The Native Iowan

Prime Minister Julie Gillard has praised her Solomon Islands’ counterpart Gordon Darcy Lilo for his efforts in ensuring that the country continues to make progress and now holds the record for the region’s highest economic growth rate.

Gillard could not hide her joy at seeing Solomon Islands continue to thrive and make head-ways in all most all directions since her country led the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands in 2003.

She recalled that in 2003, instability in the Solomon Islands threatened not only the safety of its citizens, but the foundations of its society and government.

Then Prime Minister Allan Kemakeza requested Australian help to maintain law and order, strengthen public institutions, and promote prosperity and stability.

“It was Australia’s honour to answer that call, as did other friends and neighbours,” PM Gillard said.

And a proud Gillard said just nine years on, things have changed dramatically.

“Solomon Islands is achieving the highest economic growth rates in the region, at almost 11 per cent last year.

“It has some of the lowest crime rates in the region and is teaching its neighbours how to run correctional facilities to UN standards,” she said.

Gillard said perhaps most impressive of all has been Solomon Islands’ very successful hosting this year of an array of regional and international events.

“Solomon Islands today is a proud and capable nation. It is a nation firmly in control of its own destiny. It is a nation that is open for business. And it is a nation that we call a friend,” Gillard said.

A high school female student told of how a pastor asked her to take her clothes off while she sought counselling and healing from him.

The pastor, known for his radical preaching in Honiara’s streets, was from Papua New Guinea

“He first asked me to take my shirt off which I did,” the girl, 18, told the Sunday Star in an exclusive interview.

“Then he asked me to get my skirt down and that’s when I realise something is not right here,” the girl says.

She says she went to see the preacher in his room at City Motel after learning he provides counselling as well as physical and spiritual healing.

“When I learned he provides healing, I asked to see him and he gave me his mobile number to make a booking.”

The girl says because she had a health condition that she wanted to be cured, she asked her sister to accompany her to see the pastor.

“When we arrived at the motel, the pastor told me to go into his room. My sister was told to remain outside.

“Inside, he told me to sit down and started talking about all sorts of sicknesses while relating them to the bible.

“Then he deliberated on a bible verse, stressing that he will have to do as the bible says to purify and cleanse me from my sickness.”

The girl says the pastor then asked her to take off her shirt.

“Believing him, I did at his request. Then he started touching my body.

“I felt really nervous and started to question this type of healing.

“Then he asked me to take off my skirt but I refused.

“I became agitated. Then my mobile phone rang and I saw this as an opportunity to escape.

“He told me not to answer the phone but I picked it up, put on my shirt and pretended answering it as I made my way out of the room and down towards the motel lobby,” the girl says.

She says at the motel lobby a big group of girls were also waiting to see the pastor.

She says she was so affected by her experience that she decided not to talk to any of the girls outside or her sister until she arrived home.

The girl says she could not believe that a preacher who was so outspoken and active while preaching on the streets could “be so full of evil”.

“That’s the least I could expect of a pastor,” she says.

With the help of relatives, they reported the matter to police.

Police confirmed a case was opened but the PNG pastor had already left the country.

Police suspect the pastor may have sexually assaulted other girls who went to see him for counselling and healing.

The pastor is a regular visitor to the Solomon Islands and is known to many locals.

 

How many times can you use the word development on one page? The highlighted parts make we  scratch my head and wonder… didn’t meaningless development drivel like this go out in the 80s?

Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade has called for a committed and effective partnership between Forum countries and development partners to the region.

Speaking at the opening of the 2012 Pacific Island Countries/Development Partners Meeting at the Secretariat in Suva, Fiji yesterday, Mr Slade said the timing of the meeting is of particular significance given the outcomes of the major conferences in Busan, South Korea at the end of last year and the recent Rio +20 conference in Brazil.Forum Secretary General Mr Slade explained that the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness held in South Korea in November/December last year adopted the Busan Partnerships for Effective Development Cooperation calling for a more inclusive and transparent global partnership in the delivery, management and monitoring of development efforts and reaffirmed the role of development cooperation in supporting development outcomes.

The recent Rio +20 outcomes places sustainable development goals in the forefront of global attention and calls for a more balanced integration of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development in development efforts.

Mr Slade said in the Pacific region there is firm commitment to the relevance and currency of the Pacific Plan as the master strategy by ensuring it reflects updated priorities that can effectively be supported through regional cooperation and integration.

“In all these the centrality of the partnership approach cannot be emphasised enough. For Pacific countries, committed and effective partnership in development is simply critical. We know that regional and global evidence confirms that much more is needed to be done to enhance partnership arrangements to foster the resilience of Pacific countries and their coping capacities.”

Some of the development partner representatives

Forum Secretary General Mr Slade added: “We also know that effective partnerships must build on solid platforms. Otherwise, there cannot be real prospect for effective partnership with continued calls on development partners to meet obligations under the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) or internal commitments on financing for development if, for example Pacific countries are not consistent in providing robust national and sector plans, supported by clear monitoring and evaluation frameworks.”

“Equally, there cannot be real prospect where development partners continue to insist on inflexible partnership arrangements and rigid compliance frameworks, not explicitly defined by the unique socio-economic, environmental and small island geo-political features of Pacific countries,” Mr Slade said.

He further stated: “A partnership where expectations are pitched in differing contexts is at its best, a partnership foiled from the outset.”

Forum Secretary General Mr Slade called for a shared understanding of the Pacific context and diverse country situations and clear development priorities at the national and regional level.

CSO representatives

The two-day meeting, attended by senior officials from all the Forum countries, representatives of development partners and the civil society, will discuss the governance and working arrangements of the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, the Rio +20 Outcomes and Post 2015 Development Agenda, an Update of the Pacific Plan Priorities: 2013 – 2014 and the Pacific Plan Review, Climate Change Financing in the Pacific, Gender dimensions in strengthening development coordination and Engaging Non-State Actors to Support effective development cooperation.

Member of Parliament for East Choiseul has condemned the latest decision by the NCRA Cabinet to advance $5-Million of the Republic of China-funded Millennium Development Fund to pay $100,000.00 to each parliamentarian to assist those who have come to Honiara for the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts and the 34th Independence anniversary celebration.

“This is a blatant misuse of funds approved by Parliament for specific development purposes and therefore a blatant abuse of cabinet processes to satisfy the narrow political interests of politicians.

“Such a callous and transparent abuse of processes is nothing short of broad daylight corruption at the highest level, camouflaged as assistance to the people,” Hon. Manasseh Sogavare said.

The Opposition MP said it needs to be pointed out that the agreed procedures to access the Millennium Development Fund and what area of the millennium development goal to fund is through the application form prepared by the constituencies based on constituency development plans not on political decisions of the cabinet.

He said it needs also to be emphasized that the cost of bringing Solomon Islands rural contingent to the arts festival and to look after them in Honiara and the satellite venues is the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism through the appointed chairman of the Solomon Islands contingent and not MPs.

“It must also follow that the funds for that purpose must come from new drawings from the consolidated fund, not advances from funds approved by Parliament for specific development purposes.

“Any other people who come to Honiara from the villages for the festival and to attend the independence celebration do so at their own expenses and it would be clear pretentious for the Government to even think that MPs will look after them with the $100,000.00.”

The MP for East Choiseul meanwhile urged the Government to prioritise the implementation of the policy announcement by the Prime Minister at the last sitting of Parliament to properly organize the 50 constituencies by way of a legal framework to manage public funds channeled through MPs which disturbingly now exceeds the $5-Million mark.

“The Government has a duty to ensure that the increased funding to constituencies is properly guided to achieve the objectives of rural development which is to improve self-reliance through the active participation of our people in rural-based development instead of creating dependency attitude amongst our people,” he said.

The Opposition MP said the good intention to focus the attention of the national budget to be more responsive to the different development needs of the constituencies is now seriously threatened by potential misuse of funds due to the total absence of an accountability framework.
He said an accountability mechanism should meet the minimum requirement of an audit process at the national level and the lack of any form of long term development plan in many constituencies to guide the use of the funds

Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs Richard Marles says improving road infrastructure and maintaining roads and bridges is a critical part of Australia’s development partnership with the Solomon Islands Government.

Mr Marles inspected road and bridge works in West Guadalcanal during his recent visit to Solomon Islands.Australia has helped fund these works.

“Australian support for transport is helping ensure people living in rural areas will have more reliable transport access to markets and essential services,” Mr Marles said.

He said the work in West Guadalcanal is helping fix damage and strengthen roads and bridges following the 2010 floods.

Those floods temporarily isolated more than 12,000 residents in West Guadalcanal from Honiara.

“The new bridges are stronger, so they can withstand future flooding and importantly, the engineering works include “river training” to reinforce the banks of some of the rivers.

“This will help ensure that the rivers continue to flow under the new bridges rather than damaging the river banks.

“Some roads are also being realigned to strengthen the works against further flooding and the impact of climate change.

“As well, Solomon Islanders from local communities will be employed to keep bridges and drains clear of debris and cut the grass along the road verge,” Mr Marles said.

The road works along West Guadalcanal are part of the Solomon Islands Road Improvement Project (SIRIP) Phases 1 and 2 which is improving and maintaining 120 km of roads and building or upgrading over 70 bridges and other water crossings. Australia funds around half the project, with the two phases of SIRIP managed by the Solomon Islands Government and the Asian Development Bank, along with support from New Zealand and the European Union.

Australia’s support to transport infrastructure in Solomon Islands is delivered through the Solomon Islands – Australian Partnership for Development: There are three main elements, including:

• A$30 million over five years (2011-2015) to the National Transport Fund
• A$24 million over five years (2007-2012) to the two phases of the Solomon Islands Road Improvement Project
• A$4 million in 2012 to the Domestic Maritime Support Project for six provincial wharves

While in Solomon Islands, Mr Marles attended the opening ceremonies for the Festival of Pacific Arts, hosted a welcome function for the Australian delegation to the Festival and met Australian volunteers helping with the Festival.

TAKE a walk to the Papua New Guinea stall at the Pasifika village and you will come across a long unusual men’s traditional underwear.

Called a penis guard, the men’s traditional wear is used by men to cover their penis.Bertha Saki from Angoram in the East Sepik who displayed the penis guard said it is made from bush fibre and decorated using red and black soil.

“It takes a day to make one,” she said.

She explained that it has been a tradition passed down from their forefathers to the young generation and is still being used today in cultural ceremonies.

The penis guard has since attracted both local and international tourists.

Some said they have never seen something like that but were happy to learn from the culture and traditions of PNG.

It is commonly used by men from East Sepik province and Sandaun province (West Sepik) during cultural occasions.

East Sepik is a province in Papua New Guinea.

Its capital is Wewak.

East Sepik has an estimated population of 343,180 people (2000 census) and is roughly 42,800 km square in size.

This is where PNG’s first Prime Minister Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare comes from.

Sandaun province on the other hand is the north-westernmost province of Papua New Guinea.

It covers an area of 36,300 km² and has a population of 185,741 (2000 census). The capital is Vanimo.

It lies on the bother between PNG and Indonesia.

By Douglas Marau