Papua
New Guinea – election
The writs for the Local Level
Government elections in Papua New Guinea have been signed by
the Minister for Provincial and Local Level Government
Affairs, Soroei Eoe, on Thursday, marking the beginning of
the election process.
Nomination are now open as
people prepare to contest for 374 local level government
(LLG) spots, and 6,916 wards across PNG.
In the seven
Highlands provinces, along with Morobe, the LLG presidents
will be chosen indirectly by ward councillors.
But in
the other provinces voters will elect both the ward
councillors and LLG presidents.
This marks the first
time the Electoral Commission will implement both voting
methods simultaneously.
Samoa – shooting
A man
has admitted fatally shooting a 12-year-old in his sleeping
net, when he appeared in the Supreme Court in
Samoa.
The Samoa Observer reported the
27-year-old from the Salelavalu in Savai’i could face a
minimum of 17 years in jail.
The newspaper said the
defendant became angry after the boy reported an
extramarital affair the man had with the youth’s
sister.
The accused has been remanded in custody for
sentencing.
Pacific – climate
A high-level
Pacific Islands Forum delegation has met with US
officials.
The chair of the Pacific Islands Forum
(PIF) and Prime Minister of Tonga, ‘Aisake Eke, and the
Forum’s Secretary-General, Baron Waqa, are in the US as part
of efforts to secure funding for the Pacific Resilience
Facility.
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The facility is a Pacific-based climate fund
for community resilience building.
A meeting with the
US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz focused on
strengthening engagement between the PIF and the
US.
The Forum delegation also met with the US Deputy
Secretary of State, Christopher Landau.
The United
States has been a Forum dialogue partner since
1989.
Papua New Guinea – justice
Inmates in
Papua New Guinea, who are in jail while awaiting court
appearances, have appealed to the prime minister to consider
releasing them as part of the country’s anniversary
celebrations.
PNG is celebrating 50 years of
independence this year.
The Post-Courier
reported their call was relayed to PM James Marape on Easter
Monday by Acting Commissioner of Correctional Services,
Bernard Nepo.
He said a lot of prisoners have been in
the prison system for between 5-10 years “without having
justice served on them”.
Nepo said this group of
inmates and others who qualify needed to be released on
parole during the country’s golden jubilee.
Marape
said he does not have that authority but justice services
will look into this process.
Fiji –
economy
The Fiji government has achieved a fiscal
surplus for the first quarter of the 2024-25 financial year,
marking the first surplus since late 2019.
This is
stated by Westpac in its latest quarterly update on the
Fijian economy, published on Tuesday.
Westpac said
that positive outcomes were driven by higher tax collections
and effective compliance measures, resulting in government
revenue exceeding forecasts, while expenditures lagged
behind.
However, they also expected Fiji’s economy to
grow by 2.7 percent in 2025, lower than an earlier
projection of 3.4 percent.
They noted that tourism
arrival numbers are down compared to where they would
normally be.
Westpac stated the downturn in visitor
arrivals during the first quarter of 2025 raises concerns
about the domestic economic outlook, compounded by global
uncertainty.
Pacific – police
New Zealand’s
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers is travelling to Fiji
and Samoa next week.
PMN reported Mr Chambers
plans to meet with police leaders and teams in Fiji and
Samoa.
Chambers said New Zealand Police is dedicated
to being easy to work with and offering support, especially
during challenging times.
He leaves for Fiji on 28
April.
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