It is not a myth that Solomon Islands reacted negatively to the leaked PEC proposal that, if passed, would reward MPs' spouses ($50,000) and other ridiculous benefits for current MPs and former MPs. The reaction is not all strange as Solomon Islanders know very well the economic turmoil the country has gone through in the past few years. They also know that they are the ones working extremely hard just to make ends meet, not the MPs who enjoy everything. To them, this PEC proposal is a rip-off, a plan by this current government to please everyone in order to remain in power. They did so by planting their agents, MP Snyder Rini, one of the most corrupt senior Politicians in SI,and Peter Zama inside the PEC. This is exactly what former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare did in the previous government. He created extra offices in various Ministries and spent $10 million to expand his bureaucracy, which brought about fierce opposition throughout the country and contributed to his download. But the irony is that the one leading the charge is Hon. Fred Fono, the Leader of Opposition whom many thought was a decent man and who is now trying to justify the pathetic PEC proposal.In his press release to the Solomontimes.com, Hon. Fono made the following statement:
"The government is studying public concerns on the newly introduced increases in entitlements of Members of Parliament. ... Acting Prime Minister Fred Fono says the Government is presently seeking legal advice from the Attorney General's Chambers."Solomontimes)
What the hell are you talking about Hon. Fono? What the hell is this government studying? This is a move concocted by corrupt politicians in cahoots with this government, which now backpedaling when the public learned of this PEC proposal. Why is it hard for this government to understand the concerns of Solomon Islanders over this Rini-Zama plan to enrich themselves now and after their terms in government? And by the way, what is the Attorney General going to do about this PEC? and who is this AG working for anyway? This is absolutely ridiculous and such an excuse insults the intelligence of all Solomon Islanders. If this AG and the PM approved this PEC proposal in the first place, why need to "study" concerns of ordinary Solomon Islanders? And what the heck are you expecting to find in your study? Let me give you a clue of what you will in your "study" and legal "consultation", nothing but a bunch of pissed off average, poor, and business Solomon Islanders who felt that they are being robbed by those they entrusted the leadership of Solomon Islands. You won't find a single happy crap around this proposal but a bunch of angry teachers whom the government failed to pay their outstanding claims, and angry nurses who work long hours and not being paid for the qualifty of their service to the country. You will only find unhappy public servants who are struggling to make ends meet, and business people who find it hard to maintain their businesses amidst this financial crisis. You need to study some more Hon. Fono? You might find out that in the next election, you ass may never come back to Parliament.
The press release also attempted, vainly, to justify the PEC proposal under the guise of the Solomon Islands consitution. Fono explained;
"... the Parliamentary Entitlements Commission operates independently from the Government, although it does have commissioners who are either sitting or former Members of Parliament."
Hon. Fono, are Solomon Islands that dumb? Who in his right mind to fall for that bloody stupid explanation? Read again this statement and tell me how this two statements connected because I can't connect them. When you have MPs with special interest and serious personal agenda inside a Commission that determines what an MP is entitled to now and in the future, that commission is nothing but a government drone or puppet! The Chairman of this Commission had already revealed that the PEC independence has already been compromised by the presence of these two idiot MPs with a hidden government agenda. With a vote of 2-1, these two idiots declared the proposal "a pass!" and should be pushed through in Parliament to make it into law. Hon. Fono is dumb enough to think that throwing this garbage out there people would accept it or believing it as not a government influenced proposal. How dumb is that?
He then throw this statement out there to make the argument that although such proposal maybe controversial, it was done according to the laws. Hon. Fono explained;
"... the commission does have the power under the National Constitution to amend its regulations and determine parliamentarians' entitlements. He says the commission is a lawful body established under the National Constitution, and it determined the new increased entitlements under its 2009 amended regulations." (solomontimes.com)
Listen Hon. Fono, the laws are there not to be abused. Remember last year when former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare used his constitutional right to appoint a lawyer to the First Legal Office of the country, you and you opposition group went after him. Why? you know very well that the law didn't grant the leader of the country the right to do whatever pleasing to him. The government must do its duty according tot he laws, but the government must also ensure that its policies also serve public interest. In the case of Julian Moti, although former Prime Minister Sogavare had the right to appoint him, Mr. Moti had to come clean in the Child-molestation charges brought against him in Vanuatu before the Solomon Islands' people. This and other cases are example of how our politicians think they can get away with anything as long as the Constitution covers their ass. For two MPs to dictate a Commission on how much they should get on entitlement, how much their spouses should get, and how much they should get even after leaving Parliament, is indeed an abuse of the Constitution and our laws.
Secondly, the Commission does have the right to do what it assigns to do, but the question Hon. Fono needs to answer is; 'did the Commission made this proposal without being influenced?' To me, the answer is NO! This Commission should be independent of government's control and you know this is not the case because the chairman himself said so. This government is doing exactly what the previous government did, that is, using the "cover of the law" to help themselves with public funds, and using some legal technical grounds to establish control over offices that should be left untouched by the executive branch.
Finally, for a senior politician such as Hon. Fono to claim that the government is "studying" the public reaction to the PEC proposal, in a more defiant manner is not only outrages but an insult to the intelligence of ordinary Solomon Islander. The letters to the Solomon Star editor, the Solomontimes, the SIBC, the PPF network, the internet, etc. are signs that the people are frustrated that life is almost intolerable in SI while MPs are dishing out the last coins in our government's pocket! Money that comes from Asian taxpayers, Australia, NZ, and other aid donors; money that we, in fact, don't have! There is little left that warranting this so called "study" and "legal consultation". This is a damn stupid excuse coming out of the mouth of the man who stood for justice during the Julian Moti saga. He shows that no matter what, corruption will find your ass.
The PEC should be ashamed of what it has proposed at a time when the economy is going down the bloody toilet tube! Prime Minsiter Sikua should be ashamed of orchestrating this huge payout of Members of Parliament while leading an "anti-corruption" crusade to cover his butt! Snyder Rini should be ashamed of contributing, yet again, to another issue that may result in a similar fiasco as the riot of 2006 (a public demonstration against him winning the PM's election). He should be ashamed that while Solomon Islands families are struggling to put food on the table in the midst of a severe national inflation, he created ways and means to enrich his own sorry ass, not only as a MP, but potentially for the rest of his (and all MPs) life! this is stupid indeed!
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