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Pacific News In Brief For 11 October
Solomon Islands - investigate
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele says it's up to police and anti-corruption bodies in the country to investigate the findings of an audit of the government's Covid-19 economic stimulus package.
The Auditor General's report into the over US$36 million (SBD$309 million) policy paints a damning picture of potential fraud and non-compliance with government payment and procurement processes.
Speaking to local reporters in Honiara this week, Manele said it is regrettable that the noble intentions of the policy have been marred by its poor execution.
He said it was up to police, the director of public prosecutions and the country's anti-corruption institutions to investigate the allegations.
Meanwhile, Manleke is hoping his country can learn from Rwanda's post-conflict recovery.
He announced on Wednesday that the two countries established bilateral relations on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York last month.
He said their shared post-conflict history was an area of mutual understanding and a basis for future co-operation between the two countries.
Pacific/Australia - funding
The Australian Government has given AU$9 million to the Regional Pacific Nationally Determined Contribution, or NDC, Hub.
Parties to the Paris Agreement are required to set NDCs, which represent their commitment to reducing their own greenhouse gas emissions.
The Hub, a Pacific-led initiative, provides resources and expertise to help Pacific nations articulate and meet their emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Australia announced this funding will help kick-start a new phase of the Hub, as countries seek to submit new NDCs in 2025.
New Zealand/Samoa - Bill
The New Zealand Labour party is pleased the Samoan Citizenship Bill has unanimous support as it enters its second reading.
The Bill would provide a pathway to New Zealand citizenship for some people who were born in Samoa on or after 13 May 1924 and before January 1949.
Labour's Pacific Peoples spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni said its about righting a historic wrong for those born in Samoa who had their citizenship revoked under a 1982 Act.
The second reading is expected to take place on or before next Thursday.
Guam - compensation
Guam's US Congressman James Moylan says negotiations to provide compensation to nuclear radiation survivors will continue regardless of the US election result.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is yet to approve a deal to reinstate the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act (RECA).
Survivors of radiation exposure in Guam have been fighting to be included in RECA for 23 years and fear the bill before Congress will expire by the end of the year.
Moylan said they are making strong progress and it's not too late.
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