NATIONAL PARLIAMENT OF
DAILY HANSARD
FIRST MEETING – EIGHTH
SESSION
The Speaker, Rt Hon Sir Peter Kenilorea took the Chair
at
Prayers.
ATTENDANCE
At prayers all members were present with
the exception of the Ministers for Police & National Security, Home
Affairs, National Reform & Aid Coordination, Culture & Tourism, Health
& Medical Services, Finance & Treasury, Provincial Government &
Constituency Development and members for Small Malaita, East Guadalcanal,
Marovo, East Makira and North West Guadalcanal.
MOTIONS
Motion of Sine Die
Hon SOGAVARE: Mr Speaker, in
accordance with Standing Orders 8(3), I beg to move “that at the adjournment of
Parliament on
Mr Speaker, in moving the motion, I
would like to take the opportunity to assure the people of this nation that
they have in place a government that is made up of very capable leaders who
have the concern for the people at heart and will endeavour to implement
development strategies that will achieve that worthy objective.
Sir, it is not my intention at this
juncture in introducing this motion to speak at length or to address the allegations
levelled at the government’s broad policy direction by certain Members of the Opposition
Bench. I intend to do that when I round
up this motion.
But before I proceed, Mr Speaker, I
would like to do the right thing by thanking a number of people. Firstly, the God we serve who continues to
impart wisdom, and guides and leads. Of
course, the churches and Christians throughout the country who have tirelessly
made representation and petitioning God to intervene in our time of
crisis. Those prayers have been
marvellously answered.
Sir, I would also like to express my
sincere thanks to His Excellency, your good self, and the Attorney General for
your perseverance, understanding, and personal intervention, without which we
would not have been able to come through the political impasse.
Mr Speaker, it would be remiss of me if I do not take this opportunity
as well to thank my honourable colleagues who amidst unfair criticisms chose to
make the decisions that changed the course of political tide and avoided what
could have been a disastrous situation for this country, painful though the
decisions may be to some people.
Mr Speaker, I would also like to
thank the Member for Marovo and former Prime Minister
for making the sacrifice that was absolutely crucial to restore peace and
political stability in this country. He
is the greatest peacemaker of all and deserves the highest respect of his
people and that of the people of
Mr Speaker, I would also like to
take this opportunity to thank the people of
Mr Speaker, let me now proceed to
make my very short remarks, and I would like to begin by appealing as usual to the
50 Members of this honourable House. Mr
Speaker, we are at the crossroads of our destiny. In times like this, it calls for leaders and
those who are concern about the future of our children and grandchildren to
come forward and be counted. Let us
breakdown the imaginary line that placed us in opposite camps and be united in
the determination of taking this country forward.
Mr Speaker, this is the time for
tough decisions and we must not be afraid to make them because if we cannot who
are we expecting to make them. We have
been travelling the road of complacency for too long and unless we start to
realize it, we are in danger of driving this country down the path of
self-destruction because of indecisiveness.
Mr Speaker, we must implement
drastic changes and move out from the status quo if we are expecting to make
any change to the status of this country which is classified as least
developing - a status that simply does not make any sense considering the fact
that we are blessed with bountiful natural resources and potentials.
We have a choice, Mr Speaker, of which road to follow: The ‘narrow
road’ with moral applications and a clear vision or the ‘wide road’ that we have been treading
for nearly 30 years that brought us to the brink of destruction. As the good Book says “My people are
destroyed because of lack of knowledge” (Hos 4:6)
Mr Speaker, sustaining the current
system with its resource exploitation, ecological destruction, and social
problems will not be possible and we will be simply irresponsible to continue
on that path. We must develop a vision
of a society that is both physically and socially sustainable. A society that is able to accommodate the
ethnic and cultural spectrum of humankind in all its diversity and that
moreover permits change and human development ‘indefinitely’.
Mr Speaker, I guess what I am saying
is that sustainability has physical, natural, ecological, social, cultural,
psychological and ethical dimensions.
Human society can be sustainable only if it is sustainable on these
counts. But there is one more important
requirement: sustainability must remain
a dynamic concept.
Mr Speaker, what we need to
appreciate is that societies and their environments change, technologies and
cultures change, values and aspirations change.
Such change in this new world order or turbo-capitalism, which on the
world scale now appears unstoppable, is destroying its own foundation as it
undermines democratic stability and states’ ability to function.
Whether we realize it or not, but
the pace of change and the redistribution of power and prosperity are eroding
the old social entities more rapidly than the new order can develop. The countries that have so far enjoyed
prosperity are now eating up the social substance of their cohesion even faster
than they destroy the environment. In such
an unfettered global capitalism, Mr Speaker, only a responsible government
could push through new rules providing for greater social balance and
ecological, social and economic restructuring.
I would like to assure this nation that their government is taking that
responsibility very, very seriously.
In terms of addressing this problem,
the strategic socio economic development, the practice has been and still is to
exploit resources, especially forests and marine, without any restrictions in
order to support and enrich political and social elites based in
Mr Speaker, this must be altered if
we are to take this country forward.
This government is determined to clean out the mess that has been piling
up year after year, government after government. And to start with, it is important that we
make the public sector effective and accountable; restructure the financial
system to make funds available for the ‘needy’ and not just the opulent. I appreciate that this is going to be a great
challenge, but unfortunately it has to be done.
Above all, Mr Speaker, we need to
restructure the economic system from Ontong Java in the North to Rennell
Bellona in the South, from Tikopia in the East to Mono in the West – not only
Mr Speaker, in the spirit of
cooperation with our benefactors and development partners, we must endeavour to
pursue the path of active decentralisation.
This should see the establishment of important infrastructures in
geographical groupings so that people in villages may have access to health,
education, and other essential services in their close vicinity, and not to
depend on
The writing I guess, Mr Speaker, is
on the wall, and we are not reading it.
The message of the ethnic crisis is simple - the message is
decentralisation and diversification, and it is just unfortunate that we are
pretending to be busy addressing law and order and simply becoming
careless. We have wasted four precious
years.
Mr Speaker, the objective of any
decentralisation and diversification program must be to enhance more balanced
development throughout the country by opening up new industrial and commercial
centres, and international routes like the ones proposed for Rob Roy,
(hear, hear)
Temotu,
Mr Speaker, I must continue to
emphasise calls for a total change in attitudes as well by the donor
community. I am saying this because
right now foreign aid is not filling the ‘big gap’ in the economy as perceived
by the donor community. Instead the gap
it is filling is servicing those who are monitoring it. That is generally, donors themselves. This may sound like an unfair criticism, Mr
Speaker, but it is the fact.
The greatest contribution of foreign aid in
Mr Speaker, in this regard this
government is taking this matter seriously.
We are determined to sit down with our benefactors and design a policy
that will supplement our economic progress.
Mr Speaker, like I said I do not
intend to speak at length because if I do I will be pricking needles on people
and they will not be very, very uncomfortable so I will need to stop now in
this introduction because I will have the opportunity to do so when I wind this
motion on Thursday to respond to all the allegations that have been levelled at
the government’s broad policy statement and of course the issues that will be
raised by Members of Parliament when they debate this motion of sine die.
With
that, I beg to move.
(applause)
The Motion is open for debate
Mr TOZAKA: Mr Speaker, I
too would like to speak on this end of meeting motion. This motion Mr Speaker, I gather is usually
referred to the dying motion of the House, following a very hard and useful
days meeting of the House. However, I
notice that on this particular meeting, this motion is been elevated to take
the centre stage, as the only useful motion of the House that perhaps could
justify the most costly two weeks stay that sadly saw the destruction of a good
deal of the city in Honiara.
Having said this, Mr Speaker, as this is my maiden speech to this
Honourable House, I would like to take this opportunity as the Member of North
Vella La Vella to firstly express my appreciation and thanks to the Chiefs and
people of North Vela La Vella for voting me as their representative in this
Honorable House in the next four years.
In the same manner, I congratulate all Honorable Members of Parliament
on your successful election to serve in this Honorable House on behalf of your
people.
Sir, I wish to join other colleagues who
later on are going to be speaking as well to acknowledge various important
appointments made in this Honorable House during the meeting which did not have
time to do so due to the various unprecedented interventions. To go by the sequence of appointment, Mr
Speaker, may I firstly congratulate you on your re-appointment as the Speaker
of the Honorable House. Sir, your
re-election is a clear reflection of the qualities you posses in heading the
office, especially at this most challenging time.
I also would like to congratulates my
honorable colleague, the Member of Parliament for Savo/Russells, Sir Allan
Kemakeza on his duly election as Deputy Speaker of Parliament. I also congratulate the MP for
Mr Speaker, concerning the riotous acts on 18th April that
led to the destruction of properties and displacement of many innocent people,
especially members of our Chinese community, I would like to express my sadness
and sympathy to the people who were affected.
I on behalf of the Chiefs and people of
Sir, I would like to acknowledge the goodwill people of
Mr Speaker, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the
respective governments of the member countries of the Forum that form the
Regional Assistance Mission of Solomon Islands (RAMSI) or codename (Helpem Fren). They are New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji,
Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, just to name a few headed by Australia. Their prompt response to the request of the
government of the day at that point of time in providing manpower reinforcement
assistance through the Royal Solomon Islands Police and PPF to quell the law
and order situation in
Mr Speaker, there were certain critics level against the increase
police and military personnel through RAMSI at that particular point in time. May I make some clarifications that first of
all as we are all aware the Helpem Fren first landed on our shores more than two years ago at
the request of our Government. Therefore,
under the partnership arrangement between the Solomon Islands Government and
RAMSI, it is clear that they are not here to take over our jobs and they are
not here to take over country. Mr
Speaker, it is also clear in our partnership agreement that this goodwill
mission to our country is not to cause trouble or increase our problems.
In fact, Mr Speaker, they are here for a period of time to help us
break the cycle of crime, the cycle of corruption, the cycle of greed that had
plagued our country for many years. By
being here and helping us they are giving us the space of time and assistance
we all need to return law and order, recover our economy and restore lasting peace.
Having said this, Mr Speaker, I am very pleased with the statement by
the Prime Minister affirming his support and of his government for the
continued presence of RAMSI in
Mr Speaker, this side of the House has also been subjected to a lot of
rumours and smears alleging that we join and support each other in this group
because of some sorts of payment allegiances through unscrupulous dealings with
certain people and countries. Mr
Speaker, I have nothing to hide about myself personally, and I find this claim
as damaging, irresponsible and an absolute lie, to say the least.
I say this, Mr Speaker, because my joining this group is a choice I
freely and openly made under no condition of bribery or corrupt practices for
that matter. In fact, Mr Speaker, my
election campaign was predominately centred on the universal acceptable values
of good governance, transparency and accountability. And therefore as an advocator and defender of
these principles, I would be lying and accepting defeat from my people of
Mr Speaker, in acknowledging the statement of the Prime Minister
yesterday, which I do not have the opportunity to speak, I wish to say in
general that Solomon Islands is very well known of its show of polices, program
of actions in beautiful words and colours, that hardly achieve successful
implementation.
Mr Speaker, this
is because whatever policies that we emerge with either small or big, the
bottom line lies on the question of finance, manpower affordability and
capacity respectively. Mr Speaker, also
it has been an inherited practice in the past where incoming governments have
the attitude of not accepting and appreciating the good work, amount of time
and energy and money invested by previous governments on the same policies so
that they could either build or review them in the best interest of the people
and country.
There is no need, Mr Speaker, in my
view to make any radical change of public policies to any issues just for the
sake of a new government. Ministers
should give themselves ample time, in my opinion, in office to sit together
with their Permanent Secretaries and advisors and allow themselves to advise
them on the present developments of those policies and only then to decide if
or not any change of those policies are necessary, in the light of the joint
guidelines of the government of the day.
If people and things are working well, Mr Speaker, for the good of the
country, why try change or fix them is the typical message that I wish to get
across to the House.
Mr Speaker, my people of North La
Vella are in urgent need of help in terms of basic services, restoration and
development projects and programs such as education, medical, agriculture,
fisheries, shipping, airports and so on do not require a 100 days program to
implement them.
Mr Speaker, the necessary policies
and programs for these things are already there in the Ministries and
Provincial Governments and Departments, and they have been there for ages. What is lacking is the implementation of
these policies and programs? We
therefore, need to find out the practical problem that inhibits the successful
implementation of these policies, such as finance, manpower and so on and
address them immediately. Not coming out
with the same policies and programs that would only exacerbate the problems.
Therefore, Mr Speaker, to share with
my honourable colleague, the Minister of Public Service I will insist on
Permanent Secretaries and subordinates to be of merit based on qualification,
ability and experience irrespective of political affiliations and demographic
differences. In other words, let us find
the best people available in the market right now train them, pay them well
with lots of rewards for high results in their performance in the Public
Service.
Mr Speaker, furthermore I would like
to urge the government of the day not to allow political interference in the
Public Service, especially in the recruitment of Permanent Secretaries and
other established posts within the Public Service.
Public Service, Mr Speaker, consists
of career professional who have undergone long-term training and experience in
the job, and when outside persons are appointed directly into the system
without due process of procedures and regulations, automatically the Public
Service system reacts defensively, causing conflicts, low morale and poor
performance outputs.
Sir, we may have to allow at this
point in time lots of expatriates to help in the immediate short-term on short
time contracts to fill gaps. We must not
afraid of this as we are part and partial of the open market while our locals
are given opportunities for more training both overseas and locally to push
forward change and focus on delivery.
Mr Speaker, there is the universal
view about less of the male dominance culture, and more female involvement to
improve the chances of getting aid to actually reach the target people and
prosper. Therefore, women and women’s
roles in organizations are a priority issue of
Mr Speaker, therefore, with the various reform programs, Public Service
Reform and Reconstruction has to be the top priority in my view because it has
to have an efficient Public Service working properly to deliver its policies to
the people.
Mr Speaker, with the country still
suffering from the after effects of the ethnic tension coupled with the 18th
April atrocity, what choice do we have?
The fiscal situation is desperate and quality of life has crippled. Restoring and consolidating the rule of law
and achieving macroeconomic stability are priorities to be tackled for the
economy to recover and grow at a sustained rate.
Mr Speaker, a bit on the motion of
vote of no confidence, in my view, that caused the change of Government within
a matter of week was to my humble and honest feeling unacceptable,
inappropriate and untimely. It was to my
perception an action of very desperate people who would not accept humble defeat
to be once again sitting on the same position as they were in the House during
the last four years.
Mr Speaker, the philosophy of equal
playing field was mentioned at one point in time. How could this be justified when we were not
given the opportunity to exercise our rights to prove or disapprove ourselves
in performing our responsibility to warrant moving such a motion?
Mr Speaker, on foreign affair
matters, I regret to say the hands–off approach by the statement of the Prime
Minister in his response to the Government of Australia’s comment to the
appointment of the two MPs which arouse many arguments both locally and
overseas.
Mr Speaker, the ramification of this
old fashioned notion of heavy hands–off approach by previous governments
attributed to the lack of response from the government of
Given the Australian Government
foreign policy change to our favour, and millions of dollars investment in the
country through RAMSI towards helping a neighbour in crisis, and that extensive
work given in forging partnership relationship with Australia and other Pacific
Island countries through RAMSI, such attitudes are uncalled for at this of time. We need to be caution and we need to be
sensitive on how we express ourselves on sensitive issues of this nature as a
party to present developments in our relationship with our neighbours,
especially Australia and also as a member of the earth’s global village.
Mr Speaker, it is therefore, in our mutual interest to promote open
consultation and dialogue with special preferences for a much stronger and
closer relationship with our neighbours as good steadfast friends.
Mr Speaker, as implied in the
statement of the honourable Prime Minister yesterday we do not have much choice
to play around with luxuries of democracy in the light of our critical economic
situation which was further deteriorated by recent events. Because of our own fault we are already
behind schedule of work this year in rebuilding this nation so we should give
all the chance to goodwill and common sense for the sake of our people to put
aside our differences and petty politics and get on with the momentous task of
rebuilding our nation.
I would like to plea to all Members
of Parliament on both sides of the House that the present political, economic
and social critical situation of our country does not warrant us continue
playing political games with our people and nation, but to work together in
partnership with ourselves as a united Solomon Islands, and with our friends
and neighbours through a complete change of attitudes and behaviour with all
respect to rebuilding Solomon Islands for the future of our people.
With these Mr Speaker, I resume my
seat.
Mr HUNIEHU: Thank you Mr
Speaker, for allowing me the floor of Parliament to contribute very briefly to
this traditional motion of sine die moved by the honourable Prime
Minister. I wish to sincerely thank him
for moving this motion to allow many of us express our views and to thank
voters in our constituencies who voted us into this honourable house.
In that connection, Mr Speaker, I
wish to take this opportunity to thank people in the East Are Are constituency for seeing it fit in voting me as their Member
of Parliament for another term. I only
hope that all of us will be working together for the common good and benefit of
the constituency, and it is only through working together and cooperating
together shall we experience progress in the constituency.
Sir, I also wish to thank the other
nine candidates who have given me a hard time in the battle for who will be the
chosen representative in that constituency.
I hope that we will cast our differences away and work together for the
common good of our people.
My contribution this morning Mr Speaker, will be quite different. It will just be a continuous of some
statements I made yesterday. It is carrying
out an autopsy or post-mortem on the situation after the general election in
Sir, what transpired over the last month taught us lessons and as
National Leaders we should be taking stock of the various instances that have
occurred. Mr Speaker, if we have not
learned anything from what had happened over the last year, then I feel sorry
for this Parliament.
Mr Speaker, soon after the natural death of this Parliament on
The majestic voices of people in
Sir, there were about 10 political parties that contested the general
election namely the Independent Democratic Party, the National Party, the
Liberal Party, the United Party, the Peoples Alliance Party, the Solomon Island
Democratic Party, SOCRED Party, the Rural Advancement Party and many more that
I forget, there are just many of them and Independent Members, all of us
contested under all our policy statements.
For example, Mr Speaker, in my constituency, in the 30 villages that I
visited the question commonly asked by the people was corruption and Waku Government. That question was quite spread throughout the
constituency Mr Speaker, and I want to make a notable comment on one of the
questions I was asked by a woman of some 80 years old in one of the villages in
my constituency. This is what she said; “Do
you realize that Solomon Islanders are now deprived of their rights in
society? Do you realize Mr Candidate
that Solomon Islanders are now feeding on the rubbish of the foreign investors and
the Chinese?” This was what she asked,
and I was of the opinion that this was a question implanted in this woman to
ask by none other than one of the candidates of one of the respectable party in
Parliament, and I believe it was the National Party candidate that implanted
this question.
I told her, Mr Speaker, that if you are complaining about investors in
Solomon Islands, if you are complaining about Chinese in this country, about
Asians in this country, if you are complaining that we will be feeding on the
rubbish because of foreign manipulation, foreign dominant investment in our
country, what you must realized is that 80 to 90% of our revenue budget is
derived from revenue generated by these investors. Without these revenues, Mr Speaker, there
will be no services provided in education, health, police, the salaries of public
servants will not be on schedule and there will be chaos in the local economy. Of the total recurrent revenue, investors
contribute that much. That is what we
must appreciate as a government and that is what we must appreciate as a
political party. If you think you have the
right to complain about the influx of foreigners into this country, the organic
laws, the subsidiary legislations enacted under the provisions of the
constitution must be invoked by Members of Parliament.
If you think the influx of investors or Asians into the country is
abusing yours rights then the laws can be changed, and it made a lot of sense. There is the Immigration Act, there is the
Citizenship Act, there is the Investment Act and it is up to the new Minister
for Commerce to make necessary adjustments and changes in order to address the
situation. It is up to him and as a
former Prime Minister he should know where to go from now.
What I am saying, Mr Speaker, is that some political parties during the
election were already implanting hatred in the minds of Solomon Islanders. I wonder how many of us have experienced this.
They have implanted hatred and
jealousy.
At one stage, Mr Speaker, I highly respect the MP for
The same Constitution allows naturalized citizens who live here more
than 10 years and who have investment here the right to vote, the right to
participate in politics. If he does not
like that provision then it is up to him to suggest amendment to the
Citizenship Act and not complain bitterly in the press because that is not
where to sort things out.
Mr Speaker, this is where this Parliament can divide and can cause
division amongst our people, and this is by creating hatred amongst our
people. So here we are 50 Members of
Parliament elected, and by virtue of our constitution a government must be
formed and so lobbying for the Prime Minister’s post begins because the
constitution or the 1978 Independence Order which your good self, Mr Speaker,
and the MP for Simbo/Ranongga signed in 1978 did not allow a majority party winning
the election to form a government. The
leadership has to be decided by the votes of Members of Parliament. And in this connection it allows Members of
Parliament to lobby themselves for the post of Prime Ministership.
This is where the
two groups, one stationed at the Iron Bottom Sound (IBS) and another one stationed
at the Honiara Hotel. Our group was stationed
at the Honiara Hotel because it was our base for the last 10 to 12 years
anyway. That is our base because we have
been there for those many years.
Two groups, Mr Speaker, and all the small factions were lobbying to
form the government. There were
eliminations of four or five candidates and the current Prime Minister was eliminated
in the first ballot. But he was smart in
forming a breakaway group made up of Guadalcanal MPs promising them to deal
with the bona fide demands, and so a station was established by another group
at the Pacific Casino, a third group at the Pacific Casino.
So we have three groups lobbying for the post of Prime Minister. This was the middle group and in reality it
must be the middle group that ruined things.
We know the outcome of this but I am reminding this Parliament because
of the intensive lobbying for the position of Prime Minister, the public in
What made it difficult, Mr Speaker, in the lobbying is that many Members
of Parliament had been double crossing.
Some Members of Parliament were sponsored by five political groupings,
and that is what made things difficult.
The Liberal sponsored them too, the National Party also sponsored them, the
Rural Advancement Party sponsored them and then the Independent Democratic
Party also sponsored them and so when they won they do not know which side they
will go. So dishonesty must be on us
Members of Parliament.
Mr Speaker, I always stood for one party in my whole life. I have never been sponsored, I never have double
crossed at any one moment, at any one time, my friends there know that very
well
(Hon Sanga interjecting): From National
to AIMP.
Mr Huniehu: Mr Speaker,
these are the revealing truths about how futile, complicated and useless the
negotiations for the position of the Prime Minister had been.
Mr Speaker, it so happened that this side of the House successfully
lobbied and won it. We must won the
Prime Ministership because we win the majority of votes in the country. If judged by the election results, our Party
had more Members of Parliament elected.
How can we lobby ourselves as the public perceive when we were just
trying to reform the same government?
The Independent Democratic Party, the Peoples Alliance Party and Lafari were the same partners in the last government and we
only negotiated in-house arrangements. Where
is all the corruption coming from Mr Speaker, may I ask? That is the question for my good friend the
Prime Minister to answer.
For myself I am very hurt because since I entered Parliament in 1993 I
was never lobbied by anyone and I never slept in hotels. I have a house in
The Member for Marovo
was constitutionally elected as Prime Minister.
Unfortunately when I went outside of Parliament I can smell something of
people standing outside in the crowd had posters already printed, and so they
must have known the outcome of the election, and this must be pre-planned.
The very moment the Prime Minister elect wanted to address the people
you can see people chanting with their posters.
When did they write the posters?
One of the Members of Parliament went outside and said “We lost and so you
go ahead”. What is this, “We lost and so
you go ahead”? It only suggests that
what everybody believed that it was all planned and the government side should
know about this.
Some of you leaders in the government side have been in Parliament for 24
years, 30 years and 20 years, and I do not want to believe that they knew
nothing about it. No, Mr Speaker, and that
is why I asked them yesterday to honourably resign from this Parliament if they
have that guilty conscience.
We must be honest about ourself and
our integrity. Why did we allow the burning
down of the private sector, the Chinese Community? We national leaders should be emphasising the
unity of people as this is a multi-racial country. Whatever you may say, how many business
houses you will burn in the future, this country will remain a multi-racial
country. There is no country in the
world that is not multi-racial and multi-cultural, and
The group, like in the days of the
forced resignation of the MP for Aoke/Langa Langa, were demanding the
resignation of the Prime Minister elect.
Their demand was that if the Prime Minister does not resign today the rioting
will go from here to town and into
Mr Speaker: Honourable Member,
I just want to remind you that statements made in this House can be demanded to
be substantiated. Just be reminded of
that.
Mr Huniehu: Thank you,
and since there is no request for substantiation I will continue.
Mr Speaker, the demand for the
resignation of the Prime Minister elect can be substantiated by shouts outside such
as ‘resign, resign now, resign’. All of
us heard it and SIBC broadcasted this.
(Mr Kemakeza interjecting): SIBC
broadcasted it and so that is evidence.
(Hon Ulufa’alu):
So then take SIBC to court as SIBC inciting)
Mr Huniehu: Mr Speaker, SIBC for that matter was only
broadcasting what it saw and heard so its reporting was totally precise. In addition to that, all cameras were opened,
satellite cameras from helicopters and all video cameras around Parliament had taken
record of those incidences. We have all
evidences to prove this. Also in
addition to that two Members of the Government are already in custody for
questioning and who knows many more will follow. I hope not.
Mr Speaker, what else can be said? The vehicles of some Members of Parliament
were used to supply logistics such as bread, water and you name it. The statement “you go ahead” can be heard. These are facts. There were also some MPs with the crowds
chanting ‘you go ahead, you go ahead’, and even lost candidates in the election
were shouting.
I also saw one of the lost candidates in the East Are Are Constituency shouting and chanting “get them down, get
them down”’. Mr Speaker, how can you
aspire for national leadership when you have so much hatred for the winning
candidate and for an ethnic group in the country? This is not leadership. I denounce this in the highest term possible. This is aspiring for national leadership but having
hatred for innocent people.
So the Chinese Community was a
victim of a pre-planned episode. It is
all pre-planned. But why target the Chinese
Community? Most of them or if not all of
them are innocent. I always saw that
most of the lobbying in this country was supported by loggers and not the
Chinese Community. The Chinese Community
whose properties were destroyed are retailers, and so what sort of vested
interested would they have in supporting the government to win. Most of their businesses were operating on
marginal profits. They do not have any
interest in politics. This must be
properly clarified.
In providing national leadership, Mr
Speaker, we must not create acrimony and hatred amongst our community. If the influx of people in our country is
unacceptable then use the law to deal with it and not take the law into our own
hands. I hope my good friend the Minister
for Justice is listening and the Minister for Trade and Commerce is also listening
because they have to deal with this effectively.
Mr Speaker, may I say this. If there is public perception that the
government side is involved in the burning down of the
Unfortunately the Prime Minister’s statement made no mention of how he
will be helping the victims to re-establish their enterprises. What sort of help would be forthcoming? One would expect in the maiden speech of the Prime
Minister to address that because it is the problem of the hour.
Mr Speaker, the strategy used by the
government side as ‘a vote of no confidence.’
May I subscribe to the views by the MP for North Vella La Vella that in
my humble view, that motion should be unconstitutionally premature. Mr Speaker, it is a grey area in law which
can be argued.
Section 63 is very clear and I will read it once again. “No
member of Parliament shall be permitted to take part in the proceedings of
Parliament (other than proceedings necessary for the purpose of this section)
until he has made before Parliament an oath of allegiance in the form set out
in Schedule 1 to the Constitution.”
This is very clear although in other
sections of the Constitution the declaration of a Member of Parliament
qualifies him as a MP, this section in the Constitution is very specific. One cannot participate in any parliamentary
proceedings until sworn in to do that.
Mr Speaker, you made the ruling that it is quite legal and constitutional. I hope you are not using the provisions in
the Standing Order which gave you the finality in making such a judgement
because in law this is a grey area and is disputable. This was merely a political ploy Mr
Speaker. I am wondering now if the
Minister can still move a motion to dissolve Parliament. The Minister of Foreign Affairs in Solomon
Islands moving a motion to dissolve Parliament in which he is Foreign Affairs
Minister. Incredible!
Hon OTI: Point of clarification Mr
Speaker. The MP for East Are Are ………….(inaudible)…………….
(Mr Fono interjecting): He was using that as a threat.
Mr Huniehu: Yes, the only
thought in my mind is that he used that as a tool to frighten members of the
government in the lobbying tactics that if you do not support us Parliament
will dissolve.
Mr Speaker, I hope he was genuine in doing that, and we are not fools
anymore. We know this. What I was merely pondering was, is he going
to move the motion to dissolve himself as the Foreign Affairs Minister? He did not answer that?
Mr Speaker, I was making reference
to the decisions you made and no wonder even at the swearing in of the MP for
Marovo as the Prime Minister elect who was constitutionally elected, the
Speaker of Parliament and the Chief Justice were not present. This is a sign of impartiality, Mr
Speaker. But they were present at the
swearing in of the present Prime Minister.
I am raising these points as a piece of information to all of us. It means that even the highest authority in
the legal system was already condemning a democratically elected Prime Minister
by not being present when he was sworn in.
Mr Speaker: Point of order. Maybe I should explain. I am not too sure whether I can speak on
behalf of the honourable Chief Justice but for purposes of the Speaker, there
was no notification and information of the swearing in nor was invited to
it. I just want to make that
clarification.
Mr Huniehu: Thank you, Mr
Speaker, I fully accept that explanation but I made mention of it because I was
present in both of the swearing-ins and I saw something different, and I was
only raising that.
The burning of shops and rioting in
Mr Speaker, threats went beyond
burning of properties. Ministers of the
government, in particular the Members of Parliament from
Mr Speaker, if those making threats
to me killed me what are they going to do with my coffin? I will be buried but they will achieve
nothing. Virtually nothing! An innocent man true to his principles and
beliefs in politics killed because he cannot associate himself with a
government or with a group who have an illegal army behind them to carry out their
hidden agendas. It is a matter of
principles - that is the only reason. Otherwise
record shows that I am more on that side than this side.
I was a founder member of the Liberal Party, a founder member of the
National Party. I and the Prime Minister
now were founder members of the national Party.
And when you talk about SIAC I am sitting on the wrong side because I
should be on the other side. Is this
true? Mr Speaker, I hope this explains
some of the things.
The strategy used even went further to campaign managers coming to
members on this side of the House to switch side. Even losing candidates were lobbying us to
switch sides. There were letters and
signatories by thousands of people signing, appealing and demanding that we
switch side. These tactics used
throughout the lobbying exercise is uncalled for, uncivilized, provocative and
demeaning.
All members on the government side now were allocated two or three
securities. Their camp at the Iron Bottom
Sound was locked away from public but all of us are public properties. Members of Parliament are public
properties. We should have free
movement, free access, and our people should have free access to us. But that was the first time in history Members
were locked away from public, and this is not good enough. I hope it does not happen in the next
election.
Mr Speaker, may I speak now on the
election of the new Prime Minister, and it must have something to do with the
Governor General’s intervention. In my
humble view, whilst the Governor General has the right of finality in Schedule 2
of the Constitution, I also wish to inform this House that such rights interfered
with the powers of the Judiciary. The
separation of powers are very clear. The
Judiciary’s power is very clear. There
should not be any interfere with the Judiciary the same as there should not be interference
with the executive government. Our
powers are defined under law. Unfortunately
the Governor General may see the finality of his decisions by invoking that
section.
Also Schedule 2 of the Constitution does not allow for proxy
voting. There was a proxy voting
conducted. Schedule 2 of the
Constitution denominated by the order issued by your good self and the Clerk
that the place of meeting would be National Parliament and this is where the
vote must be cast.
Mr Speaker, I also wish to cite
instances where a Prime Minister was elected minus four members of
Parliament. There was no total presence
of Members of Parliament, and that was in year 2000 when the same Prime
Minister was elected in the absence of four Members of Parliament. Precedence has been set. Why is this so particular? That is why I am starting to question the
independence, neutrality and impartiality of the authorities concerned.
Mr Speaker: Point of
order. I want to remind the honourable Member
of section 36 subparagraph 8 that “the conduct of the Governor General,
Ministers and Members and Judges or other persons performing Judicial functions
shall not be raised in Parliament”.
Again this is for the notice of Members please.
Mr Huniehu: Thank you for
your clarification, may I continue?
Mr Speaker: Please
continue.
Mr Huniehu: Mr Speaker, I
wish to comment on the formation of the new government. With the announcement of the ministerial line
up and with due regards to the fact that many experienced Members of Parliament
have been appointed Ministers, two former Prime Ministers and well experienced
Members of Parliament, it is regrettable that two members still under question
in custody have been given ministerial portfolios. Does this mean the Governor General will have
to swear them in the prison camp? Will
he allow them to come here or to go down dress up like an army to swear them
in, may I ask?
You yourself made some remarks of
adulation to the newly elected Prime Minister that when he was elected there
were shouts of jubilation, people singing the National Anthem ‘God save the
Solomon Islands from shore to shore.’ Mr
Speaker, I heard it differently. ‘God
save the Solomon
Someone also said, Mr Speaker, that
there are songs of jubilation ‘Wakabaoti long
Mr Speaker, this is very degrading
of a society we would like to call a moral and Christian society, law abiding
citizens, the happy isles. Is this what
we expect to see in the new millennium for
Mr Speaker, it is sad for the
present Prime Minister to be Prime Minister because he associated himself in a
divide and rule tactic. He came and
joined this side and gunned down a Western leader and divorced this side to gun
down another Western leader on the other side.
This speaks poorly of the credibility of this Parliament.
Sir, all of us should be working as a united grouping. All of us should be demanding a better future
for our people and not involve in divisive politics. However, that is what we are practicing. I never regretted landing in the
Opposition. No. I wish to say that the leadership structure for
unity of our nation does not exist in the present grouping. Two people from the
I am making this point because many
fellow Solomon Islanders are also making the same point. Or may be is it because of political
stability and naivety that the Prime Minister with only one party man with him is
pulled by the nose by the parties with more number and numerical strength in
the government side? Is he subjecting
himself to the demands of those in whose interest must be serviced? That is those responsible in the burning down
of the
These are serious questions that one
needs to ask which are very fundamental and serious, Mr Speaker, by appointing
two Members of Parliament still in custody for questioning had damaged the
image of
Mr Speaker, at the same time I wish
to congratulate the Prime Minister for clearing misrepresentation of his
government’s policy in particular our diplomatic ties with the Republic of
China. The shift to Communist China as
propagated by many members in the government is the wrong choice for this
country. Our relationship with the
Republic of China was established on the principles of promoting democracy and
justice, the principles of mutual trust, benefit and cooperation between the
two countries. Not only that, Mr
Speaker, but they have been a friend in need and a friend indeed exemplified on
the active participation during the social ethnic tension when all else did not
come our way ROC came and provided us budgetary support and even to pay for
public servants’ wages those days. I am
glad that the misreporting has been adequately addressed by the Prime Minister,
and I hope he will continue to maintain a strong relationship with the Republic
of China. Any idea of deviating from that
very important policy must be forgotten right now.
Mr Speaker, we do not want to repeat
the incidents of last month and therefore I am calling on this government to
carry out necessary reforms on the political system in this country, on the
Parliament system. And I am pleased the
Prime Minister had made the commitment that these issues will be addressed
during his tenure in office.
Mr Speaker, Parliament is all about
integrity, honorability
and respectability. All of us can either make
Mr Speaker, I am saddened that the
actions of Members of Parliament have landed hundreds and hundreds of youths in
Rove. These are actions not of their own
making Mr Speaker. We must be fair because
instead of providing employment for those poor youths we provoked acrimony and
hatred in them. They acted on our advice
and instruction and they were arrested for this.
If there is need to change a government we must always remember doing it
in a non violent resolution is the best option for us. A non violent resolution Mr Speaker! Martin Luther King, the Great Black American
did it through non violent activity. He
had a dream for
In conclusion I want to talk about
these two important characters. Solomon
Islanders who want positive change have all the rights to do it through non
violent means, and not like the MP for Aoke/Langa Langa when the people were
marching and chanting told them that it is their rights and so when those
people walked down the hill they said it is our right and so let us go and burn
down Chinatown. That is their rights. You provoked and said it. This is not good enough as national leaders.
I would like to once again thank you
for allowing me to participate in Parliament and I would like to think that we
in this Parliament must all put our heads together in these trying times to
unite our people and together we shall move.
Thank you Mr Speaker.
(applause)
Mr TOSIKA: Thank you Mr Speaker, for
allowing me this privilege to speak on the floor of this honourable Parliament
House.
Mr Speaker, as a new Member of
Parliament for West Honiara Constituency, I wish to thank all the 3075 electors
or voters who had demonstrated their democratic rights in casting their votes
on the 5th April 2006. Moreover
the voters who entrusted their confidence on me, by casting their votes in my
support in winning the National General Election for West Honiara Constituency.
I convey my sincere appreciation for
their overwhelming support and commitment.
Simultaneously, Mr Speaker, I wish
to express my gratitude to all the residents in West Honiara Constituency,
especially the youths for not taking part in the recent uprising, looting and
burning on Tuesday 18th April 2006.
Mr Speaker, I wish to express my sincere appreciation particularly to
young men in West Honiara Constituency who had demonstrated their respect for
law and order in providing security for business houses in West Honiara and
other parts of Honiara including shops and business houses in Central Honiara
and in particular the Honiara Hotel.
Mr Speaker,
At this juncture, Mr Speaker, I wish
to register my concern and I believe many Solomon Islanders do have the same
concern that Solomon Islands is a sovereign nation, the Royal Solomon Islands
Police Force is a discipline force under the Constitution and the Disciplinary
Law established under the same should have its own armoury.
Mr Speaker, this is to ensure that
the protection of fundamental rights set out in Chapter 2 – rights and freedom
of the individual under the Constitution is preserved and respected.
Mr Speaker, the events of Tuesday
April 18th gave rise to this concern. It is a sad and desperate situation our
police officers were in, in that on that day all our local police officers were
armless and were not able even to protect themselves and the ordinary citizens
of the country whom they on behalf of the law seeks to protect.
Mr Speaker, had the Royal Solomon
Islands Police Force were properly armed they would have contained the rioting
and the mob rule that devastated business houses and infrastructure in
In conclusion, Mr Speaker, I wish to
convey my sincere thanks and support to the Prime Minister, the Honourable
Manasseh Sogavare, the MP for
Mr Speaker, at this juncture I wish
to convey my sincere congratulations to members of the Opposition for the role
they will be playing in actively guiding the government to ensure that laws,
policies and decisions made at this level truly reflect the desires of our
people for the next four years.
Finally, Mr Speaker, I wish to thank
you for your successful election to the post of Speaker in this Honourable
Parliament House. I wish also to thank
your staff for their tireless work of ensuring that Parliament businesses are
conducted in an orderly manner despite the constitutional crisis we have
experienced recently in our country.
With these few remarks, Mr Speaker,
I wish to thank all our people who are listening to the sine die motion
throughout the country for your attention.
I support the motion and beg to resume my seat.
(applause)
Mr NUAIASI: Thank you Mr
Speaker, for allowing me to speak to this motion of sine die. Before I do so, Mr Speaker, I would like to thank
my people of West Are Are for putting me in
Parliament as their representative.
Mr Speaker, as I am a new person to
this Parliament I came across a lot of good experiences which in the past days
taught me a lot of things to think about.
Mr Speaker, I would also like to
congratulate the former Prime Minister, the MP for Marovo
for being elected and at the same time having the courage to resign and accept
the behaviours unknown to many of us what caused those behaviours as
experienced in past days.
Mr Speaker, I would also like to
congratulate Members of Parliament who have been elected to present our
constituencies in
Mr Speaker, having said the above
statements, I wish to declare my disappointment on what has been seen as people
outside controlling the Parliament in trying to make decisions especially when
the government of the MP for Marovo was elected and
was forced out through unwarranted actions.
Being a new Member of Parliament, Mr
Speaker, it was surprising to me. I have
never seen this happening since I have been in the Public Service. I have also not witnessed such actions since
the establishment of Parliament and at elections of Prime Ministers throughout
the years.
Mr Speaker, it is sad to note that
leaders have come to Parliament in order to pursue their own interests. I for one think that my people of West Are Are do not want such actions to happen in the National
Parliament. We are all elected Members
and what I was expecting is for all of us to work together. Let the government that would lead us to
develop this so called
Mr Speaker, I have come across a lot
of difficulties in the days I have been here in
Mr Speaker, it has been a very bad
experience to see all of us national leaders not working together, not deciding
together and not agreeing together to form a government that would lead us to
develop Solomon Islands, that would lead us to address the real needs of our
people as we have been talking about economic development of our nation.
I for one did not accept the
situation that happened in
This in itself, Mr Speaker, is a
selfish attitude. I was really ashamed
that this has happened in
Mr Speaker, my people of West Are Are are only interested in
development and are not interested in political wrangling or political
differences. They put me in Parliament
so that I can represent them to pursue developments that have not been
delivered to
Mr Speaker, West Are Are is a resourceful Constituency and so far there has never
been any development done in West Are Are. Mr Speaker, if the government is serious
about decentralising developments to the constituencies, I would like to see it
giving priority to West Are Are as well.
West Are Are needs to be developed in order
to exploit the resources that we have.
We have a lot of resources, but none of them have been exploited so as
to reap maximum benefit because the government has turned a blind eye to my
constituency. I would ask the government
if it is serious enough to forward funds to develop the West Are Are Constituency.
Since one of its priority is land reform, I would ask the government to
give funds to the chiefs in West Are Are to register
and carry out land reform in West Are Are.
Mr Speaker, I think the chiefs of
West Are Are are experts
themselves and do not need any outside consultant to register their land. What they need from the government is to have
finance made available to them. They can
do it even better than any other consultant the government would employ for
this task.
Mr Speaker, being in the Opposition does not mean there is nothing I
can voice out. It is in fact, as I see
that we are part and parcel of the group in serving the country. I for one would like to see that if there is any
plan or if the government is talking about decentralisation, we would like to
see budget provisions for development in West Are Are. West Are Are is
lacking in hospital services. The
distance we are taking to Auki for medical services is
quite tremendous and costs a lot of money.
There has never been any good clinic
established in West Are Are. The amount of money spent for that service
alone is quite huge. I am asking the
Minister for Provincial Government if he sees fit to plough back funds to the provincial
government system so that they can establish those infrastructures for us.
Mr Speaker, tourism is one good attraction
in West Are Are, and I would want to see the Minister
of Tourism to also consider developing the area in West Are Are
so that we too can have developments in West Are Are
that could help the nation to prosper and enjoy the resources that we have.
Also Mr Speaker, we have a lot of
sea resources in our area. I must say
that these sea resources have never been tapped and never been exploited. I for one would like to see in the
development plan of the government that it puts emphasis in trying to exploit
or carry forward developments that would address the sea resources of West Are Are so that we too may help in contributing to the
development of Solomon Islands as a whole.
Mr Speaker, before I take my seat I
was also alarmed by the way which the 50 Members have divided themselves the
initial stage in trying to lobby each other for the formation of the government. I was also one of the Members who was said to
have been corrupt. Mr Speaker, I must
say here that I am innocent. I am not a
corrupt Member as far as I am concerned.
This is a very challenging word and not easy to use, but it has become a
common word use in the streets of
Mr Speaker, it is very difficult and
it has been very difficult for me to read the politics of
Mr Speaker, as a person from Are Are I believe I have my own principles and for you to
convince or lobby me would not be in the best interest of my people. We have avenues in our chiefly system that
there must be consultation, there must be discussion on the issue needing
discussion and there must be a compromise or there must be a solution that both
of us have to agree upon.
It is no use, Mr Speaker, for me to
sell the right of my people through earning money. It is the wish of the people that I represent
them as their leader, and not for me to sell them for my own benefit. This is a great experience for me which I am
asking all parliamentarians that if there is to be another election of a Prime
Minister let us lobby in a manner acceptable to our people and not to play on
things that would hinder the authority vested on us by our people.
Mr Speaker, having said all this, I
should say that the people of West Are Are also
sympathize with the Chinese Community that have lost their properties and belongings
of many years. As their leader I extend
to the Chinese Community our sympathy. We
will try our best in any way possible to help or encourage them to continue
with developments in helping
Mr Speaker, I would like to thank
you for your great experience in commanding us. Also I would like to thank the Clerk for her
patience with us. I would also like to
thank the Deputy Speaker for being elected to that position and for his
acceptance in taking this challenging job.
May I also wish the government of
the day and congratulate Ministers of the Crown and Backbenchers. I wish them all the best in their endeavour to
serve the nation after all I know they is a lot of task ahead to carry on their
shoulders for the people of Solomon Islands.
With these few words, Mr Speaker, I
resume my seat.
Hon KAUA: Honourable Speaker, thank you
for giving me the floor to speak on this very important motion of sine
die.
First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to say on behalf of
myself, my people and chiefs of Mbaegu/Asifola that what had transpired over
the past days is a tragedy, and I would like to offer our sympathy to those
affected as a result of the public unrest, particularly the Chinese
Community. The people who are seriously
affected through the loss of their homes and properties are in our hearts.
Secondly, Mr Speaker, the
unfortunate occurrences after myths on Tuesday of last month has taken everyone
by surprise and hence no one should be blamed for what had happened. Had this been prearranged, as others would
have us believe, no doubt with the effective justice system that is in place,
the Police would have known and taken necessary precautions to contain the situation. Therefore, Mr Speaker, this would preclude
that this side of the House for being blamed for such a political impasse, for
to do so is a gross misrepresentation by the other side of the House and could
be misconstrued by the general public.
Mr Speaker, as referred to by
previous speakers what transpired was a result of much civil campaigns and the
“winds of change” that were conducted prior to the General Election. These were funded by AusAID who see the
importance of people being educated about their rights and the importance of
good governance, transparency and accountability expected of leaders in
performing their duties. This includes
leaders, Mr Speaker, who make up the members of this legislature, the supreme
law making body of this land.
Mr Speaker, it would seem that such
a high expectation by the public for change was not fulfilled on Tuesday, when
the Prime Minister then was announced. Disappointment
manifested itself in an uproar by the general public who were dissatisfied by
the fact that previous regimes have not lived up to the nation’s expectations
in performing their duties as leaders of Parliament in managing the affairs of
this country.
Mr Speaker, it is unfortunate to say
the least that this is the result of the kind of leaders who have been elected
to this Parliament by none other than the people themselves, the voters ever
since the country gained independence.
As a long time serving public
officer and someone who has worked closely with Members of Parliament and
Cabinet throughout the years, I have observed and witnessed the performances
and behaviours of leaders some of whom should not have been elected at all as Members
of parliament. Obviously, this should
not be perceived as a sweeping statement for there are many who have had the
needs of the country at heart.
The quality and existence of good
leaders is crucial and there is expectation that the situation will improve
rapidly now that the public have been educated and begin to realize the
importance of choosing the right people to put into Parliament. These are those who are able to serve and
fully participate in this high institution of the land, whose decisions are
made with the present and future aspirations of our people and the country at
large in their minds.
Mr Speaker, it would be remiss of me
to pinpoint any particular individual as being at fault here. Nor would it be proper to point a finger at
the newly elected Prime Minister then who has gracefully resigned for the
situation that has arisen has been the result of accumulation of years of what
seemed to be mismanagement, and has now surfaced.
As we saw on Tuesday 18th of April, the public themselves
expressed their dissatisfaction and resorted to taking the law into their own
hands. The effect of this is that
certain people have now been badly affected by losing their properties and
goods.
Mr Speaker, this is indeed a tragic
incident that should not have occurred if the symptoms identified earlier and
appropriate actions taken there and then it would not have happened. No doubt these concerns must have been
realized by some but what can any responsible government do when the country is
not fully independent economically and socially and a conducive environment to
determine the affairs and its destiny.
Mr Speaker, our economy is still aid
driven, and the power of money is the very essence of everything be it
development or just a share of life. No
wonder we are vulnerable to bribery and corruption. We do not have the power to control it. The power is in the hands of different people
and not Solomon Islanders.
In confronting this situation what can we really do? I believe that until the power to control the
economy, our affairs and destiny is in the hands of indigenous Solomon
Islanders and Solomon Islanders are allowed to manage and not to be influenced
by outside forces through complex dealings, we will not be able to determine
our destiny and the future of our people and our country.
If the legacy of outside interference is to continue to persist and the
country continues to be subjective to outside forces of manipulation and remote
control then there is no room for the progress and prosperity of indigenous
Solomon Islanders. Mr Speaker, we will
continue to be slaves in our own land.
Mr Speaker, I therefore challenge
the 50 Members of Parliament here to ensure that the future of our people and
country is retuned to us. The decision
we make will affect us, our children and their children in years to come. You are here, not by accident but by your choice
to stand for election as a Member of Parliament and I believe, as a result of
God’s intervention and the wishes of our people through prayers, churches and
civil education.
The choosing of right leaders to run
the country now is the chose of those subscribing to that expectation. The expectation is that we members are here
for the people and to serve the people as our National Motto portraits, “To
Lead is to Serve”!
If, on the other hand, Mr Speaker,
one thinks that this is a place for anyone to accumulate individual wealth, to
have prestige and status or to gain self esteem then you are in the wrong
profession. This is a place where all of
us are supposed to be of service to our people and country and to put ourselves
LAST and not the other way round.
Mr Speaker, unfortunately these good
practices and expectations do not seem to happen because of “party politics”
which tend to erode and prevent the freedom of members to exercise their free
will in electing and choosing good quality members to govern. Members of Parliament should not be subject
to the lobbying of outside forces having huge sums of money and giving promises
of having a portfolio in the next Cabinet.
Mr Speaker, there should be
mechanisms in place to prevent Members of Parliament acting in this way and to
protect their vulnerability so that they are not subject to these
practices. An environment should exist
in this place to ensure that an incoming member can freely choose a government
with quality leaders to govern our people and country.
Mr Speaker, the motion before us is
a testimony to the situation which the country has now finds itself in. We are to perform right now to represent a
moment whereby each and everyone of us has to decide, not because of individual
gain or the thought of a nice portfolio, but rather for the good of our
country. We must keep in our minds our
convictions as good leaders representing our people, our constituencies and the
country as a whole. The life of our
children and their children is in our hands.
Honourable colleagues the choice is ours. Make no mistake. Do the right thing. Mr Speaker, people have realized the need for
change after what they have gone through and experienced during the darkest
moments in our history.
The years of ethnic tension and the recent political impasse are events
not occurred by accident but I believe that through intervention that required
of any nation growth in order to fully achieve maturity.
Mr Speaker, if this nation is to
prosper for better, we must start now to face the challenges, and not just the
leaders but every Solomon Islander alike.
We must be prepared to work hard than ever before and not to be complacent. The attitude of handouts must change! Mr Speaker, no one is going to do this for us.
Such changes must come from within by
none other but us who profess to be Solomon Islanders.
Mr Speaker, this country has been
geographically divided and fragmented and creating an environment that would
further integrate our society is the least that any government can do. We must put away our differences and learn
the past to build on for a better future, a united Solomon Islands, with one
people rich with diverse culture and tradition, respecting one another living
in harmony with progress and prosperity for our children and their children in
the future to come.
Mr Speaker, with those remarks I
wish to thank you sincerely for your able leadership and forbearing in having
to put up with the political turmoils the country has been experiencing. It is with your immeasurable experience and
mature approach to the situation that enabled Parliament to come this far.
Finally, but not the least may I
wish to take this opportunity to thank the people, chiefs and every voter of
Mbaegu/Asifola constituency for their support and confidence accorded to me as
their Member of Parliament for the next four years. I also wish to thank my fellow candidates who
have contested as candidacy for the Mbaegu/Asifola Parliament seat. I wish them all success in whatever the
future holds for them.
With those few remarks, Mr Speaker,
I resume my seat.
(applause)
The House suspends for lunch
break
Mr KWANAIRARA: Mr Speaker,
thank you for giving me the floor of Parliament to contribute to this very
important motion the sine die motion.
Firstly I would like to take this opportunity to thank people in my
constituency of North Malaita especially the Chiefs and Church Leaders, Women’s
groups and voters in
Today I would like to say a few words, Mr Speaker, with regards to what
has transpired in the past couple of days.
Sir, what concerns me the most is our Constitution in that I feel it is
important for us to look again at our Constitution to try and correct a few
areas that we are now starting to have difficulties on. This is very important because as every one
of us knows the Parliament must continue to function and I think a review of
the Constitution in the various grey areas already identified is important to be
addressed.
I say this because what has happened is due to some of the anomalies
within our Constitution that was not adequately addressed. Such grey areas of the Constitution are bended
to suit the interests and thinking of those interpreting it to apply to
situations that arises. That is what I
have seen and therefore would like us to start looking at our Constitution and
address some grey areas already identified.
Mr Speaker, I strongly agree with the idea to review the Constitution
and where appropriate make amendments to some of the sections to enable
Parliament function properly in our country.
Today, Mr Speaker, we have seen that as the process of politics is going
on in our country, things have changed, a lot of things have happened, new
people coming in with new bright ideas in politics, and so politics is a
growing thing in our country
Mr Speaker, in my view today there is the outer circle and the inner
circle, which is the executive arm attracting a lot of attention. Mr Speaker, the executive arm of the
government is one very important area, and I see it as one of the main areas
within the government system that a lot of people are giving it a lot of
attention.
The problem happening with our Constitution in regards to politics is the
inner circle of the formation of a government, which is one big area that a lot
of people have interest in, and not only Solomon Islanders but a lot of
foreigners are also interested in the inner circle, the executive arm of our
government.
This is an area of great interest by every one and that is why I said it
needs to be addressed very carefully in the immediate future. As can be seen in the past that this happened
in 2000 when the executive arm at that time caused stability in the government
that is in power at that time.
Therefore, this is a very interesting and very important area that needs
to be considered in Parliament for our democracy to work and for our government
to be able to function and the executive arm to be strong, this area must be protected. It depends on which angle you look at it,
maybe you look at it from outside or from inside out, this area I am talking
about is the core area in government which must be preserved as it is very
important. If we do not preserve this
and allow foreigners to take interest in it, I know it will affect the
operation or the running of any government.
When I listen to the statement by the Prime Minister yesterday, the youths
in my constituency welcome many of the things the Prime Minister made in his
statement. One thing he specifically
mentioned that the government would be doing is finding the root cause of the
coup which led to the downfall of the government in 2000. That is a big undertaking, which draws my
mind back to the events that occurred in June 5th 2000. That is a date to remember because something
phenomenal happened to our country.
In considering the events that occurred that time in year 2000, I seem
to like to relate it to the situation that has just happened in our country,
again in this Parliament at this time.
Mr Speaker, while I look at this carefully I can see that the move was
planned or architected in 2000 to put down the Prime Minister at that
time. Mr Speaker, at that time the
barrel of the gun was used asking the Prime Minister to step down within 48
hours. That was what happened in 2000 when
we were in government.
The recent incident which Hon Rini’s Government
was put down can be seen as the same strategies and moves being applied but
applied in the name of constitutional process as the people’s power, which
subsequently led to the downfall of the government as well. Those two incidents look similar to me.
What happened in 2000 is that in the early hours of 5th June
2000 the same thing happened in here when a motion of no confidence was tried
to be moved here in the name of constitutional process with people’s power. That is a big concern because youths in my
constituency are still suffering from that happening in 2000. Some of my youths are still in prison and
some are still struggling to get out of prison.
But only after six years a second thing happened again.
Sir, in my view it is important to look at strategies and ways in
improving the constitution to stop this kind of thing happening again. If this is carefully looked into, it happened
about six years ago when the government was put down with the barrel of the gun
when the then Prime Minister who is none other than the current Minister of
Finance was put under house arrest. Mr
Speaker, a similar incident was repeated again in April 2006.
Mr Speaker, as a parliamentarian representing my people of
Sir, I as a Malaitan man in here do not want to
see anyone doing this again. If you want
to use that kind of system again then use people in your constituency but stop influencing
people from other constituencies to help you meet your own ends. Your use of my people has led to many of them
now suffering in the prisons. Their parents
have come to see me expressing the same feelings they have about this kind of system
that is currently going on inside the government today.
Mr Speaker, politicians and Members of Parliament must realize and come
to our senses to see that what we are doing is not an easy thing because it
causes suffering to people especially the youths and the unemployed who suffer
the most today.
Sir, the events of 2000 has led to some of our boys still behind the
bars today. Mr Speaker, this shows that
some politicians are very smart in doing that.
They are very smart in the divide and rule sort of attitude. They want to divide people whom they know to
be aggressive to fulfil their political desires and do not care whether those people
suffer or put in prison as that is not their concern because their concern has
already been achieved.
Mr Speaker, I speak strongly against such attitude. Youths in my constituency have first hand
information of the events that occurred in the early morning hours of 5th
June 2000. My youths are ready to
deliver what they know about those events if we really want to find out what
caused that particular government to go down in 2000. They have information on who were the
instigators and planners of the downfall of that government. Everything is very clear. It is not something to hide. It is a matter of just providing the
information and then we would know what is going to happen later on.
Sir, I want this kind of attitude to be stopped by Parliament. If you are hungry for power or whatever please
do not use our innocent people, the innocent youths to fulfil your political
desires.
Sir, this is one very big concern I would like to stress because it is one
big area of our political history. This
problem has now happened two times and we cannot allow this to continue the
third time, and that is why I am stressing it here so that we bring an end to
it or try to accommodate it within the Constitution to do something to stop
this kind of attitude.
I am surprised, Mr Speaker, that in the past when I was a boy working
for the government for many years, the party that wins most seats or majority
seats in Parliament is the one that puts the Prime Minister. However, in the process of our democracy we have
now changed. Nowadays a person with only
one or two support becomes the Prime Minister. What sort of law is this, Mr Speaker, I would
like to question? That kind of attitude
must be stopped. If we want this country
The past events are now history and in ashes. If you go to
Today it would seem that if anyone does not accept a government he/she
can march protesting against it. What is
this? We are setting precedence. This time if we do not accept a government, we
can march against it and the government will go down. We no longer follow our Constitution. Mr Speaker, I would like us as
parliamentarians or whoever responsible to please look into this concern for
tightening up.
Mr Speaker, the events of 5 June 2000 are sad and as I have already
said has brought a lot of families into disarray and made a lot of youths still
struggling today to rehabilitate. Furthermore,
it is still a big burden to a lot of parents, and they just do not want to see
this thing repeated because it ruined families and ruined the lives of young
people. But I am glad that as
responsible people in Parliament we are going to work together to try and make things
right and go by the rule of democracy and the Constitution.
That is why I have said that the grey areas of our constitution need to
be changed. I think responsible offices
and authorities must take note and do something about this so that our country is
able to progress as we expected.
Mr Speaker, I would also like to touch on another issue mentioned in
the Statement of the Prime Minister, and this is the bottom up approach. We have always heard the word ‘bottom up
approach’ but where is the bottom? I
would like to know where the bottom we are talking about here is. Take for example a tree, when we look at a
tree we can see its branches and trunk but not the roots because they are under
the ground. It is the hidden part that
is more important.
In our policy statements or whatever we may do in our planning, please do
not forget the hidden parts under the ground - the roots. That is where the stability of a tree lies. That is what we must once again consider very
carefully that whatever policies put in place and whatever plans and strategies
are in place whether it be economic, social or whatever do not forget the root
of the tree is where stability is because the roots determine the strength of a
tree to stand.
Sir, I am saying that when we address things let us address the roots
as well. Let us address resources
owners, let us address owners down there who own the resources. This is very important. Put in place policies that tie up the public
sector, the private sector and resource owners, grassroots people or people holding
the tree to stand. That is very important. Failing to do that means pleasing people
outside, and that is not addressing what we are supposed to be addressing.
Sir, my view of this bottom up approach is that we must have a bottom
so that we start from there and then come up. If we start on top in the air then there is no
bottom. Whatever policies or plans we
might have, do not forget that the people holding the tree up are those at the
bottom. Sometimes we do not see them but
they exist. They feed the tree, hold the
tree up, and that is important. This
country needs people like that. It needs
the grassroots people. It needs people
upholding our country because they own the resources.
Sir, looking at the world and also what is going on in
Sir, if we can have a policy that addresses the 80% of our people in
rural areas and those owning the resources, then I think we are addressing the
hearts of the people of Solomon Islands.
Mr Speaker, these are my concerns.
As a Christian nation whoever may have plans or your plans may have
already been achieved, remember this country is suffering because of that plan.
This country is suffering, people are
crying, people are suffering today because of our selfish and greedy attitudes.
Sir, I would like to ask us that next time do things with your own
resources and stop using innocent people to achieve your political agendas. Mr
Speaker, my contribution is short, and here I would like to thank you, Mr
Speaker for your election again as the Speaker of Parliament. I also would like to thank the Deputy Speaker,
the former Prime Minister of the former government for taking up that very
responsible role in Parliament in the organizing and administering of Parliament
meetings.
Mr Speaker, with those few remarks, I support the motion.
Mr SOFU: Thank you, Mr Speaker, for
allowing the Minister for Infrastructure and the Member of Parliament for
In so doing, Mr Speaker, I wish to
sincerely record my thanks to the chiefs, church leaders, and people of
Sir, I would also like to thank the
outgoing Member of Parliament for
Sir, I on behalf of the people of
I also congratulate the newly elected Prime Minister for his election
to that position to lead the nation at this period when the country is
struggling to recover from the aftermath of the ethnic tension. Mr Speaker, the people of
Sir, I wish also to congratulate
other Members of Parliament that we are sitting right now in this Chamber being
elected to represent our good people in this Parliament. The events of 18th April 2006 mark
a turning point in the history of politics in
Sir, may I register my words of
thanks to the Christian Churches in Solomon Islands for their prayers of the election
on 5th April 2006 for this nation to have good leaders. I have no doubt that all of us who won the
election are good leaders.
Why, Mr Speaker, some Members of Parliament are said to be corrupt? No, Mr Speaker, because all of us sitting in
this Chamber right now are the answers to the prayers of
Sir, I believe that
Mr Speaker, we parliamentarians must
listen to our people and show quality leadership in the jurisdiction of our
responsibilities as we carry out our assigned duties not forgetting national
unity as the key to the nation’s stability.
As a new Member of Parliament, I am
not happy to see senior Members of Parliament pointing fingers at each other in
this Chamber. We are mandated by our
people for one primary goal and that is to work together to serve them. Why do we come here bringing our differences,
talk about the past or talk about something that another person has done? Is that what we are mandated for? No Mr Speaker.
This Parliament belongs to the people of
Mr Speaker, the incidences of
looting, burning of business houses, residences and action of disorder against
law enforcement officers was reflective of people’s response to decisions we make
in Parliament. As I have said, this
Parliament is for the people of
Mr Speaker, during the last week of
lobbying for the election of the Prime Minister there were phone calls made to
us new Members of Parliament asking the question ‘iu hao’ and ‘iu kam
nao?’ Why are you asking us to come? We were elected by our people. We are national leaders and we know what to
say. We know our decisions.
Mr Speaker, I also want to inform this Parliament that the people of
Mr Speaker, the people of Solomon
Islands for so long have assessed the politics of this country and undoubtedly believe
that the politics of Solomon Islands is influenced by outsiders and certain
people with indifferent motives and interests resulting in the well being of
Solomon Islands being undermined.
In conclusion, Mr Speaker, I wish to
extend my thanks to Christians throughout the country for their prayers for Members
of Parliament, and also those who have helped our Chinese Community who have
lost their properties during the civil disorder.
Once again, Mr Speaker, I thank you
for your wisdom in guiding the deliberations of Members of Parliament. I would also like to acknowledge the Clerk
and officers of the National Parliament for making necessary arrangements for
us to attend this First Sitting of Parliament.
I wish every one of us God’s guidance and safe journey home to join our
good families. With that, Mr Speaker, I
support the motion and resume my seat.
Thank you.
Mr KEMAKEZA: Mr Speaker, since
nobody wants to take part in the debate, perhaps still writing their speeches
and points and so they will have their turn tomorrow.
First of all, I want to thank the
mover of this motion, the honourable Prime Minister for seeing it fit in moving
this motion as we go towards the conclusion of the First Meeting of this
Parliament. Therefore, it is the right time
for all of us who have been elected to give our appreciation and thanks to our
people, especially our voters.
Before I give my appreciation to all
of you, let me on behalf of my people of Savo/Russells join others to share our
sympathy with the Chinese Community in
Mr Speaker, I would also like to
join other colleagues who have already spoken, to thank and congratulate you
and your family for a well deserved re-election or reappointment to this high
post. You have my full support and my
confidence is in you.
When I was the Minister for Peace you were the first citizen, or father
of the nation or statesman whom I appointed to be the Chairman of the Peace and
Monitoring Council, which subsequently became the National Peace Council when
you demonstrate your confidence in me.
Also as a very strong Christian, Mr
Speaker, I would like to thank the churches and all denominations in
These have been difficult times for this nation especially going
through this new millennium. This is perhaps
not surprising because many things are happening around the world like the tsunami,
El Nino, wars and many things and so it is a bad time for this world. However, I think without divine intervention,
Mr Speaker, we would have fallen flat on our feet. I thank all Christians throughout the country
and abroad for their prayers for
On the same token I would like to join
others Mr Speaker, in thanking RAMSI, the Royal Solomon Islands Police, SICA
and many law abiding citizens of Solomon Islands for their understanding and
cooperation during these difficult times, not only after the election but even before
the election and during the uprising in our country. Without the support of our friends and our
neighbours, as the Member for North Vella rightly said this morning, Mr
Speaker, it is very important that we maintain relationship with our neighbours
like
The Biketawa Declaration was not made by
accident by successive governments or those with the vision in those days by
having a mechanism in place in case any member country gets into trouble, like
We must understand that we are part and parcel of the region and the
world. When we talk we should not talk
like we are in our homes. We should not
talk because we think we are somebody. I
can still remember your words when you became the first Prime Minister, Mr
Speaker, “inter interdependence”. That
was the word you used and I learn that from you. We rely on each others even in our little set
ups, our little organisations and in the offices. The one sweeping the office is important like
the Speaker and the Minister. All of us
are important.
If you look at our association in the region and the world, we must
broaden our thinking and have vision in how far we should we go because we need
each other. I will touch later on this when
I come to sovereignty and dignity that we talk so much about. Sir, we must not lose sight of this. If it is a slip of the tongue or if your
mouth is faster than your brains then you must think again.
Sir, I must thank all Members on this side of the House for their
understanding, and similarly to my colleagues on the government side. In fact as I alluded to yesterday, many of
them are my good friends. The Deputy
Prime Minister was the Leader of Opposition when I was the Deputy Leader of
Opposition, and so I know him very well because I worked with him except that
he has to come to office not twice a month.
Mr Speaker, I would also like to thank the former Prime Minister, the
chief and Member of Parliament for Marovo.
He is a man of standing except that we have other views about him and
his people. Being a father I do not know
what his family might be thinking about him.
Anyway we cannot help it because politics is politics. But had we thought about it properly we
should have given him a bit more time, but only time will tell.
Sir, this point drives me to the point raised by the MP for East Are Are. If this move was
planned then I do not want to put it where the MP for East Are Are puts it. I want
it to go as far as to the Commission of Inquiry. Some form of inquiry has to be taken on this because
it is a very, very serious situation. I
think this side of the House should put a case to court to challenge this. I would agree to that suggestion. I am not hesitant to say the least.
Several options can be taken to test the decisions. As you know, Mr Speaker, a decision is not
like mathematics where 2 + 2 equals 4. A
decision is not that 2 + 2 equals to 10.
We always take wrong to the far and close to the right. Any decision taken during this situation is
not 100% wrong and let the courts decide otherwise. Those are some options worth looking at.
Sir, before I touch on some of the issues raised by the mover of the
motion, as I alluded to yesterday, the Member for Savo Russells,
the former Prime Minister, and I want to correct a few information first
because this is an opportunity for me to talk because if I talk in the media I
will be taken differently. If I give my
statement to the media they will not bother about it. And so I must say it here for people in this
country to hear it.
Sir, I was labelled the most corrupt and most dishonest person in
Mr Speaker, I was brought up in a very simple family in my home with
nine brothers and two sisters, eleven of us.
It so happened that I and my younger brother find ourselves in this
Parliament. We are very peace loving people
and that is why I continue to win my seat in Parliament. I am from the commoners’.
Sir, after school I joined the Royal
Solomon Islands Police Force. You, Mr
Speaker, were the D.O, D.C. and a Magistrate.
I prosecuted cases before you, and I hope you can remember that Mr
Speaker. My profession is police officer. The highest rank I achieved in the Police
Force was Director of Criminal Investigations in
If a former Director of Criminal
Investigations knows very well an offence but goes ahead to commit the offence
then he must be a man who is not in his right sense.
I joined the Royal Solomon Islands
Police Force from the 1960’s and in 1989 I came into politics. At first I became the Minister for Police and
Justice and later on I was Minister for Housing and Government Services when
the Prime Minister now was my Commissioner of Income Tax. He was my staff at that time as the
Commissioner of Income Tax. After that we
lost the Government, and you know this Mr Speaker, because you were the Minister
for Foreign Affairs at that time. We lost
the government in 1993 to the Member of Parliament for Ranongga/Simbo. We lost the government at that time and we accepted
it, and that was when the Deputy Prime Minister now was the leader of
opposition and I served under him. In
1994 we took the government and I joined and became the Minister for
Forests. In 1997 we again lost the
government and the present MP for Langa Langa, the
Minister of Finance now was the Prime Minister at that time and we became
Opposition again and nothing happened, it was very good. And then 2000 came, but I leave that as
history because somebody has already talked about it otherwise I might bore
Parliament with it.
Then we came in 2000, Mr Speaker, trying to bring about peace. I am proud to say here, Mr Speaker, that you
and I achieved the Townsville Peace Agreement.
I must congratulate you for your wisdom in assisting me as Minister
responsible for Peace at that time. We also
achieved the Marau Peace Agreement. What a great leader I have worked with who is none
other than yourself, Mr Speaker.
In 2001 I became the Prime Minister
of this country, and I am very proud to say also that I am the first Prime
Minister who reigned four years on this floor of Parliament.
(hear, hear)
Is that corruption and
dishonesty? Lining up here are the Exim Bank, the Sol-Law case and the 10 Kwaio people. I would like to say to my colleague, the Minister
for Infrastructure and Member for
Why
would the Prime Minister send these people when he has the Royal Solomon Islands
Police to send because it is their job? Even
if they go and die that is their job. Have
a bit of sense and logic here.
Sir, I
was also accused as being involved in the burning down of the Finance Building,
and that is where the word ‘big fish’ came from by none other than a Member of
Parliament who is still sitting on this floor of Parliament. Prove it!
I was
even speculated as owning a house in
Mr
Speaker, I must make myself very clear here first of all. This is not the end. Nobody is perfect. Even Judas Iscariot was the first corrupt
person, a disciple of Jesus, according to the Bible, who sold his Master for 30
pieces of silver. Is this true? Who are you to say you are perfect then you
must be an angel?
Mr
Speaker, I am also the Chairman of the Savo House of Chiefs. I have that standing from my own people, and
for you Members of Parliament or those on the other side to label me in that
manner is not good enough, and that is why I challenged them yesterday. These allegations came out from their very
mouths and went down to my constituency before the general elections. That was the challenge I met during my
campaign. The Liberal Party, Labour
Party, National Party and SOCRED Party put their candidates to challenge me in
the elections.
I
want to challenge the Prime Minister, Mr Speaker, who is not here, but if he is
listening or he can check the Hansard Reports.
He is now the Prime Minister and so he must go and pay my wantoks who paid $10 to receive $30,000. They filled in forms, Mr Speaker. The policy of SOCRED is to pay $10 and receive
$30, 000. Now that he is the Prime
Minister he must make the payment. I
will go back to Savo and find out how many of my people have filled in the form
to come and claim their $30,000.
I
thank the MP for East Are Are for mentioning the SOCRED
Party’s policy of removing every function of the Central Bank down to the Treasury
and changing everything, especially the financial institutions. I challenge the Prime Minister to do that. He is my best friend, and as I said I was his
Deputy Prime Minister at one time. But
how he put his candidate in my constituency was just too much making some of us
as men with no standing. The word used
against me was corruption.
Mr
Speaker, whenever we are in power, especially in the running of the government,
which also happened to you, Mr Speaker, I hope you remember the Rara issue. That was
by the former late Member of Parliament for
Mr Speaker, you were once a magistrate and
you know that spreading false rumours can amount to defamation of character. You know this, Mr Speaker, because you judged
a lot of cases in the past.
Befriending ex militants, Mr Speaker, yes
they are my friends because they are human beings. The present Minister for Provincial
Government said yesterday that he messed up the peace process at that
time. Now I would like to tell him the
right way of doing it. Why is it that
you only talked with the Premiers of Malaita,
You talked with the Premiers but the
Premier of Guadalcanal finds it hard to talk with the militants of
It is true, it happened, Mr Speaker, that
all you Members of Parliament were not there.
Most of you runaway, some even run away to
I do not want this place. No, it is rubbish and you have experienced it,
Mr Speaker. It is not easy and anyone
who wants to become Prime Minister can go and take over. Now that he won it let him handle it. The time will come when his records will be
revealed. You are the one who ruined it.
Hon Ulufa’alu: I
am tired of hearing that story.
Mr Kemakeza: I
am telling this to you because you messed it up. You create problems that you cannot solve.
Mr Speaker, who has been doing all these every
time? Who is causing this problem since
1997? It is none other than the MP for
Aoke/Langa Langa, the now Finance Minister because he created the Malaita block
and then come in here because he wanted to be the Prime Minister. He said “we are new members”. New ‘member lelebet’,
he was a member since 1976. He was a
member since 1976. I am much younger
than him but he has been around for a much longer time.
Mr Speaker, you know it and when you went
to
(Mr Ulufa’alu interjecting):
Barrel of the gun Prime Minister.
The barrel of the gun made you become the Prime Minister.
Mr Kemakeza:
You prove that. If it is barrel
of the gun Mr Speaker, why did RAMSI came in?
Why? I brought RAMSI in because I
want people with guns to surrender their arms so that the country can become
peaceful again. That is the reason
behind it Mr Speaker. How many times we gave
amnesty to them yet no guns were surrendered.
Do you know why? It is because
people have no confidence on each other.
That is what the MP for Aoke/Langa Langa is still dreaming about
it. You hang on, I will give it to you because
there is no barrier in a sine dine motion.
(Mr Ulufa’alu interjecting):
Okay you wait for it too because I am going to give it back to you.
Mr Kemakeza: You give it. Do you think you are the only one? You take it up this time I will take it up
next time. You are a Member of Parliament
and so am I. This is my time to speak
and so nobody will stop me. I am elected
to speak on this floor, and so who can stop me except upon your ruling, Mr
Speaker.
Let me now give some advice to the Member for Aoke/Langa Langa, my good
friend the Minister. I am going to give
you advice.
Mr Speaker, my advice to the new Government is first look at some of the
good policies that I have put in place. Some
of them are good ones, not everyone is bad, not like SIAC’s
last time which many are bad and only three are good ones. Many of the policies of the Kemakeza
Government are good ones.
The Minister for Mines talked very much this morning. He said people wanted change. But change for what? You were the SPM of most governments and you should
change things.
Mr Speaker, this man seems to not know the past. He has been the advisor of most Prime Ministers
and yet is complaining over spilt milk. I have everything for respect him. He is to learn his school first time in
politics Mr Speaker. He is my in-law but
I would like to tell him because last time we two respect each other on the
floor of Parliament. This is politics and
when we go outside my in-law is hard to talk to.
My first advice to the government is to look at the good policies the
last government started my Ministers.
The Prime Minister is not here, and so the Deputy you take note. Not only the policies of the Rural
Advancement are good, some of ours are good ones.
Secondly, Mr Speaker, do not make a lot of promises because our time is
very short. What are you making too many
promises for? Get a few things and move on. Last time SIAC made promises and did not
fulfil it when our money was put to the Central Bank, which is a new policy, a
new change that eventually did not work.
Do the right thing, we must do the right think. Do not start by doing the wrong thing. Goodness sake, what sort of change is this. Do the right things my colleagues, you and me,
all of us. That is my advice to
you. If you want it get it, it is up to
you and then make some differences. Nobody
knows everything. Some people pretend to
know everything. If you know everything MP
for Aoke/Langa Langa, go and fly the plane.
You would not be able to.
(Mr
Ulufa’alu interjecting):
Who is arguing with you? Talk to
yourself.
Mr Kemakeza: Do not ever make
enemy with our friends. You can do international
diplomacy that even though you are angry with him, tap him on the back. Tell him you are good, but your mind is still
there. This way of talking out first is
not good.
Another of my advice, Mr Speaker, is that remember this side of the
House is also part and partial of the organization. If there is anything we can do, give it to us so
that we offer our services.
The
Remember that in politics there are no permanent friends and no
permanent enemies. I can tell you. If it is not history then it remains history
that last time many of you on the opposition side became my ministers. The Leader of the Opposition last time in fact
became my very good Minister of Economic Planning and so was the former Member
for
Remember that if you mess up your time don’t think this side will just
sit down and watch you. We are going to
come and take over, and that is if you mess it up. If you do a good work, and you cannot beat the
records because this government has three Prime Ministers, but if you mess it
up we are ready to come over.
Finally, Mr Speaker, I must also thank the Clerk and your staff for
preparation of two weeks of meeting which we have seen the election of two
Prime Ministers. It has not been easy it
has been the busiest time because even if we had meet for three weeks, it has
been a busiest time for you Sir.
I also would like to thank the Governor General for his understanding
and tolerance although some people including myself questioned his decision but
the boss is boss and has the final say.
Mr Speaker, I must also thank our development partners. We must work closely with them. We must work with every Solomon Islander,
every business friends especially our Chinese community.
I also do not forget all of you my other colleagues, the 49 Members of
Parliament. I wish you well when you go to
visit your constituencies. In fact if
this meeting continues I am ready to go home tomorrow to see my people
first.
Sir, I give my full blessing to the new government to settle down, put
your programs properly and go ahead to lead our country and people. But as I said, this side of the House would
like to participate, subject to the approval of its Leader, in any tasks that
the MP for Aoke/Langa Langa may want us to do. Last time the MP for Aoke/Langa Langa gave me
a task to review the Provincial Government system, which I handed the report on
that to the now Minister for Provincial Government, the same Minister I handed
to him the best report on how the Solomon Islands Provincial Governments should
work. The wisdom contained in that
report should be implemented. I was not
able to do that during my time because the cry was for the federal system and
now that the federal system is in Parliament go ahead and complete it. That is your baby and so you take it on from
there.
Mr Speaker, with these very brief remarks, I support the motion and resume
my seat. Thank you.
Hon SOALAOI: Mr Speaker,
before I say anything in this honourable House I would like to first of all
acknowledge the Almighty in my election victory. I know that without Him all of us can do
nothing. I think we are all Christians
and we know this country is a Christian country and I would like to thank our God
for my victory in this election.
As one of the new Members in Parliament it was not an easy task and I
also know that it is not going to be easy.
Secondly, I would like to thank the
chiefs, church leaders, community leaders, young people, mothers, children and
people of Temotu VATTU constituency for having confidence in me by voting me
into Parliament as their leader for the next four years. I am hoping to do my best so that I will
continue to be their leader into the future.
Mr Speaker, at this very important
time of nation-building, the events of the past two weeks do not give us a good
picture of where we want to go. I would
like to explain my position as a young leader who crossed the floor in my first
week in Parliament and also in my first term in Parliament.
Sir, I would like to say that there have been rumours about my changing
position from the former government to the Opposition. People thought that I was going after money. Mr Speaker, as an honest leader, I would like
to say that I have had to seriously consider my position after assessing what
has happened over the past two weeks beginning from Tuesday. I thought that if our leaders cannot listen
to their people when they talk to them, the people will choose other ways of
talking to us leaders.
What happened to my understanding,
Mr Speaker is just unavoidable. It has
to happen in order to communicate the people’s wish for a new government which
could not be heard by our leaders when communicated in words.
Mr Speaker,
Sir, I have to put my integrity, dignity and principles aside for the
sake of peace on behalf of my people of Temotu VATTU Constituency and the
people of
I simply surrendered to peace, Mr Speaker, when I decided to cross the
floor with the hat of Justice and Legal Affairs Minister on my head, and I
would like to clear the air of rumours surrounding my actions.
Sir, I personally believe that I made a quality decision on behalf of
my people as a leader and a national leader.
As a result of what happened on Wednesday the curfew was immediately
lifted the same day and our good peace loving people of Solomon Islands were
able to move around and conduct their normal lives freely once again.
Tuesday will remained to be called the ‘Black Tuesday’ as somebody
wrote in the media and I also thought before I move that Wednesday was going to
be another black Wednesday.
As a responsible leader I thought that I do not have to put my people
at risk again, and so I had to make the sacrifice on what I had mentioned
earlier. Regardless of our principles
when you make yourself stiff with your principles and your integrity as a
leader then that is what we can see as to what has happened last Tuesday.
Honourable colleagues, I just would like to explain to this honourable
House that having thought seriously about what could happen the next day, I
acted accordingly during that point in time.
Also on Wednesday during the election of a new Prime Minister I thought
about it before I came into parliament for the voting. I also thought that something even more
serious could happen if nothing changes.
I would like to give credit to the honourable MP for Marovo
for taking that honourable step. I think
we need leaders like that.
I finally realize that the issue is no longer the captain but the ship.
Given the fact that our people want a
new government, we do not only want to change the captain of the ship but I
also realize that we want to change the ship.
Sometimes the ship may be painted with different colours but it is still
the same ship.
Mr Speaker, in thinking about the affairs of our peace loving people, I
would like to say here that, that is the reason why I acted according to what
happened on Wednesday. The fact that my
constituency has seen nothing during the last four years also caused me to
think very seriously about joining or becoming a passenger of the same boat.
Sir, I believe that my people of VATTU
Constituency are satisfied with me joining a new government, even as the new
Minister for Health and Medical Services, an area which has been overlooked in
the last four years.
As far as my constituency is concerned, in
terms of health and education, which are the two most essential services in
Coming from the rural area, we were promised free education and we had
to pay even what is called school contribution which to me is still school fees
at the primary school level. It would
seem to me that it is still the same pig with a different colour. I fail to see anything on what the last
government said about ‘free education’.
Those reasons justify the reason why I opted to join a new government.
Mr Speaker, let me mention something about my new Ministry. In terms of health and medical services, when
I was a child the first thing I heard about was a clinic. Today if you go home you still hear people
talking about a clinic. I am wondering
when that clinic will become a hospital or that so-called clinic will be much
bigger. The fact that we do not have
clinics since
Sir, I believe the government of the day has the necessary policies to
address our health issues and so as education.
In our rural areas people die of very small diseases that can be easily
diagnosed and treated. People living in
Provincial Centres and the Capital Honiara can receive treatment for those same
sicknesses. When you have diabetes in
the rural areas and in the village you can hardly get treatment and you can
easily die. If you have the same disease
in
Sir, I started to think that the government is not fair in the way it
is delivering essential services to rural areas. What is the difference between a man living in
the village and a man living in town? Is
a man in the village not good and a man in
As a delivering Ministry, I would like to urge all Members of Parliament
to support us in terms of our budgets and bills if they come on the floor of Parliament
for discussion.
The Department of Health and Medical Services delivers essential services
to the people of
Mr Speaker, I believe that every citizen of this nation know that they
have equal rights to medical services provided by the government of the day. All of us also know that without health
everything else is nothing. Therefore, I
would like to call on every Solomon Islander that despite and in spite of
whatever situations we are in let us respect our medical facilities and
workers.
Lastly, Mr Speaker, as a new MP I would like to urge the 50 MPs to
stand united in our endeavors to rebuild a united
As a leader I would like to urge all 50 Members of parliament to unite
as we rebuild our beloved
Mr Speaker, I would like to say that having listened to previous
speakers I think there is a lot that we have to do. We have to respect ourselves first before
others can respect us. Listening to
previous speakers I do not think this is the way we should talk inside this
honourable House. Having looked through
the Standing Orders there are orders we are obliged to follow, and so far as I
sit and listen it would seem to me that we are not following the Standing Orders
when we talk in Parliament.
I just want to tell all leaders that if we can respect ourselves in
this honourable House, I believe our people will respect whatever we say.
Lastly Mr Speaker, I would like to congratulate the honourable Prime
Minister for becoming our new Prime Minister. I also would like to congratulate the
honourable MP for Central Kwara’ae for becoming the Opposition Leader. What we like to see here is not pointing
fingers at each other but urge our two leaders to work together with each
other. All of us in this honourable
House will contribute and all of us must ensure that this nation becomes a
united nation.
With that, Mr Speaker, I will have more time to talk about my Ministry
during the next sitting of Parliament.
That is all I have to say for now, Mr Speaker, and I resume my seat.
The House adjourned at 3.28 pm