SOLA – From cago sip I no kam long Sola longtaem finis, evri samting long stoa I bin finis wantaem, olsem raes, kerosin, flaoa mo fuel. I bin gat no paoa kasem tu wik, olsem no bred, olsem evri samting. Semak, sam man I no gat karen blong karem kakai hemi no save kasem long nara ples. Ol generator long Sola I no bin wok, I bin gat no electricity longtaem, mo office blong Provins I no save usum generator mo usum bot blong travel. Hemi wan bigfala problem blong Sola mo ol aelan blong Bankis mo Torres se supply blong sip I smol wan nomo mo irregular. Ol resident blong Sola oli bin usum kandel nomo wetem oil blong kokonas blong mekem smol laet long naet, be town ia I bin dak / mo quiet tumas. Hemi wan fasin blong rural area we I difren tumas long ol rich ples long Vanuatu olsem Efate o Santo, be hemi no gat wan solution I kam kwiktaem. Ol Man Torba ia I gat tingting se Torba hemi always las wan long evri province long Vanuatu, be problem blong kakai ia hemi bigwan mo Torba Times bae I mekem wan special report blong hem long fiuja issue.
National Census Begins for Torba
SOLA – The 2007 National Census will take place between 13 August-21 September all across Torba. Surveyors have converged on Sola, the week of 6-10 August, to undergo a statistics workshop with coordinator Dudley Woksen. The Torba Times will cover this important issue in the next issue.
KOMUNITI NOTICES
Sapos yu gat wan notice olsem: fundraising, birthday, mared, ol event, yu save telem long Torba Times I putum
Tourism Office blong Province I telem se I kat wan trade show blong kastom ekonomi long evri aelan long Bankis long yia ia. Trade show ia hemi wan bigfala samting blong yumi blong promotem kastom ekonomi long 2007. Long Vanua Lava, show ia I tekem ples long Vureas Bay, 11-14 Septemba, mo long Sola hemi 12-14 Septemba.The Torba Times I wantem telem Happy Birtday long Father Baldwin Lonsdale we hemi kasem 59 yia long 5 Okis. Many happy returns of the day!
Wan bigfala fundraising I tekem ples long Friday, 10 Okis long Maket Haos blong tufala komuniti blong Mota mo Mota Lava, blong karem money blong bildim nufala Sola Cathedral. I kat fulap kakai mo kava – kam suportem yumi evrione!
Ol pipol blong Mota oli telem se oli save selem yam long Sola, sapos yu wantem wan basket blong hem, hemi 500VT long wan, toktok wetem Foster long Province.
THE TORBA TIMES
Issue 5, 10 August 2007 Price: 50VT
Newspaper Blong Yumi Long Torba
TORBA MINISTER ARRESTED! ALLEGED PLOT TO DEFRAUD VANUATU GOVERNMENT
PORT VILA, SOLA – Independence Day celebrations in the Banks Islands were disrupted Monday, 30 July, by heavy rains – and rumours of an unusual reshuffle in the Prime Minister’s cabinet, leading to Torba MP Mr. Dunstan Hilton losing his position as Youth and Sport Minister. Radio New Zealand International has reported that Prime Minister Ham Lini has brought the Vanuaaku Pati back into the coalition after its removal two months ago, with the VP president Edward Natapei replacing Sato Kilman as his deputy. Mr Lini says he has dismissed Mr Kilman’s People’s /Lawyers at court, Sola (archive photo)
Progressive Party from government because of the connection of some PPP members to a recent scam said to be Vanuatu’s biggest bank fraud. He says he has removed the Union of Moderate Parties members to make room for the VP in the coalition.
Read all about it – Special Report on Page 2!
Also in this issue:
Earthquake hits the Banks! Full report on page 3
Fundraising continues for new Sola Cathedral – page 3
Supply shortage in Sola: I no gat raes, kerosin mo evri samting – page 4
“At the moment I have removed them all. Because at the moment there’s the Ministry of Youth and Sport (portfolio) that has not been filled, and maybe there’s also another portfolio that has been given to a member of parliament to go off on his own and leave the party. But if things go strong maybe I’ll have to see how I can accommodate the two UMP MPs in these portfolios, if it needs to.” Ham Lini says the coalition has the support of at least 30 MPs in the 52-seat house. The alleged Bank fraud is reported to involve not only MPs but senior police figures as well. Radio Fiji reported that the Vanuatu police force is investigating allegations that some of its members may have known about plans by an alleged fraudster to flee the country. Radio Australia quotes the Vanuatu Daily Post as reporting police chief of staff Willie Ben has confirmed there’s an internal probe into claims of police collaboration with the Fiji fugitive Salendra Sen Sinha. The Fijian is wanted for questioning in connection with Vanuatu's biggest ever bank fraud. The Daily Post for July 25, meanwhile, reported the arrest of former police officer James Wetas – of Gaua – and two French citizens, Edward Venillni and Oliver Jover, whose yacht took Fijian conman Sinha from Vanuatu to Fiji. Unconfirmed reports suggest several police officers may be involved in
P. 2 / the alleged fraud alongside MPs. The same unconfirmed reports suggest that the nature of the alleged fraud was of cheques received from the Vanuatu government by the suspects, which were then taken to the Fijian man and their amount altered. The cheques – now for a significant amount of money more than previously – were then taken to the bank and cashed. The same sources suggest the nature of the alleged fraud was in the region of 22 million vatu – however this has now been put at 42 millon. This is a blow to the PPP – and to Torba, which is under-represented in Parliament with only two MPs. Former Minister Mr. Dunstan Hilton has recently visited the island of Mota Lava, reportedly giving each village one ton of cement. Mr. Hilton was arrested Sunday 5 August on charges relating to the fraud. The Solomon Star, meanwhile, reported that the leader of the UMP (Union of Moderate Parties) is determined to get back into government. Mr. Vohor, was was the Prime Minister in 2004, said he doesn’t know the exact reason for his dismissal from the coalition. A spokesman for the Torba Provincial Government said, “We are disappointed in losing a representative of Torba in government, but we must bear in mind that all men are innocent until proven guilty. People must respect the law of Vanuatu whether they are big men or not, and leaders must follow the same law as everyone.”
Earthquake hits the Banks!
LUGANVILLE, SOLA – at the early hours of the morning on Thursday, 2 August, a powerful earthquake hit Vanuatu. The quake – measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, occurred at 04:09, 45km southeast of Santo, at a depth of around 150km below the Pacific Ocean surface, news agency Reuters reported. "It's a pretty good size, but it's deep and there is no tsunami threat. It's aways out to sea," Geophysicist Robert Cessaro at the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center told Reuters. Jesse Benjamin, a spokesman for the Vanuatu government meteorological office, said the quake was felt strongly on Santo. "There are cracks in the roads, cracks in the offices, the power went down and computers, but we do not expect major damage," he said from the capital Port Vila. The earthquake, spreading out of its source, hit the Banks Islands in the early morning, reportedly destroying some property in Mere Lava and reaching as far as Vanua Lava, shaking the ground. Concerned residents were seen leaving their homes in the dark and shining torches towards the sea, looking to see if the solwota begins to recede – the warning sigh of a tsunami. This is the second earthquake to hit the banks in four months, being preceded by a strongly-felt quake at the end of April. A further tremor hit the Banks
P. 3 / Monday, 6 August, described by one resident as a “short, sharp shock”. Old residents of the village of Mosina on Vanua Lava still remember the earthquake that destroyed their village in the 1940s. One old man who was then a boy remembers seeing death and destruction. “I saw a man run down the road with a hurricane lamp,” he told the Torba Times, “when the ground simply opened up and swallowed him.” The village of Vetuboso, which was also destroyed in the quake, had since abandoned its location on the shore and moved to higher ground, while Mosina itself had since spread out and away from the ocean.
Funds Raised for New Sola Cathedral
SOLA – The Anglican Diocese of the Banks and Torres, whose headquarters is in Sola, together with all local communities, is working to raise funds for a new cathedral to be built. Chairman for the committee is Mr. Clifton Lonsdale, Secretary is Mr. Reginald Tarilaka, Treasurers are Mrs. Doreen Eldad and Mrs. RoAnn Sarai. Committee Secretary has told the Torba Times: “We are organizing several fundraising events and are now on our way to achieving our goal of building the new cathedral, but we need the support of the community in this continuing challenge.”