samoa and Tonga rebuilding their lives in the weeks after the tsunami,” Senator Faulkner said.

“Along with the ongoing work in Padang, this mission by HMAS Tobruk is another good example of how the ADF and AusAID continue to play an important role in supporting our Pacific neighbours to respond to humanitarian crises.”

Tobruk will make a port call to Townsville later this week to embark loading craft to assist accessing the remote islands.

Photo Caption: Minster for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, and the Minister for Defence, Senator John Faulkner, have announced further Australian support to Samoa and Tonga.
 

(Photo: Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council)

HAWAII: U.S. territories ask for “Justice” in Pacific tuna allocations
Source: Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council Press Release

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council recently concluded its four-day meeting at the Laniakea YWCA-Fuller Hall in Honolulu. The Council was established by Congress to manage fisheries in the offshore waters of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNNI) and other US Pacific island areas. Recommendations made by the Council are transmitted to the Secretary of Commerce for final approval.

A major discussion item has been an amendment to the Pelagic Fishery Management Plan (FMP) that would authorize American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to utilize their Western and Central Pacific Fishery Commission (WCPFC) longline bigeye tuna catch limits through arrangements with U.S. vessels permitted through the Pelagic FMP. The primary objective of this amendment is to stimulate fisheries development in the U.S. territories.

Council member Manuel Duenas of Guam and others noted that the U.S. longline vessels permitted under the Pelagic FMP, with whom the Territories would be able to enter into arrangement, are the most highly regulated and closely monitored fishing vessels in the world.

Hawaii Council members Peter Young and Laura Thielen, chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, argued against the amendment.

Bill Robinson, regional administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pacific Islands Regional Office, noted that the United States accounts for only 3 to 4 percent of Pacific longline fishery and that is the reason bigeye overfishing measures are being promulgated internationally through the WCPFC in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. The total harvest of bigeye by Pacific longline fleets is about 120,000 metric tons.

The WCPFC, which manages tunas and other highly migratory species in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, addressed the overfishing issue by setting national quotas for longline fisheries and non-quota measures for the purse seine fleets. Under the international measures of the WCPFC, to which the Hawaii longline fleet is subject, each U.S. Pacific island territory has an annual longline bigeye limit of 2,000 metric tons or no limit if they are undertaking effective, responsible fisheries development. The United States, as a member of the WCPFC, agreed to this measure last year.

Council member David Itano, a researcher with the University of Hawaii’s Pelagic Fisheries Research Program, noted that the biggest impact to the bigeye stock is occurring in the waters around the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Federated States of Micronesia.

The latter two countries are members of the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), a Pacific Islands regional organization that gives fishing access rights to the U.S. purse seine fleet through the South Pacific Tuna Treaty (SPTT). The U.S. government annually pays $18 million to the FFA so U.S. purse seine vessels can operate in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) waters of the FFA countries.

The longline vessels target adult bigeye for the lucrative sashimi and fresh fish market. The purse seine vessels catch juvenile bigeye and yellowfin tuna incidentally while targeting skipjack tuna for the canned tuna industry. The overfishing status of bigeye has been spurred by increased catches of bigeye by the purse seiners due to more frequent use of fish aggregation devices (FADs), which attract juvenile tunas and hundreds of bycatch species. The United States has the largest purse seine fleet in the region and is largest user of FADs. The U.S. purse seine fleet increased its size recently through partnership agreements with Taiwan and Korea, which have up to 49 percent ownership of U.S. flagged purse seine vessels. These U.S. purse seine vessels are managed by NMFS (and not through the Council process) and have their SPTT fishery access rights negotiated by the U.S. Department of State. The State Department also represents the United States at the WCPFC and is one of the 16 members of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, but typically attends only one of the three regular Council meetings annually.

“Where is the justice?” asked Council member Duenas. The 39 U.S. flagged, government-subsidized purse seiners harvest 6,500-8,000 metric tons of Pacific bigeye annually and have no WCPFC quota, while the 130 permitted U.S. longliners based in Hawaii, plus one on the West Coast, have a WCPFC quota of 3,763 metric tons of bigeye. The U.S. longline quota represents a 10 percent reduction of the 2004 harvest by the Hawaii longline fleet. The Hawaii fleet is expected to reach the 2009 WCPFC quota in December, just when the demand of holiday sashimi peaks in Hawaii.

After long discussions, the Council—with the exception of Young and Thielen—agreed to amend the Pelagics FMP to establish an annual longline bigeye catch limit of 2,000 mt for each of the U.S. Pacific island territories and provide them with limited authority to utilize their longline bigeye catch limits through arrangements (charter, lease or similar mechanisms) with Pelagic FMP permitted vessels. The vessels in the charter arrangement would have to provide benefits to the Territories to promote responsible fisheries development, consistent with the Territory’s Marine Conservation Plan, such as funding, infrastructure development, training and employment.

The Council also voted to recommend that NMFS develop and implement a FAD management plan that will effectively reduce juvenile bigeye catch by the U.S. purse seine fleet in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.

In other business, the Council appointed the following as its 2010 officers: Stephen Haleck of American Samoa as Council chair, David Itano as vice chair for Hawaii, William Sword as vice chair for CNMI, and Manuel Duenas as vice chair for Guam.
 

(Photo: Fiji Times)

TONGA: Prime Minister and NZ High Commissioner sign BOSS agreement
Source: Tongan Government

The Prime Minister, Dr. the Hon Feleti Vaka’uta Sevele, and the New Zealand High Commissioner, H.E. Christine Bogle, signed the Business Opportunity Support Scheme (BOSS) Agreement at the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday (October 23, 2009).

The BOSS agreement establishes a fund of TOP$250,000 for 12 months to assist Tonga and New Zealand companies to assess the commercial viability of potential new investments or business opportunities through conducting feasibility studies. The aim is to increase private sector earnings from Tongan exports, import substitution industries and tourism.

BOSS will provide a maximum of TOP$30,000 and a minimum of TOP$10,000 per applicant which will go towards the cost of the feasibility study. The successful applicants are expected to contribute at least 30% of the cost of the feasibility study. The fund will be administered by the National Economic Development Council.

The Hon Prime Minister said, “We are very grateful to the New Zealand Government for the Business Opportunity Support Scheme as it provides additional opportunity for the private sector in Tonga to increase their earnings from exports of both primary and manufactured products as well as from tourism.”

BOSS will be operational for 12 months until October 2010. A review in November 2010 will decide whether it will be extended for another year.

Also present at the signing were Pousima Afeaki and David Edwards from the Tonga - New Zealand Business Council.
 

WORLDWIDE: Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability endorsed by ministers
Source: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Press Release

The first ever meeting of Forum Disability Ministers held in Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands, 21 - 23 October has endorsed a Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability 2010 - 2015 to support member countries protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities in the region.

The meeting, attended by representatives from 13 Forum member countries, agreed that the Strategy will also provide a framework for the coordination of development partners, governments and civil society in building a disability inclusive Pacific. It will also strengthen commitment of all stakeholders towards implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other human rights instruments that relate to disability.

The adoption of a Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability is a response to the directive of Pacific Island Forum Leaders as well a response to the spirit and principles of the Pacific Plan on enabling Pacific people to live free and worthwhile lives in the context of increased regional integration

The outcomes of the Forum Disability Ministers’ meeting state: “The Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability will provide a tool to assist countries to set national priorities to address the articles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”

The Forum Disability Ministers directed the Forum Secretariat and development partners to develop an implementation plan including a monitoring and evaluation framework and coordinate the mobilisation and provision of resources and technical assistance for Forum Island Countries to implement the Strategy.

The Ministers also endorsed the issue of disability inclusive development as part of government priorities in all Forum Island countries; and agreed to designate a focal ministry to deal with disability issues with allocated budgetary resources.

They recognised the complexities of the links between human rights and culture, and urged Forum Island Countries that have not done so to sign and ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the earliest practical opportunity.

The Forum Disability Ministers’ meeting also acknowledged the contributions made by non-governmental organisations in Pacific Island countries to facilitate disability development activities at local, national and regional levels. They agreed to strengthen their governments’ engagement with disability NGOs.

The Ministers requested the outcomes of their meeting to be conveyed to the Forum Economic Ministers’ meeting that will take place in Rarotonga this week, so that disability issues can be included in the national planning process and in national sustainable development plans.