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DONOR dependency; HIGHEST PAID regional civil servant; ENTERPRISING Solomon Islanders
West Papua status: Hosts of the recent summit of Melanesian leaders were left unimpressed with the position adopted by their government on the matter of West Papua. In refusing to raise the observer status of West Papua’s independence movement in the Melanesian Spearhead Group, the indigenous chiefs association of Vanuatu felt Prime Minister Ham Lini had insulted them. The whisper, however, was that Lini did attempt to raise granting observer status for the Free West Papua Movement. But the idea was quickly shot down by his senior counterpart and grand chief of PNG. Sir Michael Somare did the same thing when Lini got his Kiwi counterpart Lady Clark to raise the same matter at last year’s leaders’ summit in Tonga.
Still on MSG... Fingers, meanwhile, were pointing at every direction amongst Fiji officials attending the Melanesian summit in Vanuatu in May. It was over the supposed withdrawal of Fiji’s two candidates from the inaugural and rather lucrative position of director-general of the Melanesian Spearhead Group’s secretariat. Fiji’s foreign affairs office told the summit that its two candidates had withdrawn their interest in the job, although both candidates were adamant they did not. Both said since their interview for the director-general job in 2006, they haven’t heard from the organisation. The whisper though is that the new occupants of Fiji’s administration refused to endorse the two candidates since both men were fired like many others when the military took over power in December 2006.
Mind your language... This seem to be the watchword for the new power brokers in Fiji. At least one big broker learnt this the hard way when he got side transferred from the final arbiter of logistics to dealing with human capital. His crime? The chief power broker somehow got told in a whisper that this particular big broker did make some not so sweet remarks about the other major ethnic community in the country. Big broker still wonder who in particular spread the whisper because the next thing he got told of his side transfer. The whisper is that since the chief broker wants a race-free Fiji, it behoves on his other brokers to set the proper example!
Political games: Friction continues over two major sporting events supposed to be held in the Cook Islands next year. Sporting types are unhappy over how political types are dictating plans for a new indoor stadium on Rarotonga for the world youth netball and Mini Pacific Games. Such is the tension generated that the sporting lot have even been muttering the Cooks could lose both events.
Donor dependency? Now here’s a story promoted by aid donor dependency conspiracy theorists. 2002-2003 AusAID helped push for two regional media outfits, PINA and PIBA, to merge. The union was troubled. Now the merged PINA is only a shadow of the thriving and independent body it was. So who’s offering to step in and play a big role in PINA helping “strengthen” it? AusAID. Who’s one of the regional media leaders who promoted the merger now overseas working for on a nice contract? AusAID. There’s more, readers. But we suspect you get the drift. All sounds a bit far fetched, if you ask WHISPERS, even if the Aussies are interested in regional media influence.
Flying Australian: Eyebrows were raised at Honiara International Airport when Solomons’ Prime Minister Dr Derek Sikua and his entourage arrived from Brisbane on Australian airline SkyAirWorld. Seems they opted off government-owned Solomon Airlines to take up an offer of free tickets from SkyAirWorld. What does this mean to the nationally-owned Solair? Doesn't look good for the airline as well as to patriotic Solomon Islanders. They feel that Sikua should look at the fine print of what SkyAirWorld is promising the Hapi Isles—a hotel in the Western province, flying to rural Solomons and daily Brisbane-Honiara-Brisbane flights. The patriots are saying if the Australian operator has the dosh to burn, why build a hotel in Western province? It would be better off building one in Fiji or Las Vegas. Are these promises genuine or just that...big talk...to get the government on its side? Patriotic Hapi Islanders wonder whether SkyAirworld’s strategy is practical. With rising fuel costs and some airlines going under as a result, and others streamlining their activities, SkyAirWorld is doing totally the opposite. It is now mounting more flights from Brisbane—in fact it is now a daily service. SkyAirWorld is understood to have also put in an application to fly to Vanuatu from Brisbane. And that is not all, it is also providing an aircraft—Embraer 190—to Air Niugini for its POM/Sydney/POM service.
More on aviation... WHISPERS hears Dr Sikua’s recent visit to Brisbane was also to hold talks with another airline operator, Virgin Blue. Is Sikua looking at the Samoa model, where the government-owned Polynesian becomes the domestic operator, for its national airline?
Women power: Interesting stats always pop up in conferences and meetings. In a land conference in Vanuatu last month, it was heard in one of its sessions on Women, Customary Land and Development that between US$42 billion to US$47 billion is lost due to restrictions of women’s participation in the economy. Food for thought eh?
Mirror, mirror on the wall... Who is the highest paid regional civil servant? In terms of regional organisations, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General is regarded the head of all regional organisations. That would mean the secretary-general being compensated accordingly—top bucks and lucrative conditions, and so forth. But that is not so. WHISPERS has been told the highest paid regional civil servant is the director-general of the Forum Fisheries Agency, who has a 22% loading on his package.
Still on regional organisations... another name has cropped up for the position of Forum secretary-general. WHISPERS has heard from the grapevine that Cooks’ trade minister Wilkie Rassmusen is interested in the job.
Bitten by over-enthusiasm: Word in Fiji’s fishing industry is that Fiji would have still been exporting fish to the European Union today if it was not for its over-enthusiastic authorities, who had invited the EU inspectors into Fiji in the first place. One fishing operator said Fiji had one more year to go before it was due for inspection. After a team from EU’s Food and Veterinary Office visited that country last year, it was taken off the EU’s List 2, a list of third countries (non EU countries) whose inspection and sanitary systems have yet to fully conform to EU standards but who are allowed to export into the EU. The decision has affected a number of local operators who export fish to the EU. After falling flat on its face, Fiji is now trying to get back onto the EU’s List 1, which local operators say have such stringent requirements and would see them having to make heavy investments in order to make their fishing vessels compliant.
Condi and the Pacific? There’s word in New Zealand’s diplomatic circles that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could set foot in the country later this year. Her visit would be a big win for New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters and for the Pacific; the two leaders get on well and always discuss the region when they meet. There’ve been informal soundings-out between the two sides going on for a year now, but there are always going to be problems in finalising an itinerary. That’s a fact Pacific Islands leaders know all too well; a few recall that just last year they were invited to Washington, and met with the secretary but for just a few precious moments.
Enterprising islanders: Who says Solomon islanders are not enterprising? Well, one islander seeing the amount of clam shells lying about everywhere, thought he could do something about it. He went surfing on the web and found a buyer in the US who wanted the shells for decoration, as hand basins and so forth. So he sent a container load of them. Lo, behold, when the time came for him to be paid, WHISPERS has been told the bank had to literally shut down for a while, because its computers could not handle the many zeroes being transferred. WHISPERS’ mole in Honiara reported the guy who is a former Our Telikom employee is now sitting pretty and with that one payment, he could be Hapi Isles’ new millionaire in the making.
Hiring concern: There is been some concern from women in the region about the latest hirings made by Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). WHISPERS has been told that SPC recently hired an Englishwoman to be its women’s advisor and a Canadian to be its Francophone officer. There is a feeling amongst these women, that there seems to be some reluctance on the part of the authority there to hire locally qualified people who are in abundance to take up those positions.
Name change... Biggest Little Yacht Club is what members of Niue’s Yacht Club are thinking of adopting as their new name after receiving visits from 60 super yachts in just 10 days. From having only two local members who have had some sailing experience, the world’s smallest yacht club got a boost in membership of over 1000 yachties overnight. The super yachts were taking part in an around the world race when they called on the rock.
Talking about Bougainville... the whole autonomous region turned all out to farewell one of its true sons, the late President Joseph Kabui. More tragic though was his last conversation with a journalist where he spoke about the high cost of medicine for his heart condition. The late Kabui said he found the medicine expensive and had instead resorted to using local water tonic. He also spoke about having to look for money to pay for his upcoming medical review in Townsville. Leadership does become lonely sometimes.
Tusitala no more? Apia’s popular Kitano Tusitala Hotel could be in for a new name and a new role. Nevada, USA, hotel company Rogue Hospitality is pushing ahead with plans to buy the waterfront spot from Japan’s Kitano Corp. Rogue’s owner, former boxer and son of Samoa, Eneliko Smith, plans to use the Tusitala to develop the first of his new ‘Surf Concept” hotels.
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