Desperate to cling to power, PM Sogavare bribes MPs
Honiara, Solomon Islands
ABCMelanesia
ABCMelanesia can now reveal that the Prime Minister Office (PMO) of Solomon Islands has actively pursued to lure a number of MPs with hard and cold cash.
As reported by the Solomon Star, the Opposition released the following statement condemning the move:
The Opposition slammed the PM's blatant bribery move as "outrageous and a pure act of corruption":
MPs in the Opposition disclosed the bribes ranging from $500,000 to $1 million, in a desperate effort by the PM and its cronies to shut up Opposition voice and preserve the corruption-tainted government of PM Manasseh Sogavare.
The MPs then questioned the source of the illicit fund:
This latest twist in the politics of the small island Pacific nation of Solomon Islands come on the heels of the visit by Taiwan's President, Tsai Ing-Wen.
President Ing-Wen visited Solomon Islands last week and promised more financial assistance for the struggling government of PM Sogavare.
Money from Taiwan has in the past found its way into the pocket of Mr Sogavare.
Sogavare, who was revealed to be a dual-national of both Solomon Islands and PNG, bought two luxurious properties at Henderson on the eastern outskirts of Honiara, the capital of Solomon Islands using the illicit money.
Many Pacific political analysts have come to the conclusion that Sogavare's views on West Papua is strongly motivated by his desire to preserve his political future.
The analyst further observed Sogavare's worsening relations with Australia and China, traditionally two of the largest foreign donors to Melanesian countries.
"Faced with that kind of political pressure, financial problems and worsening international relations, Sogavare way out was one to accept money from Taiwan and two keep stoking regional conflict with the issue of West Papua." added the analyst.
Papua and West Papua are legally and internationally recognised provinces of Indonesia.
PM Sogavare was full of praise as he welcomed the President of Taiwan, he said:
The "fruits of this relationship" that PM Sogavare was referring to is the Taiwan's cash going into the pocket of PM Sogavare himself.
A majority of MPs plan to fire Mr Sogavare in a vote of no-confidence today Monday, 6 November.
The MPs and the defecting ministers has no more confidence in the Democratic Coalition for Change, the government's political party.
Mr Rini, the former Fisheries Minister had this to say about Mr Sogavare:
This development comes as news broke that Mr Sogavare abruptly an anti-corruption bill. A law that would have enabled authorities to enforce anti-corruption measures more effectively.
ABCMelanesia
ABCMelanesia
ABCMelanesia can now reveal that the Prime Minister Office (PMO) of Solomon Islands has actively pursued to lure a number of MPs with hard and cold cash.
As reported by the Solomon Star, the Opposition released the following statement condemning the move:
“We condemned attempts by the Prime Minister’s Office in trying to lure our Members of Parliament with lucrative amounts of money."
The Opposition slammed the PM's blatant bribery move as "outrageous and a pure act of corruption":
“Desperate attempts by the PMO in trying to lure their MPs with cash and cheques is outrageous and a pure act of corruption."
 |
| Governor-General of Solomon Islands, Sir Frank Kabui received President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-Wen |
MPs in the Opposition disclosed the bribes ranging from $500,000 to $1 million, in a desperate effort by the PM and its cronies to shut up Opposition voice and preserve the corruption-tainted government of PM Manasseh Sogavare.
“Government cronies and MPs are frequently texting and calling Opposition MPs offering them $500,000 and even as high as $1 Million to join them.
The MPs then questioned the source of the illicit fund:
“Where is the PMO getting these funds from?”
This latest twist in the politics of the small island Pacific nation of Solomon Islands come on the heels of the visit by Taiwan's President, Tsai Ing-Wen.
President Ing-Wen visited Solomon Islands last week and promised more financial assistance for the struggling government of PM Sogavare.
Money from Taiwan has in the past found its way into the pocket of Mr Sogavare.
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Solomon Islands Douglas Ete delivered this blunt fact:
"In 2015, Taiwan gave ten million US dollars to the government of Sogavare. Sogavare used this money to bribe and co-opt his political allies and foes. About six million of it was used to bribe fifty MPs. Less than USD700k was allocated for education and development. Sogavare himself pocketed close to one million US dollars."
Sogavare, who was revealed to be a dual-national of both Solomon Islands and PNG, bought two luxurious properties at Henderson on the eastern outskirts of Honiara, the capital of Solomon Islands using the illicit money.
Many Pacific political analysts have come to the conclusion that Sogavare's views on West Papua is strongly motivated by his desire to preserve his political future.
"Look, Manasseh Sogavare has been subject to many many votes of no confidence. He rampantly abuses his power and swindle state funds for his own personal gain."
"Add to that, under his lead, Solomon Islands experienced negative economic growth of eight percent, high unemployment and over-dependency on foreign aid."
The analyst further observed Sogavare's worsening relations with Australia and China, traditionally two of the largest foreign donors to Melanesian countries.
"Faced with that kind of political pressure, financial problems and worsening international relations, Sogavare way out was one to accept money from Taiwan and two keep stoking regional conflict with the issue of West Papua." added the analyst.
Papua and West Papua are legally and internationally recognised provinces of Indonesia.
The government of Solomon Islands have been found to commit many human rights abuses. The BBC reported that between 1997 and 2003, 100 people died and 20,000 people displaced on Guadalcanal. The Isatabu Freedom Movement is also seeking to split from the Solomon Islands.
 |
| PM Sogavare with a group of Taiwan delegates |
“The future of Solomon Islands and the Republic of China (Taiwan) relations is filled with promising prospects, and I am optimistic that the fruits of this relationship will grow to greater heights,”
The "fruits of this relationship" that PM Sogavare was referring to is the Taiwan's cash going into the pocket of PM Sogavare himself.
A majority of MPs plan to fire Mr Sogavare in a vote of no-confidence today Monday, 6 November.
The MPs and the defecting ministers has no more confidence in the Democratic Coalition for Change, the government's political party.
Mr Rini, the former Fisheries Minister had this to say about Mr Sogavare:
"He (PM Sogavare) changed his approach. He was diverting from our main policies, and he has listened too much to the outsiders, instead of listening to us ministers. So that's why I don't have any confidence with him, and why I resigned."
This development comes as news broke that Mr Sogavare abruptly an anti-corruption bill. A law that would have enabled authorities to enforce anti-corruption measures more effectively.
ABCMelanesia
No comments:
Post a Comment