Important Apology

Do apologise but don;t have the time to keep two blogs going right now. I’ll not post again on Sore Lo Solomoni for a while.

Give me time…

Thanks

Is this schizophrenia in government?

Ghiro switched: More opposition join govt

TUESDAY, 22 FEBRUARY 2011 03:49

Deputy Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Maelanga, left welcomes Parliament Member of East Makira Alfred Ghiro, center and while being witnessed by MP for Makira/Ulawa James Tora.

THE Danny Philip led National Coalition for Reform and Advancement government (NCRA) continues to gain the favour of the Opposition members with the latest switch of East Makira MP Alfred Ghiro yesterday evening.

Mr Ghiro in an inclusive interview with The Solomon Star yesterday confirmed he has written to the Speaker of his resignation from both the Independent Group and from the Opposition.

The Solomon Star also cited a copy of his letter to the Speaker which quoted; “I Honourable Alfred Ghiro Member of Parliament for East Makira wish to officially inform you today (yesterday) that I have made up my mind to throw support behind the current NCRA government”.

He said he has decided to join the government because this country needs political stability.

“I view that political instability as a part and parcel of why our country cannot develop as expected by our people.

“I also decide to join the government to support the national budget,” he said.

Mr Ghiro said his move to join the government is not because of money or being promised of any portfolio but because the country needs a stable government and the need to pass the national budget.

“I have no personal differences with the Opposition and the Independent group that led to my move,” he added.

Mr Ghiro said infact when he was elected as the MP for East Makira his people expects him to be with any ruling government which he failed them.

He said his move to switch side now fulfils what his people expect of him.

The latest switch by Mr Ghiro brings the numerical strength of the government to 29-19.

Yesterday another opposition member Stanley Sofu was sworn in to join the government. Member of Parliament for Savo/Russells Dickson Mua was said to have joined the government.

Last Thursday four MPs were sworn in after they defected from the Opposition camp at Heritage Park Hotel.

MP for Ulawa Ugi, James Tora returned to his old Ministry of Police and National Security position, MP for Gela, Mark Kemakeza also returned to his old Ministry of Mines and Energy role, MP for Lau/Mbaelelea, Walter Folotalu was the new Minister for Provincial Government and MP for North Guadalcanal, Martin Sopaghe returned to his old Ministry of Lands and Housing.

….

I’ve seen a lot in regards to SI politics over my 30 years in the Solos. This though is unprecedented… And am very much shocked how insane things have gotten. In less then 3 weeks some 9 or 10 MPs have decided they could justify swapping allegiances. Of the 9 or 10 instances we find that the same guys swap once, then again?

Is this schizophrenia in government?

Last year a bill to stop this wholesale jumping around (nick-named the “grasshoppe bill” failed to pass parliament.

So sad… sore lo Solomoni

 

way, way behind

And I feel bad about it.

So much work to do here… but, sore hola… got, got, got no time…

and…

Director of the public prosecution (DPP) Ronald Bei Talasasa said allegations against him claiming RAMSI is influencing his office to manipulate sentences handed down by the court is totally baseless and useless.

This is a response to the article from the Solomon Star yesterday that alleged RAMSI is influencing the Opposition as well as the legal system of Solomon Islands to suits their interests.

Mr Talasasa said that such an allegation is totally false and baseless.

He said that DPP is a totally independent office that has always acted in the best interests of all Solomon Islanders.
“RAMSI has never approached me, or my office, in an attempt to influence the work of the office”, he said.

and, sadly, more…

RAMSI special coordinator, Graeme Wilson commented further on claims made in an intelligence report handed to the Solomon Star by the Prime Minister’s press secretary earlier this week.

He expressed deep disappointment at claims which were made about RAMSI’s work in Solomon Islands, including an attack on the integrity of the country’s judiciary.

Mr Wilson said RAMSI strongly refuted all the allegations made in the document that were provided to the Solomon Star, based on what he described as a ‘so-called secret intelligence report’ describing them as “having no basis in fact.”

“We are dismayed that these ludicrous claims could ever be taken seriously,” said Mr Wilson.

It was disappointing that the allegations were not raised with RAMSI before appearing in the media.

He said the claims were even more surprising given that he believed RAMSI had a good working relationship with the Philip Government.

“RAMSI has always been committed to working with the Government of the day, and the Philip Government is no exception,” he said.

Mr Wilson welcomed the statement by the Prime Minister at Monday’s Waitangi Day celebrations, repeating his Government’s commitment to working closely with RAMSI.

Mr Wilson said that claims of interference within the Solomon Islands judiciary were an attack on the integrity of the Solomon Islands judiciary.

“While RAMSI provides strong support for the justice sector, we have absolutely no influence on the appointment of judges and magistrates,” he said.

“This is completely a matter for the Chief Justice of Solomon Islands, and importantly, no evidence has been presented to support this claim.

“Furthermore, the very serious allegations of interference in the Solomon Islands judicial process is an insult to the hundreds of men and women of the Solomon Islands police and justice sector, who, together with RAMSI advisers from throughout the Pacific, uphold the rule of law in Solomon Islands.
“RAMSI is committed to working with the Government of the day, and I have every confidence that, through close dialogue and consultation, we can continue to build a genuine and constructive partnership with the Government and people of Solomon Islands in the interests of all Solomon Islanders.”

and more…

DEPUTY Opposition leader Matthew Wale has called on Prime Minister Danny Philip to provide evidence regarding Government claims that RAMSI and the Australian government were backing the Opposition.

The Government in what they described as a ‘top intelligence report’ pointed fingers at RAMSI and Australia as the major players behind the Opposition’s plot in trying to topple the Danny Philip regime.

Mr Wale in a press conference at Heritage Park Hotel said he had no information regarding the allegations that the Opposition was backed by RAMSI and Australia.

“The Government is trying to play cheap and low politics. I’m calling on Prime Minister Danny Philip to provide evidence to support these cheap allegations,” he said.

Mr Wale called on the Government to prove to the nation and come forward with the evidence.

“It is not enough for the Prime Minister and his press secretary to lie to the people of this country because everyone knows that their political strategy will not work here.

“This Government is a wrong Government and I can tell you that they know themselves that they will never last since day one because they have wrong motives,” he said.

Mr Wale was confident to acknowledge the Opposition would be taking over soon when Parliament sits next month.

However, in a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office it stated that they did not have to provide evidence regarding the matter because it was highly confidential.

This was despite a representative of the Prime Minister being the one who handed the document over to the Solomon Star by his own will.

“A denial by both Mr Wale and the Australian High Commission is not good enough and won’t do,” the Prime Minister’s follow-up statement said.

“We expect a denial anyway. But a denial is not good enough to reflect the gravity of the seriousness of this matter.

“Mr Wale must disclose the details of his dealings with Canberra, because it is public knowledge that he has engaged with Canberra since last year about his ambition to be Prime Minister,” the statement said.

In the statement the Office of the Prime Minister said the Government had suspected all along that someone was behind Mr Wale’s unrelenting barrage of criticisms on the Government, particularly his efforts to bring down the Danny Philip regime.

“Now that his involvement with a foreign government to topple a legitimately elected government has been exposed, the onus is now on him to disclose to us the details of the deal. We want to know what’s in it for the people of Solomon Islands, apart from his own package in the arrangement,” the statement said.

The report has pointed a finger at Australia because Canberra was allegedly unhappy with Prime Minister Philip’s Government for setting a five-year exit timetable for the Regional Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI).

“Australia is using Mr Wale because he is the perfect candidate to articulate Canberra’s position. The Opposition leader proper does not have the ingredients to do so because he does not want to compromise the sovereignty of a nation he loves,” the statement said.

Meanwhile the government appealed to politicians in the Opposition camp to re-examine their position based on the oath of office they have taken as to who they must serve.

“The intelligence report has made it very clear their support for the Opposition and its backer has nothing to do with the interest of the people of Solomon Islands who voted them.

“In reality they are pushing a foreign agenda which has little or no benefits at all to the people of Solomon Islands.

“They must re-examine their position,” the statement said.

“Politicians are reminded that by following the deputy leader of the Opposition, they are in fact selling the sovereignty of Solomon Islands,” the statement said.

more fun for today…

SOLOMON Islands High Commissioner to Australia Beraki Jino was summoned last night by the Parliamentary Secretary for the Pacific, Richard Marles.

This is to allow Mr Marles to convey his government’s concern over the report which alleged that the Australian government and RAMSI have backed the Opposition to topple the Danny Philip led government.

In a statement issued by the Australia High Commission office in Honiara last night said the Australian government is very concern about the report.

“We are very concerned at the allegations which have no basis in fact.

“Australia is taking these allegations very seriously, the statement said.

The Australia High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, Frank Ingruber, is seeking a call on Prime Minister Philips.

“And even the Parliamentary Secretary for the Pacific, Richard Marles, has last night summoned the Solomon Islands High Commissioner Beraki Jino to convey to the Solomon Islands Government their strong concerns about these baseless allegations.

“We want to be very clear that there is no conspiracy to topple the Solomon Islands Government

“Australia is not colluding with any Solomon Islands MP or political party against the Solomon Islands Government.

“Australia does not seek to influence politics in our neighbouring countries,” the statement said last night.

EU BS…

THIS TOPIC KINDA UPSETS ME… There is so much graft and corruption around the world fisheries and BS regulators like the EU. Their actions are boarder line criminal in many ways…

The minister of foreign affairs and external trade, Peter Shanel, has told the Pacific ACP trade ministers’ meeting on Thursday and Friday last week in Apia, Samoa, to negotiate hard for global sourcing for fresh and frozen fish in a comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement [EPA] with the European Union [EU].

‘We need to negotiate very hard to ensure that, like our processed fish [canned tuna], we can also get global sourcing for fresh and frozen fish.

“This would ensure that every single one of us, particularly the Least Developed Countries [LDCs] and the Small Island States [SIS], will also stand to benefit from a comprehensive EPA.’ Mr Shanel appealed.

The EU’s global sourcing rule on fish allows a country to get its fish from anywhere in the world and from any fishing vessel and as long as this fish is landed in that country, that fish can be exported fresh, frozen or processed to the EU market duty free.

In the Interim EPA already signed by Papua New Guinea and Fiji, the global sourcing rule for processed fish has already been secured.

But not for fresh and frozen fish; which some LDCs and SIS are more interested in because they lack the capacity and the resources [water, land, infrastructure] to build a cannery.

“Fish is one resource, perhaps the only resource, our region has been blessed with and which we can all claim to have in relative abundance.

“The EPA can only be a meaningful agreement for all of us if this global sourcing rule is also extended to fresh and frozen fish.” Mr Shanel stressed.

A number of countries, including Fiji, Kiribati and Tuvalu, spoke strongly on the need to continue to negotiate global sourcing for fresh and frozen fish and this was agreed to by the meeting.

The trade ministers also discussed how to progress and conclude the EPA negotiations; which started in September 2002.

They agreed to an ambitious road map, drawn up by the Forum Secretariat, to conclude the negotiations by the end of the year.

So ambitious that Mr Shanel requested if PACER-Plus and related meetings scheduled for the year could be deferred until the EPA negotiations are over.

“The number of EPA meetings that are being proposed and their duration will heavily tax our already stretched resources.

“To ease this pressure, we should not schedule any PACER Plus and PACER Plus-related meetings after the Palau meetings already scheduled for mid-March.

“This would enable our delegation to effectively mobilize the limited resources we have and focus these on the EPA negotiations with a view to reaching an agreement by the end of the year. Let’s take one trade agreement at a time.” Mr. Shannel said.

Mr Shannel and his delegation will arrive back in the country early this week.

– Source : Robert Sisilo, member of the SI delegation in Apia, Samoa.

and it continues…

RESIGNED Minister for Public Service, Stanley Sofu handed a copy of his resignation letter to the Solomon Star yesterday to prove that he did resign.

This to clear doubts in the media that he never resigned as the Prime Minister’s press secretary, Alfred Sasako claimed last week.

Mr Sasako said Mr Sofu only signed the petition letter but never resigned from the government, and the Governor General requested him to take his oath again.

However in his letter written to Governor General Sir Frank Kabui, Sofu explained that he no longer has the confidence in Danny Philip as Prime Minister for Solomon Islands for various reasons.

“His style of leadership has made it difficult for me to continue serving in his NCRA Government as a minister for Crown responsible for the Ministry of Public Service,” the copy of the letter said.

“Accordingly, I hereby resign forthwith from the Office of Minister responsible for the said ministry pursuant to section 34(6) of the Constitution.
“I shall now join and become a member of the Parliamentary Independent Group,” it went on to say.

sore lo solomoni

OPPOSITION Leader, Steve Abana was said to have intercepted a group of Government’s supporters at Honiara domestic airport on Thursday.

This came after they took resigned Minister for Police, James Tora and wanted to send him to the Western Province.

According to our source from Opposition, the Government’s supporters used Mr Tora’s relatives to lure him inside a dark tinted taxi.

“When Tora got inside the taxi, there were government’s supporters sitting inside,” our source said.

“They drove with Mr Tora to the airport and wanted to send him on a flight to Western Province.

“Luckily Steve Abana followed behind the vehicle and got Tora from the Government’s supporters,” our source said.

“The Government is really desperate to increase its number and resort to some kind of conning measures.”

Tora did not want to comment on this issue.

It was also reported that the Government sent some of its friend to lure Opposition members, Dickson Mua, Clay Forau and three South region MPs in Malaita, Rick Hou, John Mane and Andrew Hanaria.

Currently the number game between the Government and Opposition is locked at 24/24.
The Opposition filed a motion of no confidence to Parliament on Tuesday.