The Island Press

Reports from the papers, compiled by John Carter

THE MINISTRY of Natural Resources has said it has no evidence of any large scale gold smuggling out of Solomon Is lands as claimed by the Minister of Edu cation and Training, Mr Joini Tutua, in a radio interview recently.

Mr Tutua earlier claimed on SIBC that about Sls72 million worth of gold has been smuggled out of the country.

The Ministry of Natural Resources said in a press statement that to produce $72 million worth of gold would require about 170,000 people working with prospecting pans for six hours a day for 200 days a year.

This would be about 60 per cent of the to tal population of Solomon Islands.

From The Nius , Honiara I AM ATTEMPTING to co-ordinate a sponsorship scheme to help the villagers of Labu Tali preserve their turtles.

The details are rather up in the air at present, but if you would be interested in preserving a nest (it would cost you 20 kina!) then give me a ring .. .

If you do visit the turtles please don’t get involved in the usual tourist tricks of being photographed riding them etc. Give them as little disturbance as possible.

The villagers are honest responsible people There is a good chance the schemes could work.

So far as I have been able to find out, it is technically ILLEGAL to purchase tur tle eggs in the local markets Bob Lockhart From The Reporter , the PNG Univer sity of Technology, Lae THE UNIVERSITY of the South Pacific has expelled a Micronesian student for trying to set fire to the university’s dining hall. The 25-year-old student, from Truk in the Federated States of Micronesia, was convicted by the Suva Magistrate’s Court and given a suspended sentence. The court was told he set fire to the dining hall doors as he was angry over having to pay for his meals. The student left for Truk on Monday.

From the Cook Islands News , Rarotonga WESTERN SAMOA has recorded the first case of car theft in its history, and it seems to have been a professional job.

A man has been charged in connection with the disappearance of a Toyota pickup from the market.

It is alleged the blue pickup was later painted black, the engine changed and other alterations made.

From Tahi Tala Niue , Niue

THE OFFICE OF the Ombudsman has revealed that two thirds of complaints handled by the Ombudsman were made by public servants (government employ ees) about their employment.

This was stated in the Ombudsman Mr Isaac Qoloni’s Mid-Year report released in Honiara recently.

Government employees complained about everything from basic pay, allow ances, promotion and transfers, disci pline, dismissal, redundancy payments, pensions and other benefits, the report went on to say.

From The Nius , Honiara THE ANNUAL Report of the Niue Pub lic Service Commission sparked lively comments on the behaviour of public servants.

The member for Tuapa Mr Tama Po simani began by commenting on the num ber of public servants observed to be buying liquor from the Bond Store during working hours. It was not only the prob lem of purchasing of liquor, but there were also those public servants who were either drunk or who are actually drinking while on thejob.

Mr Posimani asked why these of fenders should not be dismissed, for they would be endangering the lives of those working alongside them.

From To hi Tala Niue, Niue A NEWLY arrived wife of a contract worker in Port Moresby was overheard discussing how much she enjoyed the life style here. “At home in the UK, I was con sidered a drunk. Out here, I’m considered perfectly normal,” she said.

From The Drum, Papua New Guinea Post-Courier , Port Moresby A 24-YEAR-OLD man from Tuapa, Mr Sione Ikitoa, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment when he was found guilty of cultivating cannabis (marijuana).

Police found two cannabis plants grow ing on Ikitoa’s taro plot.

Ikitoa told the court that he planted the seeds after receiving them from his brother in New Zealand to see if they would grow.

Only two plants grew. He had harvested leaves from one cannabis plant and smoked them.

Ikitoa was permitted weekend leave from prison to work on Saturdays on his taro garden to support his elderly grand parents. The court also ordered that he at tend church on Sunday.

From Tohi Tala Niue , Niue Island