Recruiting agent under probe


Authorities in Fiji are investigating the affairs of a locally-registered company engaged in recruiting Fijian men for guard, driving and other jobs in the Middle East, including Iraq. The company is alleged to have collected in excess of F$2 million (US$1.2 million) as registration fees from the thousands of men hoping for employment. Some of the few hundreds sent to Kuwait or Iraq have complained to the Fiji Government that they are still awaiting jobs.


Samoa's health insurance scheme

The Samoa National Provident Fund published more details of a proposed national health insurance scheme. It is based on the Singapore model and would be funded by a compulsory three percent contribution from employers and employees. The scheme will offer choices for people opting for private and overseas medical care, as well as those choosing basic health benefits. People with incomes under S$6000 a year will pay a minimum of S$286 and the government will subsidise 80 percent of their medical bills. The scheme is due to begin in mid-2006. It is expected to considerably reduce government current health service costs equivalent to about 18 percent of the annual budget. Fiji's fund is looking at setting up a medical insurance fund also.


Tonga studies Fiji's provident fund

In April, a Tongan delegation led by the prime minister visited Fiji for a briefing on the country's national provident fund. Founded in the 1960s and now the dominant pool of funds for investment, membership of the Fiji fund is compulsory for all workers in regular employment.


Solomons' tax system to be assessed

The Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre in Fiji will carry out an independent assessment of the Solomon Islands tax system to detect features that damage the economy such as discretionary exemptions and cascading indirect taxation. Faults in the system cause bona fide investors and taxpayers' uncertainty. Exporters and shipowners are said to be particularly handicapped.


Quarantine standards for exports

Quarantine standards agreed with New Zealand are expected to assist exports of Samoan fruit and vegetables to markets there. Exports of pawpaw and breadfuit have begun. The latest agreement covers vegetables, citrus fruits, mangoes, avocados, rambutan and pineapples. However, various hurdles need to be overcome. They include limited air cargo space availability, the inadequacy of current heat treatment plant and the need to persuade growers of other crops to follow the example of pawpaw growers in forming a growers association. Growers also need to be persuaded to accept planting, spraying and harvesting standards. It took two years to develop markets for pawpaw and breadfruit. Samoa's chief agricultural officer, Seumanutafa Malaki Iakopo, said markets were ready to buy. But local growers couldn't yet supply. He hopes to persuade the government to revive formerly large coconut and cocoa production schemes.


OPEC funds fuel storage capacity

The Organisation of Petrolem Exporting Countries (OPEC) will lend Samoa US$4.8 million to enlarge its bulk fuel storage capacity.


$30m loss in tax exemptions

The Solomon Islands auditor-general's department has reported that audit investigations showed that in 2004 the government lost about S$30 million in exemptions granted to log exporters. It said despite past warnings about the unsustainability of logging rates, the volume of timber exports in 2004 far exceeded rates for the previous three years. It estimated the volume of timber exempted from duty in 2004 was two times more than in 2003 and 15 times more than in 2002.

The department called for more stringent controls with all duty paid into the consolidated fund and any exemptions or remissions paid from it.

It said some logging companies blatantly avoided more than S$4 million in royalty payments. Some loggers exceeded legal quotas and there was evidence of manipulation of import duty remissions on capital equipment, spare parts and tools beyond a two- year allowance.

The finance minister froze applications for customs duty exemptions until further notice. He ordered his ministry to investigate a committee responsible for handling applications for exemptions.


Visitor arrivals down for New Caledonia

New Caledonia's 2004 visitor arrival figures were even lower than earlier estimated, according to official statistics released in April. The total was 99,515-the first time for three years it dropped below 100,000. Tourism is the second industry after nickel. Arrivals have dropped, while figures reported by such other regional destinations as Fiji, Samoa, the Cooks and Vanuatu rose by an average of eight percent. Most visitors in 2004 came from France (27,358), followed by Japan (29,229, 2.5 percent more than in 2003). Others came from Australia (16,212), the Pacific Islands (mainly Wallis and Futuna (20,348) and New Zealand (6,368).