Pacific Region News

Marshall Islands Dev’t Bank posts $600K loses

MAJURO, Marshall Islands — The Marshall Islands Development Bank operated at a loss of more than $600,000 in fiscal year 1997, according to a just-released report by the Office of the Auditor General.

In addition, of a total of $21,460,242 in loans and interest due to the bank, more than 70 percent is considered uncollectable.

Overall, bad debts increased by more than $230,000 from 1996 to 1997, to a total of $1.2 million in FY 1997, the audit said.

Ted Turner donates $2.3M for Pacific sex education

NADI, Fiji Islands — Teenage sex education in the Pacific Islands region will be supported by a $2.34 million grant from a foundation established by billionaire communications entrepreneur Ted Turner, the United Nations Population Fund announced during a regional meeting Friday.

Fund regional director Jose Ferraris said the grant will be used for sex education programs beginning next year in eight Pacific Island countries, including the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu

Ferraris said rising populations and increased rates of sexually transmitted diseases and teenage pregnancies are causes for concern throughout the region.

Tuvalu earns $1.28M from Taiwan fishing

FUNAFUTI, Tuvalu –The government reports earnings of $1.28 million so far this year from Taiwan fishing companies.

The companies pay license fees to permit their longline and purse seine fishing vessels to catch tuna in Tuvalu’s territorial waters.

Fiji receives $307K in insurance money

SUVA, Fiji Islands — Air Fiji has received an insurance payment of $307,062 for the Bandeirante commuter plane that crashed in a mountainous area minutes after leaving Suva’s Nausori Airport last July.

Seventeen persons, including the pilot and co-pilot, were killed.

Air Fiji’s finance manager, David Pitt, said the money belongs to the company and will not be given to families of the victims. “There is a separate cover for this, which is a matter for each relative to settle and I cannot disclose the amount,” he said.

Experts from New Zealand and Australia were flown into the country to investigate the cause of the crash, but their findings have not yet been released.

Cook Islands has new PM

RAROTONGA, Cook Islands — Prime Minister Dr. Joe Williams resigned Wednesday morning to avoid a vote of no confidence vote in Parliament.

Later in the day, opposition leader Dr. Terepai Moate was sworn in as the new Cook Islands leader together with Deputy Prime Minister Norman George.

Moate told reporters that his first mission as prime minister will be to improve the country’s economic situation.

Samoan woman seeks seat in New Zealand parliament

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A Samoan woman, Luamanuvao Winnie Laban, is campaigning to become the first Pacific Island woman member of the New Zealand parliament. National elections take place next week.

Campaigning on the South Island, Laban said 15.9 percent of Pacific Islanders in the country are unemployed and 49 percent live in sub-standard housing.

“There are considerable hurdles that Pacific Islanders have to overcome,” she said.

Residents of the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau hold New Zealand citizenship. There also is a significant Samoan and Tongan population in New Zealand.

Shell money eyed as legal tender

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea — East New Britain province is considering using traditional shell money, tabu, in addition to coins and bills as legal tender.

Deputy Governor Leo Dion said some churches, local level governments, village courts and local markets already accept tabu.

Dion said the existing widespread use of shell money in the province warrants introduction of a dual currency.

Internet restrictions for Fiji civil servants

SUVA, Fiji Islands — The government has placed restrictions on the use of Internet services after discovering that civil servants spend considerable time accessing non-work related sites, including pornographic and gambling services.

Software installed this week now blocks access to the disapproved sites.

Information technology manager Akuila Yabaki said the software should save taxpayers thousands of dollars every month and will help “make sure people don’t waste government time.”

There are about 1,000 registered users of Internet services in 52 government departments.