WORLD VISION AND MPs HELD TALKS ON SHELTER PROJECTS

Monday 31st March 2008

Members of Parliament from constituencies affected by last April’s Quake and Tsunami in the Western and Choiseul province’s held talks with World Vision Officials on Shelter Rehabilitation in affected Provinces last Wednesday.

Head of the National Coordination Unit (NCU) within the Ministry of Finance, Ronnie Piva said the aim of the meeting was to avoid duplication of approaches for the “Shelter Projects” in Western and Choiseul Provinces.

MP’s present at the meeting was Hon. Job Duddley Tausinga, Hon. Peter Boyers, Hon. Leslie Boseto and Hon. Milner Tozaka as well as representatives from these affected Constituencies.

Also present at the meeting are officials from the Prime Ministers Office and members of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury.

Following the meeting a coordination approach will be taken between MP’s that attended and World Vision.

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CUSTOMS ‘GO LIVE’ ON 1ST APRIL

Thursday 27th March 2008

Solomon Islands Customs are ‘going live’ with a new computerized system. Called PC/Trade, the system will modernize Customs procedures and aims to increase the speed and reduce the cost of bringing goods in and out of the country.

In announcing the introduction of the PC/Trade system, the Minister of Finance and Treasury, Hon. Snyder Rini, said this is good news and positive initiative. He said the modernization program will help bring Solomon Islands Customs and Excise Division up to international standards.

“The PC/Trade system is also good news for doing business in Solomon Islands because it will speed up international trade to and from the country, conditional upon internal Customs Risk Management procedures” Mr Rini said.

PC/Trade is Customs software developed by Statistics New Zealand (a New Zealand Government Agency) for a number of Pacific Island countries to process import and export entries and at the same time provides valuable trade statistics.

Its installation in Solomon Islands Customs is one of the final steps of a joint Government-RAMSI project with support from NZAID to help modernize and streamline customs processes and procedures.

Also welcoming the PC/Trade initiative, the Comptroller of Customs, Mr. Daniel Rofeta said, the program will make Customs more effective, efficient and equitable.

“This project will assist in the enforcement of laws and regulations governing cargo movements across the borders of the Solomon Islands,” Mr. Rofeta said.

He said the PC/Trade system builds on the recent introduction of computer flash drives for Traders to use to automatically upload electronic entries.

The new electronic forms, called eSAD, are easy to use and automatically calculate duties, exchange rates, and other information. Importers and exporters have been using the new eSAD’s since November 2007 and to date, Customs have trained around 50 Trading organizations and over 100 people in using the new eSAD entry form.

‘After 1 April, there will be increased benefits for using the new eSAD’s with the introduction of the new system and the automatic upload facility’, Mr. Rofeta said.

RAMSI Development Coordinator Paul Kelly also said that the project supports RAMSI’s efforts to increase economic activity in Solomon Islands.

“The Solomon Islands Customs and Excise Division in partnership with RAMSI and NZAID have been working hard to build the capacity of Customs and Excise Division to improve revenue collection, increase border integrity and facilitate trade. The introduction of this IT system will indeed assist Customs to achieve those goals,” Mr Kelly said.

NZAID has been working with the Customs and Excise Division to introduce PC/Trade for the past few years. This has consisted of technical assistance from Statistics NZ, and, more recently, funding for hardware and software to run the new system and to electronically connect Customs Offices at Point Cruz, the Wharf and the Airport.

NZAID Manager Guy Redding said they were pleased to be able to support this SIG/RAMSI partnership.

“Sharing Statistics New Zealand’s technology and skills will enable Solomon Islands Customs to significantly reduce the time it takes to clear imports and exports, conditional on internal Customs Risk Management Procedures. It should also cut processing costs for both government and business, while providing accurate records as well as vital economic data for the publication of government reports such as balance of payments."

Solomon Islands Customs would like to express its appreciation to the Traders of the Solomon Islands for their patience and assistance with the changes the project has bought about so far and hope the Trading community will support the new system and procedures as Customs transition to PC/Trade.

Solomon Islands Customs will release Guidelines for more details about how 1st April will affect procedures.

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