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John Roughan - Latest News [Page 2]
The Kemakeza Government: Before RAMSI and After!
Wednesday, 28 December 2005, 1:19 pm | John Roughan
Let's make it clear from the start. The Kemakeza government gained significant feathers for its cap while running the Solomon Islands nation. For the first time in our country's quarter of a century's history an elected government had actually stayed in the seat ... More >>
John Roughan: Winning the Kwaso War!
Monday, 19 December 2005, 9:50 pm | John Roughan
Government authorities have rightly become alarmed with the making, distribution and sale of the local home brew, Kwaso, in and around Honiara town and further afield. In a climate of expensive legally produced alcohol--a single bottle of locally brewed ... More >>
Solomons - Is It Time To Push The Panic Button?
Tuesday, 29 November 2005, 8:52 am | John Roughan
Solomon Islands leaders normally wait until the last minute before 'leaping' to action. This is especially true when it comes to preparing for major national disasters. Recall the Level 5 cyclone which roared through Tikopia a few years back. A few New ... More >>
John Roughan: The Dog Ate My Homework!
Monday, 14 November 2005, 1:36 pm | John Roughan
These words were the creation of a young school kid to excuse himself for not fronting up with a homework assignment. The class teacher could give such a student an 'A' for clever thinking but would certainly lecture the boy for failing to turn in his ... More >>
John Roughan: Movement But Little Change!
Monday, 7 November 2005, 2:51 pm | John Roughan
Last week's meeting with Solomon's major donor partners saw a lot of movement but little basic change. The nation's recent five years of social turmoil, although recognized as the most fundamental change-event of our short history, is too often viewed as ... More >>
John Roughan: PIF Guest Worker Scheme & More
Monday, 31 October 2005, 12:57 am | John Roughan
Last week's Pacific Islands Forum meeting in PNG focused on many different areas of life dear to national leaders and their people across the Pacific. Certainly one hot topic was the idea of allowing unskilled island workers into the region's two ... More >>
Solomon Is. Poverty and Power!
Tuesday, 25 October 2005, 8:39 am | John Roughan
Powerful people are never poor. The poor, on the other hand, never have power. No matter how poverty is spelt out--badly paid job, poor or no education, constant illness, decaying homes, unsafe surroundings--the root cause always leads back to a lack of ... More >>
John Roughan: Decent Into Tribalism!
Monday, 17 October 2005, 11:36 am | John Roughan
Recently an overseas newspaper ran this headline about the likely outcome of what would happen if Melanesian tribes would suffer a law and order breakdown. The only thing left to local society, the newspaper writer thought, would be chaos, destruction, ... More >>
Solomon Islands Royalty!
Monday, 26 September 2005, 9:31 am | John Roughan
Solomon Islands doesn't have a king. Its Queen resides more than 10,000 miles away in another country. But we certainly do have Royalty! Our Royal Family comes about not through birth or adoption but by being elected into parliament. Once a man reaches ... More >>
John Roughan: Good On You, Allan!
Monday, 19 September 2005, 1:55 pm | John Roughan
The United Nations heard an unfamiliar sound last week. After 60 years of striding like a giant across the international stage, the UN was forced to listen to some stinging remarks from a small Pacific Islands country's PM. Outside the Pacific, ... More >>
John Roughan: Fly Into Kira Kira First, Then Walk!
Monday, 12 September 2005, 12:53 am | John Roughan
The Solomons fastest growing industry is the overseas consultant . . . specialists who jet into Henderson Airport, upon landing hail an air conditioned taxi for the brief ride to the country's version of a 'five star hotel', Mendana, King Solomon, ... More >>
John Roughan: A Creeping Disaster?
Monday, 5 September 2005, 1:05 pm | John Roughan
'Rapid' disasters--tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, even cyclones--come suddenly and most go away almost as quickly. All disasters, however, change people's lives, alter their way of thinking but most of the time, those affected by nature's power ... More >>
John Roughan: Listening With Our Third Ear!
Monday, 29 August 2005, 4:03 pm | John Roughan
A mother constantly listens out to her kids playing around the house. Most of the time she only half listens to their constant chatter, small yells and some time cries and usually pays little attention. That is until her third ear catches a different ... More >>
John Roughan: Better But Still Failing!
Monday, 22 August 2005, 3:11 pm | John Roughan
SIDT's latest Report Card (No. 7) makes it clear that the Kemakeza Government continues to fail its people. In spite of millions of dollars of overseas aid-already a half billion dollars and still counting- a tremendous security blanket provided by RAMSI's ... More >>
Gearing up for national elections!
Tuesday, 9 August 2005, 3:04 pm | John Roughan
In less than six months--probably February, 2006--Solomon Islanders vote in a new parliament. Present day members, however, are anxiously gearing themselves up for re-election. They're using an old fashioned method--create a new party--as usual, ... More >>
Living In The 21st C. But Thinking In The 20tth!
Monday, 1 August 2005, 1:42 pm | John Roughan
The world has well moved in to a new century but our leadership remains stuck in the last one. They think last century while living in a brand new one . . . a sure recipe for disaster. For instance, only a few years ago, before the Social Unrest ... More >>
John Roughan: Development? It's A Journey!
Thursday, 28 July 2005, 2:53 pm | John Roughan
Big Men who study science say that Albert Einstein's ability to use word-pictures, e.g. moving train, large wall clock, etc. to explain the nature of light, made a big difference. This made his theories on the subject of relativity clearer to the ... More >>
John Roughan: From Law Maker to Project Funder!
Monday, 18 July 2005, 4:08 pm | John Roughan
Solomon Mamaloni hurt this country many times and in many ways but one of his costliest errors was to introduce the Constituency Development Fund . . . currently called the Rural Constituency Development Fund (RCDF). From its first days in 1993, parliamentarians ... More >>
John Roughan: More About SIG Than RAMSI!
Tuesday, 12 July 2005, 11:24 am | John Roughan
Last week a major study about RAMSI, authored by the Pacific Forum's Eminent Persons Group (EPG), was made public. The Solomon Islands Government must be congratulated for publishing this critical study done by the three-person team--Pacific Forum's ... More >>
John Roughan: Make Poverty History!
Monday, 4 July 2005, 12:53 am | John Roughan
On stages across the world on Sunday last a fierce campaign was waged to end African poverty. 10 live concerts from Japan through US, Canada, South Africa, Europe and ending up in London held musical specials underlining the idea to 'make poverty history'. ... More >>
