lett and Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare at the Business Excellence Awards 2019.
Mr Bartlett uttered this when delivering his official remarks at the Business Excellence Awards (BEA) on Saturday 30th November at the Coral Sea Resort and Casino.
“If we can push improvements in corporate and Institutional Governance, political and social stability, sound economic management we can achieve more in the next five years than we have in the last four decades,” he said.
He said the delivery of essential services is set to broaden and improve with large infrastructure projects planned for our key State-Owned Enterprises (SOE).
“Solomon Water, Solomon Power and the Solomon Islands Ports Authority (SIPA) all with ambitious plans and capital infrastructure programs that will further develop and broaden accessibility, quality and affordability of services much needed in our economic and social development. Water, Electricity and Trade facilitation are some of the basics of any successful economy and society.
“We as a people are also embarking on the largest single infrastructure program our nation has undertaken and is only successful with a partnership with multilateral donors and resource owners and our Government. This is the Tina River Hydro Project,” the SICCI Chair highlighted.
He also highlighted that Solomon Islands is set to host the largest sporting event in the Pacific region with the construction of much needed sporting facilities that will leave a legacy that we all want to be proud of.
“Successful delivery of the Pacific Games will give our capital a face lift and provide sporting facilities that our young populace can enjoy,” he said.
Connectivity with roads and infrastructure with the planned Airport Upgrade, East Honiara Road and other infrastructure developments will also improve Solomon Islands as a tourist and investment destination.
Bina Harbor Project will also ensure development progress.
Mr Bartlett said this all has to be achieved in the next five years.
“And this will only be achievable with successful partnerships,” Mr Bartlett said, re-emphasizing the theme for the BEA 2019 ‘Partnerships for a Shared Future’.
“41 years ago, on the 7th July 1978 we were bestowed the destiny of self-rule and self-Governance. We woke up on the 8th of July 1978, reborn as independent people. We woke up that morning with the greatest of responsibilities to build this great nation. Today, for me, the concept has not changed, that responsibility has not left us. We must act like every day is the 8th of July 1978 with this great task ahead of us. We took the difficult path many years ago to seek peace, progress and prosperity by looking within ourselves for nationhood building,” he said.
He continued: “The general rhetoric on development, the headline news, our discussions in the street, betel-nut markets and around the dinner tables. These conversations and discussions always seem to be focused on external parties and looking out outwards.
“But there is always a party that we seem to forget. That party is not a sovereign nation from the East or the West. It is the party amongst us tonight. Our forefathers did not aspire to be independent only to become dependent – let us always keep their aspirations in our hearts.
SICCI Board Chairman, Jay Bartlett welcoming Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare to the Business Excellence Awards 2019 at the Coral See Resort on Saturday.
Beginning in the 19th century, the US government funded a system of boarding schools where hundreds of thousands of Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families, taught to shun their cultural heritage and assimilate to white Christian customs. Also known as “Indian residential schools”, the system included at least 367 institutions run by various US church groups from 1819 until the end of the 1960s. According to former attendees, children were poorly cared for and many endured physical abuse, sexual abuse and forced labour.
Now the US Department of the Interior wants an investigation with a focus on finding records of children who died while they attended the schools and locating unmarked graves. The investigation’s announcement followed recent discoveries of nearly 1,000 secret graves at three former schools for Indigenous children in Canada.
A modern and comprehensive study of boarding schools and their forced assimilation policies has never been done by the US government, and much of its history – including the official number of schools and its attendees – is still not known. Advocates of boarding school survivors say the institutions have been a major source of intergenerational trauma felt in Native American communities to this day.
In this episode of The Stream, we’ll discuss the legacy of Native American boarding schools and what a federal investigation of its abuses will mean to Native communities.
Wow, this years Aussie Millions has zipped past! We are pretty much on the home stretch and we’ve seen a bit of everything so far.
Stewart Scott became the first ever Australian winner of the biggest tournament outside of the United States, taking home $2,000,000 AUD and the coveted 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event Bracelet. All Aussie Poker congratulates Stewart on his life changing tournament win.
At the moment we have a few events in the air.
The first being Event #16 $10,200 AUD H.O.R.S.E - With a big buy-in mixed game event, we expected a stacked field and we got exactly that. Notable entrants include Tony G, Jeff Lisandro, Joe Hachem, Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros, last years main event winner and Russian phenom Alexander Kostritsyn, Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson, Lee Nelson, WSOP Main Event Runner-up Ivan Demidov, Jeff Madsen, Gary Benson, Mel Judah, Michael Binger, Dan Shak and a few others.
With plenty of action left in this one, stay tuned to see which big gun will own this title.
Another event in play at the moment is Event #17 $1,100 No Limit Hold’em Turbo – Which had 159 players ante up for the speed title.
Currently we are sitting with 30 players left in the tournament.
But the only other event in play at the moment is probably the most anticipated as well.
The $1 Million Cash Game.
Right now we only have the 2 players battling it out, with Patrik Antonius and the arguably the hottest internet high stakes player Tom ‘Durrrr’ Dwan.
With this format it’s basically whatever the players want, as this is a televised event, it’s most likely causing the producers a massive headache. Especially when players are requesting games other than the easy viewing of no limit hold’em. At the moment the 2 are playing 20 hands of No Limit Hold’em and then 20 hands of Pot Limit Omaha. But talk of mixed games have been mentioned.
It’s called the $1 Million Cash Game, but that doesn’t mean players are restricted to $1 Million. Antonius came to the table first and brang with him a stack of various denominations of chips totally to $1,500,000 AUD. Dwan showed up about half an hour later topping his opponents entry to bring in for $2,000,000 AUD. Even though he has more money on the table, it’s Antonius who has the small edge winning a few 50k + pots, but nothing to dent the Dwan stack.
Both players have spoken about how to recruit other players to the game. Dwan coming up with the idea of heading the super high rollers rooms and offering players $20,000 for playing 100 hands with them. While Antonius suggested offering a 20% rebate of any loss incurred while playing. Still no other players have arrived.Now me and my SO live with one another, but I’m still picking her up from work in a Ford Mustang. Fifty stars accompanying thirteen stripes are emblazoned on the driver side door. She works as a nurse at the local hospital, and I’m picking her up near the end of her 12-hour shift. She’s just finished working up a policemanofficer, who was grazed by gunfire, defending a girl scout from an angry mob of freeloading thugs wanting free cookies. But I don’t know that part yet, I’ll hear that over dinner. “Come on babe, we’re going to the DoubleSmoke Burger &amp; Cue tonight”. Her eyes light up. We haven’t been on a real date in ages, as we both volunteer (on different schedules) for neighborhood patrol to keep our streets safe. We arrive, and there’s a door beggar collecting donations for Samaritan’s purse to help victims of domestic abuse. Of course, I donate $5 to help the less fortunate, and head inside. 

As we enter the sports bar, our eyes adjust to the glow of baseball games lighting every speckle of bar and every table. She orders their standard burger &amp; fries, I order the deluxe. “Would you like Ketchup, Mustard, Lettuce, Onion, and Tomato on that, Sir?” the waiter asks. “All the way”, I reply, “as long as the mustard isn’t French’s”. SO tells me about the policemanofficer she was getting vitals done for, and about his harrowing story of bravery. I almost wish I could be such a man, but my white-collar job offers about as much excitement as I can stand at this age. Last week there was another round of layoffs, and I barely made the cut. Offshoring, you know? As the food comes out, I smile as I notice the red, white, and blue candles burning on both burgers. SO smiles. She had told