THE Governor for Central Province, Rufina Peter recently witnessed the swearing-in of the newly appointed board members of the Central Provincial Land Board.
The swearing in of the board members marks a significant milestone in the administration, development and governance of Land in Central Province.
The Central Provincial Land Board is headed by Paul Sai as the Deputy Chairman, with Members, Ruben Kaiulo, Anna Bais, Elliot Mark and John Orea. They were sworn in by Central Provincial Senior Magistrate Alex Kalandi.
The five (5) newly appointed Board members will deliberate and make decisions on state leases application, including other responsibilities pertaining to land in Central Province.
Lands Minister, John Rosso speaking to Central Governor, Rufina Peter in the presence of the newly sworn in Central Provincial Land Board.
In congratulating the newly appointed board members, the Governor said Central Province has a lot of land issues that must be addressed.
“The issues that my province faced within the land functions include the common illegal land grabbing, and provincial boundaries between Central province and NCD, and more recently between Gulf and Central province,” the Governor said.
She also challenged the board members to uphold the principles of transparency, impartiality and accountability.
“Your role as members is to ensure land resources are allocated in a fair and equitable manner, protecting the rights of our people, and promoting sustainable land use and practices,” she said.
Also there to witness the swearing in was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Lands and Physical Planning John Rosso, the executive management team from the Department of Lands and Physical Planning, and members of the Central Provincial Executive Council.
Deputy Prime Minister Rosso said: “A land board that can better manage and administer the affairs of land in Central Province is critical to the development of the province.”
Minister Rosso added that a highly technical Lands division in the province is also critical to ensure better framework are in place for the board members to deliberate and make their decisions.
Deputy Secretary for Lands and Physical Planning, Customary Lands, Mr. Lazarus Malesa in his remarks, gave his assurance that the department stands ready to work with the board to address land issues in Central province.
Deputy Secretary Malesa said: “Land Grabbing and other land related issues in central province, is a result of a lack of effective communication between the Department of Lands and Physical Planning, and the Central Provincial Government.
“Going forward, we must work hand in hand to manage customary land and other state land in central province.” Malesa said.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The playoffs picture in Super Rugby has cleared a little after the weekend’s ninth round of games but has again raised question of whether the playoff system is too liberal. The top eight of 12 teams, or 66% of all teams, contest the Super Rugby quarterfinals and, after nine rounds this season, the price of admission to the top eight is only three wins or 13 points.
Last year the Queensland Reds squeaked into the top eight with five wins and 24 points from the full 15 rounds of the regular season. In 2022, the Dunedin-based Highlanders qualified with four wins and 23 points, four wins and 12 points behind the seventh-placed Reds.
With six rounds left in the current season, Moana Pasifika are on the fringe of the playoffs in eighth place with three wins and 12 points, one win and one point ahead of the New South Wales Waratahs.
All 12 teams technically are still in with a chance of making the playoffs, even the defending champion Crusaders who have won only one of eight matches. The Christchurch-based Crusaders suffered one of their worst defeats this season on Saturday when they went down 37-15 to the Western Force.
On the current reckoning, the top three teams — the Wellington-based Hurricanes, Auckland-based Blues and ACT Brumbies — are already safe in the playoffs. The fourth placed Melbourne Rebels and Hamilton-based Chiefs are on the margins.
The financially-troubled Rebels appear to have over-performed by winning five of their eight matches. But those wins have come over lower-ranked Australian teams, Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua. They have a tough run towards the playoffs with three matches against New Zealand teams, another against the Brumbies and a last-round match against the Drua in Fiji.
The Hamilton-based Chiefs have five wins and 23 points and are likely to make the playoffs, though they have to face the Hurricanes and Blues in their last two regular season matches.
The run-in will be critical in the last weeks of the season. Moana Pasifika have a tough finish with matches against the Drua in Fiji, then the Highlanders, the Chiefs, the Hurricanes, the Waratahs and the Crusaders. The Waratahs have an even tougher run in with matches still to come against the Chiefs, the Hurricanes, the Blues, the Brumbies and the Reds.
In each case, the run-in will help determine final placings and quarterfinal match-ups. The question remains whether the first round of playoffs can provide compelling competition when the top teams will be drawn against sides which at best have won half as many matches.
Super Rugby has struggled to attract crowds in Australia and New Zealand this season — not in Fiji where 15,400 filled the national stadium to watch the Drua play the Hurricanes on Friday.
A system in which twice as many teams make the playoffs as miss out may not help attract fans, though it prolongs some teams’ involvement.
In Australian soccer’s A-League, six out of 12 teams make the playoffs. The Australian National Rugby League has eight playoff qualifiers out of 17 teams and uses a weighted system which advantages the highest-placed teams.
Super Rugby’s too generous system may need reappraisal, given than no team has won the tournament from further back than fourth place after the regular season.
TOKYO (AP) — Two Japanese navy helicopters carrying eight crew members crashed in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo during a nighttime training flight after possibly colliding with each other, the country’s defense minister said Sunday. One crew member who had been recovered from the waters was later pronounced dead, while rescuers searched for seven others who were still missing.
The two SH-60K choppers from the Maritime Self-Defense Force were carrying four crew each and lost contact late Saturday near Torishima island about 600 kilometers (370 miles) south of Tokyo, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters
The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but officials believe the two helicopters “highly likely” collided with each other before crashing into the water, Kihara said.
He added his ministry will suspend training flights for all SH-60s for now.
The navy chief of staff, Adm. Ryo Sakai, said the trainings will be suspended until the accident’s cause is determined and preventive measures are adopted.
Rescuers have recovered a flight data recorder, a blade from each helicopter, and fragments believed to be from both choppers in the same area, signs that the two SH-60Ks were flying close to each other, Kihara said. Officials will analyze the flight data to try to determine what led to the crash.
Search and rescue efforts for the missing crew were expanded Sunday, with the MSDF and Air Self-Defense Force together deploying 12 warships and seven aircraft. Japan Coast Guard patrol boats and aircraft also joined the operation.
The helicopters, twin-engine, multi-mission aircraft developed by Sikorsky and known as Seahawks, were modified and produced in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. They were on nighttime anti-submarine training in the waters, Kihara said. One lost contact at 10:38 p.m. (1338 GMT) and sent an automatic emergency signal a minute later. They lost contact about 270 kilometers (150 nautical miles) east of Torishima island.
Only one distress call was heard — another sign the two helicopters were near the same place, because their signals use the same frequency and could not be differentiated, Kihara said.
One helicopter belonged to an air base in Nagasaki, and the other to a base in Tokushima prefecture.
The SH-60K aircraft is usually deployed on destroyers for anti-submarine warfare, but is also used for search and rescue and other missions. Japan has about 70 of the modified helicopters.
Saturday’s training only involved the Japanese navy and was not part of a multinational exercise, defense officials said. They said no foreign aircraft or warships were spotted in the area.
Japan, under its 2022 security strategy, has been accelerating its military buildup and fortifying deterrence in the southwestern Japanese islands in the Pacific and East China Sea to counter threats from China’s increasingly assertive military activities. Japan in recent years has conducted its own extensive naval exercises as well as joint drills with its ally the United States and other partners.
The navy chief of staff said Saturday’s training was part of routine anti-submarine warfare drills involving MSDF warships, submarines and Seahawks.
The crash comes a year after a Ground Self-Defense Force UH-60 Blackhawk crashed off the southwestern Japanese island of Miyako, due to an engine output problem known as “rollback,” leaving all 10 crew members dead, which shocked the nation. In 2017, a Japanese navy SH-60J, an earlier generation Seahawk, crashed during a nighttime flight training off Aomori due to human error.
Saturday’s crash and possible collision also recalled a July 2021 nighttime training off the southern island of Amamioshima, where two SH-60s had a minor collision, both suffering blade damage, but causing no injuries.
Following that collision, the MSDF introduced a set of preventive measures. Sakai said Saturday’s crash could have been prevented if all those measures were adequately followed.
In the U.S., a fatal crash of a MH-60S Seahawk during training off California in 2021 was attributed to mechanical failure from unsuspected damage during maintenance, according to the Navy.
Japan’s NHK public television said no weather advisories were issued in the area at the time of Saturday’s crash.
HONG KONG (AP) — Apple said it had removed Meta’s WhatsApp messaging app and its Threads social media app from the App Store in China to comply with orders from Chinese authorities.
The apps were removed from the store on Friday after Chinese officials cited unspecified national security concerns.
Their removal comes amid elevated tensions between the U.S. and China over trade, technology and national security.
The U.S. has threatened to ban TikTok over national security concerns. But while TikTok, owned by Chinese technology firm ByteDance, is used by millions in the U.S., apps like WhatsApp and Threads are not commonly used in China.
Instead, the messaging app WeChat, owned by Chinese company Tencent, reigns supreme.
Other Meta apps, including Facebook, Instagram and Messenger remained available for download, although use of such foreign apps is blocked in China due to its “Great Firewall” network of filters that restrict use of foreign websites such as Google and Facebook.
“The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns,” Apple said in a statement.
“We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” Apple said. A spokesman for Meta referred to “Apple for comment.”
Apple, previously the world’s top smartphone maker, recently lost the top spot to Korean rival Samsung Electronics. The U.S. firm has run into headwinds in China, one of its top three markets, with sales slumping after Chinese government agencies and employees of state-owned companies were ordered not to bring Apple devices to work.
Apple has been diversifying its manufacturing bases outside China.
Its CEO Tim Cook has been visiting Southeast Asia this week, traveling to Hanoi and Jakarta before wrapping up his travels in Singapore. On Friday he met with Singapore’s deputy prime minister, Lawrence Wong, where they “discussed the partnership between Singapore and Apple, and Apple’s continued commitment to doing business in Singapore.”
Apple pledged to invest over $250 million to expand its campus in the city-state.
Earlier this week, Cook met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi, pledging to increase spending on Vietnamese suppliers.
He also met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Cook later told reporters that they talked about Widodo’s desire to promote manufacturing in Indonesia, and said that this was something that Apple would “look at”.
SUVA, Fiji (AP) — The Wellington-based Hurricanes overcame a poor second half in which they incurred three yellow cards to beat the Fijian Drua 38-15 in Super Rugby Pacific on Friday, stretching their winning start to the season to eight matches and ending the Drua’s unbeaten record at home.
The first-place Hurricanes were impressive in the first half, scoring four tries to lead 28-7 at halftime. But their game started to fall apart in the second half and they spent almost 10 minutes with 13 men when DuPlessis Kirifi and Isaia Walker-Leawere were sin-binned in the 64th and 65th minutes. Replacement prop Caleb Delany also received a yellow card two minutes before fulltime.
In the other match Friday, the Queensland Reds beat the Dunedin, New Zealand-based Highlanders 31-0 at Brisbane. Coming off three losses in a row and missing four frontline players in Tate McDermott, Fraser McReight, Josh Flook and Seru Uru, Queensland dominated the match with Hunter Paisami, Ryan Smith, Lawson Creighton and Suliasi Vunivalu scoring tries in a bonus-point win.
The Drua were unable to get into the game in the first half because of errors, turnovers and penalties. That situation was reversed in the second half as the Hurricanes, tiring in the heat, couldn’t hold onto possession and were heavily penalized, though their defense mostly held firm.
The Drua reduced the Hurricanes lead with a try to scrumhalf Kitione Salawa early in the second half. But they were only able to score three points — a penalty to Kemu Valetini — when the Hurricanes were two men down.
Peni Matavalu was held up over the Hurricanes goal line in what might have been a pivotal moment. Returned to full strength, the Hurricanes extended their lead with a penalty to Aidan Morgan. They finished with a try to Xavier Numia after the fulltime siren and while down to 14 men.
“It just shows that over here you’ve got to go the full 80 minutes,” Hurricanes captain Brad Shields said. “It was a good test of our character.
“We talked about it during the week, that it was going to be about the effort early. We didn’t think we were going to be down to 13. But it did show good character, the way we held it together on the line and connected on defense.”
The Hurricanes opened the scoring with a try after seven minutes to center Billy Proctor from a speculative in-field kick from Salesi Rayasi.
The Drua scored minutes later through young flyhalf Isikeli Rabitu to draw level. But the Hurricanes opened a 21-point lead by halftime with tries to backrower Devon Flanders, center Jordie Barrett and hooker James O’Reilly.
Salawa scored from a lineout drive in the 46th minute as the Drua began to get on top, bringing a crowd of 15,000 at the National Stadium to life. The Hurricanes grimly held on, even when outnumbered and gradually the Drua’s ascendancy faded.
The Drua have won three home matches this season in Lautoka. This was their first match in Suva and their first home defeat of the year.
They return to Lautoka next week for a crucial match against Moana Pasifika as they attempt to hold onto a place in the top eight playoff zone.
The Hurricanes suffered a major blow when they lost hooker Asafo Aumua to a knee injury.
THE International Organization for Migration or IOM has delivered rainwater catchment installation materials to the Kumbal Community in Jiwaka province.
These materials were generously funded by the United States Agency for International Development Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID-BHA), and was welcomed by the Kumbal community, located at the border of Simbu and Jiwaka provinces, and home to approximately 10,000 people from six council wards.
With the population in the area, the accessibility of water has been an issue, especially for women, children, and the elderly, which has resulted in the collection of drinking water from the muddy Waghi river and nearby creeks.
IOM’s interventions will alleviate water scarcity, and provide quality water, which is very much needed by these communities.
Jiwaka Provincial Disaster Coordinator, John Kupul, acknowledged USAID’s funding assistance, and thanked IOM for being an active partner working closely with his Jiwaka Provincial Administration to improve the resilience of local communities.
“All thanks to the people of America through USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance for this critical assistance to improve community access to safe drinking water. This has been a need for the people of Kumbal,” said Kambiye Tolak, the Councillor for Kumbal Ward 2.
MANADO, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities closed an airport and residents left homes near an erupting volcano Thursday due to the dangers of spreading ash, falling rocks, hot volcanic clouds and the possibility of a tsunami.
Mount Ruang on the northern side of Sulawesi Island had at least five large eruptions Wednesday, causing the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation to issue its highest-level alert, indicating an active eruption.
The crater emitted white-gray smoke continuously during the day Thursday, reaching more than 500 meters (1,600 feet) above the peak.
People have been ordered to stay at least 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the 725-meter (2,378 foot) mountain. More than 11,000 people live in the affected area and were told to leave. At least 800 have done so.
An international airport in Manado city was temporarily closed Thursday as volcanic ash was spewed into the air.
“We have to close flight operations at Sam Ratulangi Airport due to the spread of volcanic ash, which could endanger flight safety,” said Ambar Suryoko, head of the regional airport authority.
Eruptions Wednesday evening spewed volcanic ash approximately 70,000 feet into the atmosphere, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre. The bureau said in a statement Thursday it was tracking and forecasting the ash dispersion.
Indonesia’s volcanology center noted the risks from the volcanic eruption include the possibility that part of the volcano could collapse into the sea and cause a tsunami. In December 2018, Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano island erupted and collapsed, losing around 3/4 its volume and triggering a powerful tsunami that killed more than 400 people. An 1871 eruption at Mount Ruang also triggered a tsunami.
Tagulandang Island, east of the Ruang volcano, could be at risk if a collapse occurred. Its residents were among those being told to evacuate.
“People who live in the Tagulandang Island area and are within a 6-kilometer radius must be immediately evacuated to a safe place outside the 6-kilometer radius,” Abdul Muhari, spokesperson of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said Thursday.
“And especially those who live near the coast should be aware of the potential for incandescent rocks to erupt, hot clouds and tsunami waves that could be triggered by the collapse of a volcanic body into the sea.”
The agency said residents will be relocated to Manado, the nearest city, on Sulawesi island — a six-hour journey by boat.
Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, has 120 active volcanoes. It is prone to volcanic activity because it sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.
By GRACEY WAKARY and EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press & AP writer Rod McGuirk contributed from Sydney.
After five rounds the SP PNG Hunters are two from two and a bye, this puts them at 10th spot on the Hotplus Cup Ladder.
The Hunters have only two wins at home, with two loses away in Queensland Australia, they have the opportunity to keep the wining streak going at home, but it wont be easy this weekend in round 6 of the Hotplus Cup.
The Hunters face the Redcliff Dolphins at the Santos National Football Stadium on Saturday the 20th of March 2024.
The Dolphins have been on a roll with a four from one record placing them on 2nd place after 5 rounds.
The Hunters poor defense and discipline has been a concern, but Coach Paul Aiton says the team is looking to keep a clean record at home.
The Hunters were hard at training this week perfecting their techniques in defense, Aiton said it was all about mindset for the team to get themselves in order.
“We have a good tackling technique we worked on it at preseason, we haven’t been disciplined on our technique.
“We have reduced our penalty count every week, the technique is alright I think it is all about mindset, As Coach Enock Maki says defense is about effort I think it is all about our effort,” Aiton said.
Saturday will also see the return of Jamie Mavoko who replaces Sakias Komati, Mavoko has been nursing an injury and as an experienced half-back is a welcome addition to the team, Valentine Richard and Robert Mathias both make their return to the side also.
For the Hunters that are not in the team this week, those that are signed to Digicel ExxonMobil Cup teams will play for their respective clubs.
But Paul Aiton says there are a couple of injuries that players are nursing and not all players are expected to play in the Digicel Cup, he added that priority should be the Hunters and not all players will be allowed to play in the Digicel ExxonMobil Cup.
“We are very selective and cant let everyone play, even though we want them to get match fitness, because its the best fitness you can get, we got to be very selective on who gets to play.
“We would like for them all to go back and play to get match fitness on timing and defense but its quite risky, we have to hold back on some players,” Aiton said
The Prime Minister of Solomon Islands has recently gone on a home-building spree, constructing eight valuable new houses in and around the capital city of Honiara.
KEY POINTS:
Despite earning a modest salary, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has in recent years rapidly expanded his real estate holdings, building at least eight new houses on three sites in and around Honiara.
Real estate experts said the houses would have cost at least $1.7 million to build, and perhaps as much as $3.2 million.
Financial experts said the value of the houses appears out of proportion with Sogavare’s known income. Some of the construction appears to have been funded by three separate mortgages granted on a single day in 2018, worth a total of over 7 million Solomon Islands dollars (over $900,000). Financial experts said Sogavare’s known income at the time was too low to typically be granted such loans — raising questions about how he obtained them.
By Aubrey Belford (OCCRP), Dan McGarry (OCCRP), Ofani Eremae (In-Depth Solomons), Charley Piringi (In-Depth Solomons), Gina Maka’a (In-Depth Solomons), and Ronald Toito’ona (In-Depth Solomons)
Manasseh Sogavare, the four-time prime minister of Solomon Islands, speaks proudly of his humble origins as a school dropout who once earned a living cleaning toilets and making tea for British colonial officials.
The 69-year-old premier is modestly paid by the standard of world leaders, even after he received a 39-percent pay bump this month that raised his annual salary to 428,560 Solomon Islands dollars, or SBD (around US$50,000).
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. [[Photo credit: Dan McGarry/OCCRP]]
That relatively low paycheck, however, hasn’t stopped Sogavare and his wife, Emmy, from securing large loans and massively increasing their real estate wealth over the past several years, an investigation by OCCRP and In-Depth Solomons has found.
The couple have builtat least eight new houses on land they already owned in and around the capital, Honiara, reporters found. The construction costs are estimated to run as high as several million U.S. dollars.
One of the houses, a large, multi-story home in the hillside suburb of Tasahe, serves as the couple’s current residence. Other holdings include what are, by local standards, high-end rental properties in the neighborhoods of Lungga and Henderson, located near the Honiara airport.
[[Credit: Edin Pašović/OCCRP]]
Altogether, the houses are believed to have cost the Sogavares between SBD 14 million and SBD 26 million ($1.7 million and $3.2 million) to build, according to local property appraisers who reviewed land and mortgage records, satellite images, and drone photos provided by reporters. The estimates do not include additional costs, such as interior furnishings or landscaping.
The value of the properties appears out of proportion with Sogavare’s known earnings. The size and scale of the houses themselves also stand in stark contrast to the living conditions of most Honiara residents, who pay sky-high prices to live in often ramshackle and overcrowded housing.
With Sogavare seeking to secure a fifth prime ministerial term in key elections on April 17, anti-corruption experts say his fast-growing real estate portfolio — as well as the large loans he obtained to finance it — deserves closer scrutiny.
“He needs to explain to the people: Where did he get all this money from?” said Ruth Liloqula, who heads the Solomon Islands chapter of Transparency International.
Sogavare did not respond to questions from OCCRP and In-Depth Solomons.
“On a PM’s Salary? Definitely Not”
Located at the end of a secluded road overlooking the Ironbottom Sound, the Sogavares’ Tasahe home is still not widely known to the public.
The Tasahe property. [[Photo credit: Aubrey Belford/OCCRP]]
The house is situated on over 1,200 square meters of state land leased by the prime minister and his wife in 2007 but left empty for about a decade. While it’s not clear precisely when construction began, satellite imagery shows that the land went from being completely vacant in early 2017 to containing a completed structure by May 2019.
While the state-owned land it stands on cost relatively little, property valuers estimate the house itself cost between SBD 6 million and 10 million ($720,000 and $1.2 million) to build.
According to neighbors and real estate agents, the home was initially rented out to tenants. Financial records obtained by reporters show that by 2020, the Sogavares were receiving SBD 35,000 ($4,130) a month in rent.
The couple eventually moved into the home themselves after their existing residence — a plot of land in Lungga containing two houses — was damaged after it was targeted in 2021 by rioters opposed to Sogavare’s government. One house was ransacked in the incident; the other was burned to the ground.
When the Sogavares moved to Tasahe, construction crews descended on the Lungga site, demolishing the remaining structures and rapidly building three large new homes in their place.
The three newly constructed homes on the Lungga site. [[Photo Credit: Aubrey Belford/OCCRP]]
The Sogavares have also built homes at their Henderson property, which contained just one small house when they purchased the land in 2015.
Satellite images and drone photos show the plot being developed in stages, with two large houses erected sometime between early 2017 and early 2019. By April 2020, a third house had appeared, and a fourth smaller structure was added sometime in 2023. All four houses appear to be rental properties.
The Henderson property. [[Photo credit: Aubrey Belford/OCCRP]]
Accustomed to the usually sleepy pace of work in Solomon Islands, neighbors told reporters that they were stunned at the speed with which the new houses were built.
“Those of us living around here were so surprised to see three buildings completed in just less than a year, something a Solomon Islander normally couldn’t do,” said Rose Kairi, who watched the Lungga construction work from her home nearby.
Kairi said she saw trucks driven by what appeared to be Chinese workers drop construction materials at the site. Those carrying out the construction were mostly locals, she said.
Rick Houenipwela, himself a former prime minister who served directly before Sogavare’s most recent term, also lives close to the three new houses in Lungga.
Houenipwela’s own home is a sprawling structure cobbled together from typical local construction materials like gyprock, wood, and concrete blocks. He told reporters his own renovations had taken place at a pace typical of Solomon Islands: in fits and starts.
The Sogavares, he said, appeared to suffer from neither delays nor a shortage of money.
“The machines actually were just stationed there… Sometimes they would have work at night,” Houenipwela said.
“It was really quick by our standards,” he added. “And the standard definitely is high, good work. The material, of course, is of quality standard.”
While prime minister, Houenipwela drew on official income and benefits similar to Sogavare’s. He told reporters he had struggled to pay for his own home improvements, and did not understand how his successor could afford his own far more ambitious construction projects.
“On a PM’s salary? Definitely not.”
A History of Real Estate Controversies
This is not the first time the Sogavares’ real estate dealings have come into question.
In 2007, during Manasseh Sogavare’s second prime ministerial term, the couple raised eyebrows with the original purchase of the Lungga property.
The sale was made with the help of a SBD 2.5 million (about $350,000) mortgage from Australia’s ANZ bank — supported by a letter from the Embassy of Taiwan, in which the country’s government guaranteed that it would rent the property. Sogavare was a staunch ally of Taiwan at the time.
The loan and the Lungga purchase drew criticism from lawmakers, who accused him of exploiting his relationship with a foreign government for personal gain.
Sogavare defended himself, saying: “I do not see any law in this country that says once you become a prime minister you are not allowed to go to the bank and get a loan.”
“Taiwan came and said it is going to have a long term tenancy agreement with us,” he added. “Taiwan wanted to rent those two houses. What is wrong with that?”
Members of parliament, including those within his own governing majority, saw it differently. Sogavare was removed in a vote of no confidence later that year, in part due to the uproar over the land deal.
Another controversy swirled with the purchase of the Henderson land in 2015, after Sogavare had returned to serve a third term as prime minister. He and his wife bought the land, which satellite images at the time showed to contain a small dwelling, for SBD 1.5 million (about $190,000).
Questioned in parliament, Sogavare said he had obtained another loan to purchase the Henderson plot. “I wish I had 1.5 million,” Sogavare said at the time.
Land registry documents typically list all mortgages taken out against a property. However, reporters were unable to find any record there showing that Sogavare took out such a loan for Henderson at the time.
An Expensive Building Boom
While the land-purchase deals drew concerns, it has been the past six years that have seen the most dramatic expansion in the Sogavares’ real estate wealth.
In 2018, Sogavare’s lending relationship with Australia’s ANZ Bank — which had provided the mortgage for the Lungga purchase, as well as other smaller loans — ended for unclear reasons. He moved his business across to the French-owned BRED Bank, which on a single day in 2018 granted the politician and his wife three separate, and much larger mortgages worth SBD 7,161,590 ($916,688).
The loans were secured against the properties the couple had acquired in 2007 and 2015, as well as an older, more modest family home in the neighborhood of Vura.
The Vura property. [[Photo credit: Dan McGarry/OCCRP]]
There was just one problem, according to financial experts: The couple likely would not have been able to afford the loans at the time.
Manasseh Sogavare, despite his political longevity, has never served consecutive posts as prime minister in the rough-and-tumble world of Solomon Island politics. At the time BRED agreed to grant him the loans, he was serving as deputy prime minister, earning an annual government salary of just SBD 169,230 (around US$21,000), as well as a housing allowance of up to SBD 240,000 a year (roughly $30,000).
Nor did the couple have any other substantial sources of income. Company registry documents show the Sogavares had no declared business interests at the time.
That would have left the couple far short of the roughly SBD 824,000 (about $104,000) in mortgage repayments they would have owed each year (if calculated according to the central bank’s lending rate at the time, 10.7 percent, and paid out over BRED Solomon’s maximum available term of 25 years.)
Financial experts interviewed by OCCRP and In-Depth Solomons said such a shortfall would normally prompt a bank to turn the Sogavares away.
“Based on Sogavare’s income as deputy PM, it doesn’t look like that he’d be able to service that original loan just on his income alone,” said Matt Fehon, a Sydney-based forensic accountant. “There would have to be other sources.”
By 2019, Manasseh Sogavare had returned to the prime ministerial post for his current fourth term, providing a small boost to his salary. Emmy Sogavare soon launched a cafe business that made a modest income. Financial records show the couple also began renting out their former home in Vura for SBD 11,000 ($1,340) a month.
But even with those gains, the Sogavares’ earnings would still have been swallowed by mortgage payments.
[[Photo credit: Edin Pašović/OCCRP]]
Fehon said BRED Bank may have given the Sogavares a reduced interest rate or allowed them to defer repayments while they built their rental properties. The Sogavares may have also had a third party guaranteeing their loan, he said.
But such special treatment would be risky, and most international banks would have avoided issuing the loans altogether, Fehon said.
“The fact that the individuals are politically exposed persons, you’d want to do additional due diligence,” he said.
“The bank would need to look at the source of those funds, any additional funds, and make sufficient inquiries to satisfy themselves that they’re not illegal payments,” he said.
Such questions are more urgent given Sogavare’s past admission that he received a loan guarantee from Taiwan. While he was previously a staunch advocate of the self-governing island’s interests, he dramatically reversed course in his latest term by switching Solomon Islands’ diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China and signing a secretive security deal with Beijing.
The move has rattled the West and spurred an uptick in Chinese investment in Solomon Islands. China’s government also makes controversial payments known as “constituency development funds” to both Sogavare and his allies in parliament. The 2021 riots that damaged the couple’s Lungga property was driven in part by public anger over Sogavare’s switch in allegiance from Taiwan to China.
Graffiti on a building being reconstructed following the 2021 Honiara riots. [[Photo credit: Dan McGarry]]
Anti-corruption experts say that both Sogavare and BRED Bank should be transparent about how the loans were secured.
“Based on what you’ve outlined by way of the valuations, and his earning capacity, it appears he’s got a large loan and undertaken an expensive construction project that’s beyond his means,” forensic accountant Fehon said.
BRED Bank declined to comment.
“We are not allowed to comment on confidential information regarding our clients,” bank spokeswoman Leila Salimi said.
Making Up the Difference
While questions remain about the Sogavares’ ability to repay the mortgages, property valuers say the loans would not even have been enough to cover the ambitious construction spree the couple would soon embark on.
If estimates from local land valuers on the cost of construction are correct, the roughly SBD 7 million from BRED would cover only half, or even less, of the total construction costs.
[[Photo credit: Edin Pašović/OCCRP]]
Reporters were unable to find any indication on public land documents showing fresh loans to help cover the construction of the three recently constructed Lungga homes, which according to valuers’ estimates, likely cost a total of SBD 4 million to SBD 8 million (about $470,000 to $940,000) to build.
However, part of the cost appears to have been covered by an insurance payout of SBD 2 million (around $235,000), according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.
And even though the Sogavares may have lacked the initial funds to pay for their construction and loans, that would no longer be the case. With the homes complete, they can now bring in a handsome rental income that far outstrips the prime minister’s official salary.
Neighbors and real estate agents told reporters that at least some of the couple’s new homes in Lungga and Henderson are currently being rented out. Reporters were unable to learn how much these tenants are paying, but financial records from the previous rentals of two houses owned by the Sogavares, as well as estimates from local real estate agents, suggest that the couple could be earning well over SBD 100,000 ($11,800) a month in rent.
The Divine Word University or DWU Rabaul Campus officially opened a two-story administration building at the Kabaleo Teachers College in Kokopo District on Friday (5 April) 2024.
The building is named after the late Archbishop Karl Hesse, and replaces the old building that was burnt down in 2010.
Speaking at the occasion, DWU Rabaul Campus Vice President, Professor Francis Hombhanje said the national government financed the building at a cost of K2.2 million and had been constructed by Kanda Construction Limited.
“St Mary’s Vunapope School of Nursing is now a department of nursing under the faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences and is no longer school of nursing.
“OLSH Kabaleo Teachers college is now a department of Primary Teachers Education under the faculty of Education and is no longer Kabaleo Teachers college,” said Prof Hombhanje.
The DWU Rabaul Campus consists of two faculties; the faculty of Education and the faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences and has been developing new infrastructures slowly but steadily.
Delivering the speech for the Minister of Department of Higher Education, Research, Science, Technology & Sports (DHESRSTS) Don Polye, was Principal Data Analyst Franklyn Kulukal who said that true power emanates from one’s ability to learn from their mistakes and emerge stronger and wiser.
“I extend a challenge to this great institution to expand our offerings to encompass Early Childhood Education and Secondary Education. Also extending into the highest echelons of academia like Masters and PhDs. I also call on the DWU nursing program to diversify our programs into specialized branches such as pediatric nursing, critical care nursing, mental health nursing, community health nursing, obstetric & gynecological nursing and geriatric nursing,” said Ms. Kulukal.
The expansion will cater for evolving needs in health care and ensure that nurses are fully equipped and specialized with the necessary skills they need.
She further commended the leadership of Prof Hombhanje for the transformation from ashes into a magnificent building, adding that the structure stands as a testament of his exemplary leadership.
Deputy Provincial Member Boniface Gerep said that the DWU Rabaul campus has shown it’s potential by extending it’s infrastructures as it advances it’s status to be one of the leading institutions in the province and country.
“The ENB Provincial Government is embarking on improving all our existing secondary schools to meet the standards,” said Mr. Gerep.
ENB Education Planner Wilson Kairat said that the provincial administration will continue to support the institution to make sure students are given the best so they can go out and serve the people.
![Graffiti on a building being reconstructed following the 2021 Honiara riots.[[Photo credit: Dan McGarry]]](https://insidepng.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Graffiti-on-a-building-in-Honiara-1024x675.png)
