Samoa tops: Now it’s official. The Americans regard Samoa highly. This is what a US senior official in Wellington told an Islands Business stringer in an interview: “…this is a government we’ve worked very closely with, it’s really a model of democracy and economic progress in the Pacific. Samoa is a place that is doing the right things, and that we want to work very cooperatively with.” So what about the rest of the Pacific? It will be interesting to see how the Americans rate the rest of the Pacific including Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
Diplomatic blunder: One would think that if you’re hired by the foreign ministry, and particularly if you work in the protocol unit, you would make sure you know all the regional VIPs. And if you don’t, you’ll make it your business to know and what they look like because you’re the first line of contact for these dignitaries when they arrive on Fiji’s soil. One Fiji protocol officer at Nadi International Airport was assigned to wait for the Tongan deputy prime minister when he arrived on a flight from Nuku’alofa to attend a meeting at Nadi recently. Imagine how embarrassing it was for those arriving to see him holding a placard with the Tongan deputy PM’s name on it. Perhaps, the foreign ministry should again revisit that plan to set up a school of diplomacy where such people could go to and learn are few things about diplomacy and what is diplomatically correct behaviour.
Is it SOPAC or SPREP for Cristelle? Whispers has been reliably told that SOPAC boss Cristelle Pratt was given an ultimatum following the SOPAC Council meeting in Kiribati to make up her mind whether she is taking up her new job as head of SPREP or sticking with SOPAC. Sources within the meeting said the council gave her until the end of last month to make up her mind. Apparently the outgoing SPREP director, had congratulated her as the new SPREP boss during the council meeting which according to those at the meeting, she was not happy with. She, Whispers has been told, confirmed the SPREP offer but had not undertaken any formal commitments yet. But sources at the meeting said she ‘was a bit annoyed’ by the announcement by the outgoing SPREP boss.
Dream media deals: Most Pacific journos can only dream of the kinds of deals that go down in territorial waters. Take Tahiti for example. There, two outgoing directors are getting a US$77,000 payout package for running Tahiti Press Agency, a state-funded body turning newspaper headlines into world wide web pages, according to independent news magazine Tahiti Pacifique. Daily paper La Depeche now has its own site, and owners Hersent Media have a website registered for Les Nouvelles de Tahiti. So why, asks Tahiti Pacifique editor Alex du Prel, is the former propaganda agency still getting more than a US$1 million in state funding?
Lavish amounts for TNT: But the little agency is but a pothole compared to the “abyss” of another state-funded media operation, Tahiti Nui Television, boastfully acronymed TNT. Voted 600 million French Pacific Francs in January 2008, Tahiti Pacifique also reports that the station got another 300 million Pacific francs on October 19 by an obviously impressed Gaston Tong Sang administration, for a grand total of nearly US$9.4 million. Not bad for a service that was supposed to be self-sufficient in ads—by 2005. Mind you, notes Tahiti Pacifique, station bosses “are chosen for their political colours, not their professionalism.” In other parts of the Pacific, broadcasters can only dream of such lavish amounts.
Solomons’ Mr Casual: Local viewers would be forgiven if they didn’t recognise a member of their parliament’s powerful foreign relations committee on a recent outing out of Honiara. While other committee members were in their Sunday best, long trousers and shirts, Mr Casual came along in his well—casuals; a t-shirt and shorts. But have a heart. Mr Casual apparently was thrown out of his home the previous night and had to sleep at a friend’s house. He was so intrigued by the lights and trappings of Down Under’s Gold Coast—a few days before the Honiara assignment— that he committed the cardinal sin of not calling home.
Iranian influence: No-one can blame Solomon Islands’ foreign ministry for getting its priorities right. Or so it seems. After waiting around for several days in dusty Honiara, a senior CROP rep (this is not in reference to a taro plant but a member of the council of regional organisations of the Pacific) had to return home without signing a very important piece of paper. Signatures were needed to formalise CROP’s presence in the Solomons capital. But alas, Mr Big Man was too busy to attend the initialling ceremony although there were reported sightings of him at several watering holes in the evenings. Teheran must be keeping some people very busy!
Expat woes (continued): More news of problems with local workers when expats in the Solomons try to boost efficiency and productivity. Solomon Airlines chief executive Ron Sumsum has been confronted with demands for his removal. Sumsum, a ni-Vanuatu jet captain, is trying to shape up the Solair workforce as the airline prepares for increasing competition both domestically and internationally.
No power to the people: What do Apia, Honiara and maybe Suva people have in common to grumble about? Now it’s power cuts. Honiara people are used to frequent cuts in supply, so much so that many businesses have invested in their own standby generators. Now the supposedly more advanced Apia is suffering the same cuts as Honiara as the local power utility faces various problems. And there has been talk of possible rationing in Fiji if the country’s main hydro power station runs into water problems. Said a headline in the Samoa Observer newspaper: “Hoping for an electrically efficient, cheerful, frustration-free Samoa.”
Sex on credit: Young women in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are offering sex to men on credit, according to a Post Courier report. They make arrangements to collect the payment from their clients on paydays, a HIV/AIDS workshop in Lae was told. The workshop was told that this trade in sex, commonly called “dinau sex,” was also contributing to the spread of the HIV virus in Papua New Guinea.
Sign of tough times…Air New Zealand after threatening to pull out its services from a number of Pacific countries to keep it afloat in light of the current global financial crisis, is now making money from empty seats. Passengers on partly full Air New Zealand flights to the United States can guarantee an empty seat next to them—only if they’re prepared to pay $75. The airline’s novel way of making money out of empty seats during the long-haul travel slump has proved popular during a month-long trial. Like other carriers, Air New Zealand has been hit with a steep fall in passenger numbers as a result of the financial crisis.
China accommodating: Apia, already hosting many conferences and meetings previously held in Fiji, is after more. Samoa’s Parliament took just a day to rush through a bill allowing the Government to borrow from the Export-Import Bank of China to build a major conference centre. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said: “This will be used by us to pull in big conferences.” Why the rush to use the yuan? The Chinese are apparently more than willing to help build such buildings, something the Aussies, Kiwis, and Europeans ain’t.
Name in the news: Rarotonga lawyer Tevita Tangaroa Vakalalabure has been involved in high profile actions against the Cook Islands news media. But when Vakalalabure appeared in court himself facing drink driving charges, he successfully got his name suppressed. He didn’t want it revealed on air or in the newspapers. It didn’t last. Name suppression was lifted, with Cook Islands News publisher John Woods joining in the application for this. Woods said it was in the public interest for Vakalalabure’s court appearance not to be kept secret.
Honiara help: Good news for those struggling to work their way through the bureaucratic delays confronting investors seeking to set up business in the Solomons. Prime Minister Derek Sikua’s Government is making good on its promise to make it easier. It has brought in the World Bank’s IFC specialists to streamline business start-ups. The project also plans to introduce mediation to resolve civil disputes, and avoid time consuming and costly court actions.
Digicel moves: Delays in the promised opening up of the Solomon Islands telecommunications market are causing frustration. International mobile operator Digicel Pacific had staff poised to launch Solomon Islands operations quickly. This after PM Derek Sikua in February said legislation to enable this would go through last month’s sitting of Parliament in Honiara. When the government finally admitted delays and said the legislation wouldn’t be presented, Digicel didn’t sit around waiting. It redeployed staff preparing for the Solomons launch to Tarawa. There the Kiribati Government was moving quicker than Honiara in enabling Digicel to set up.
No surprise for Fijians: Cook Islands Labour director Helen Maunga’s recent listing of a series of allegations about abuse of foreign workers won’t surprise Fijians in Rarotonga. Some employers there look after the mainly Fijian foreign workers well. But complaints about others are frequent. Maunga’s list included long working hours, poor accommodation, abuse, and promised wages not being paid. Fijians have been brought into the Cooks to perform jobs ranging from domestic servants to hotel workers and fishing boat crew. What attracts the Fijians? Promises of plenty of NZ dollars. Why do Cook Islanders import Fijian workers? Labour shortages because many Cook Islanders use their New Zealand passports to go live and work in NZ and Australia
Forum question: Whatever happened to the regional media adviser position at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat previously held by regional journalism heavyweights Alfred Sasako and Ulafala Aiavao?
Back to Fagali’i: Word is beginning to emerge that Apia’s in-town airport could soon be reopened, slashing travel time between the Samoas. Busy little Fagali’i airport was closed in 2005 amidst controversy. People and planes flying to and from American Samoa had to instead use Faleolo International Airport, about an hour by road west of the capital. Now Polynesian Airlines apparently has plans to reopen Fagali’i, operate the airport itself, and use it for its Twin Otter shuttle service east to American Samoa. That would Samoa’s Polynesian a competitive edge over American Samoan rivals.
And still on airports…the whisper is that Nadi International Airport is going to be taken over by some company in Dubai. Whispers tried to get a confirmation on this but was only told that there could be informal discussions already underway at the top.
And back to Marau: Whispers can confirm, readers, that Solomon Airlines has successfully reopened Marau airport in eastern Guadalcanal. A Britten Norman Islander service from Honiara landed at Marau without any sign of a local land dispute that long closed the airstrip. It opens up services to two tourism spots in the picturesque Marau Sound.
