Pacific Region News

Flooding disrupts phone service in Tuvalu

FUNAFUTI, Tuvalu —International telephone and other telecommunications services to Tuvalu have been cut and are expected to be out of order until the end of the month, because of severe flooding.

Tuvalu’s weather bureau earlier predicted unusually high spring tides for this past weekend of 10.5 feet, saying it would result in the flooding of most of the capital area and many outlying islands.

Meteorologist Hilia Vavae accurately predicted that the Telecom office, the country’s only international airport and the weather office all would be partially flooded.

Most communications with the tiny country of about 10,000, located between Fiji and Kiribati, have been cut off since the flooding began on Saturday. (Radio Australia)

Fiji looking for new Internet provided

SUVA, Fiji Islands—Telecom Fiji is searching for a new international Internet service provider after services were completely shut down for parts of three days last week.

Telecom Fiji, a government monopoly, blamed U.S.-based MCI WorldCom for the service breakdown that totally disrupted e-mail and Internet services.

Ongoing problems with the service have been experienced since December, officials said.

Businesspeople have called for the telecommunications sector to be deregulated to allow for more competition.

Gov’t asked to drop imported food tax

RAROTONGA, Cook Islands—The government is being urged by business leaders to suspend a tax on imported fruits and vegetables during a period of continued dry weather.

Currently, local growers are able to supply only 20 percent of the Cooks’ fresh produce needs due to a four-month drought.

Rarotonga Chamber of Commerce President Don Beer, Jr. said the food shortage is not serious because imported produce is available. But it is available at a much higher cost, which he said is unacceptable.

“The consumers are paying far too much,” he said.

More men migrate

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga—A government migration survey shows many more males than females are leaving the country. For every woman who moves away from the kingdom, 34 men leave.

The survey involved more than 3,400 people passing through the country’s main Fua’amotu International Airport.

Forty-two percent of those surveyed said they intended to leave Tonga permanently. Forty percent were unemployed. (Pacific Islands Report)