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| Honorable Member of Parliament of WH: Namson Tran |
TOP DOWN CORRUPTION
Just recently, politicians and SI police, and high court justices were tangled up in a legal battle over a Taiwanese illegal fishing boat arrested in the Southern Solomons waters. The boat owner's fine was eventually reduced from the court's decision of $2.5 million fine to $1 million. The government explained its intervention this way:
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| Former Prime Minister Hon D. Philip |
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Even the prime minister himself stepped in and changed the court's decision, essentially taking away the role of the judicial branch. The government intervened and told the courts, go to hell with your $2.5 million fine. The PM's explanation was extremely absurd, but with an incompetent pool of reporters, the PM got away with it. The Taiwanese was slapped on the wrist with a $1.5 million slashed to his fine and a pardon. What was the role of the Taiwanese embassy in this? It is important to note that the government of Taiwan funds SI Rural Development, also known as the "RCDF", and pumps millions of dollars into the education sector.
How about this?
Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) Corruption Unit Investigators from the National Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) have arrested and charged an adult person from South Malaita province in relation to corruption charges. Police investigation revealed the accused who is a former public official of the Ministry of Fisheries, allegedly signed a partnership agreement with a Chinese Tuna Fisheries Association with its local partner, the South Seas Fisheries Ltd (SSF) to have access to Solomon Islands fisheries waters around November 2012. During the police investigation, it was alleged that the accused who was at that time the Acting Director of the Ministry of Fisheries, signed the partnership without the approval of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries, Marine and Resources (MFMR). (Solomon Times Online)
In a country where desperate local betel-nut vendors are arrested and charged for violation of the laws, foreign criminals only received slap on the wrist.
Sometimes in 2005 (an issue I wrote about in the past), my brother, who was at the time working for a small law firm and whose clients were a bunch of Indonesian fishermen abandoned to live on nothing but white rice and boiled water-grass, sent me to Ranandi industrial area with my digital camera. There were, if I remember correctly, three (maybe four) Asian fishing boats anchored at a homemade wharf at Ranandi. A few yards from the shore is a fancy looking office. The group's spokesman, a tall young man with very limited English and Pijin, escorted me to the boats; inside were starved Indonesians; living in extremely bad conditions. They were getting together for lunch; their lunch meal was rice and some boiled greens. I was told that they weren't paid for almost a year and that they couldn't afford better food, and because they don't were living illegally in Solomon Islands, they were afraid to look for help. The photos I took were used as evidence of the shameful treatment of foreigners by their hosts, but nothing prepared me to the truth behind the deal.
It was revealed in the deposition that a certain Japanese businessman had been operated in the country for sometimes, and during the ethnic crisis (1998-2003) the company, with the help of some corrupt politicians in SI, brought these fishermen - hundreds of them - to Honiara from Fiji without the (required) legal paperwork. All their passports were handed over to Presley Watts - the attorney for these Indonesians - and as I went through them, I was surprised. None of the passports had Solomon Islands' stamp on it, meaning they were working illegally in the country and the government didn't dare to check, even when the Regional Assistant Mission to SI (RAMSI) arrived in 2003, the corrupt culprits slipped through the cracks and remained unchallenged until the case was brought to the Law firm by an Indonesian man who was also working on a case against his former Makira based logging company.
My brother also used my email address to correspond with the recruiter in Indonesia who recruited these fishermen to work under the Japanese fishing company, which was at that time based in Fiji. When the investigation was underway, the company suddenly shuts its door and the Japanese left the country. The names of those who were behind this corrupt deal were never revealed. The recruiter later wired me $20,000 to send these fishermen home. The case was still pending when I left the country, but this practice of "under-the-table" deal with foreigners is prevalent even today in our country. A number of logging operations in Solomon Islands are said to be carried out by Chinese people who arrived in the country on different immigration status.
It was my first experience of the corruption in which local political thugs use their status to bring people and pimped them out for their own personal gain then and use the cover of the laws to protect themselves.
Beside weeding out the corrupt individuals in our backyard, what are other ways to ensure that politicians don't exploit their powers to this extent? A serious overhaul of our constitution - laws is the next and best option to ensure corruption is eliminated or at least controlled.
Constitutional Amendment
Hon Tran is a classic example of the why constitutional amendment is needed. Mr. Tran is from Vietnam who came to SI as a foreign businessman (owning Casino and other businesses), he then married a local woman and somehow earned his "citizenship" and a few years later, he was elected Member of Parliament. He rose the ranks to become the "deputy" speaker of Parliament. Recently, the political tug-of-war brought up the question of how he'd acquired his citizenship. If the means by which he acquired his citizenship are found to be illegal, his status as MP is declared "null and void" and - in my humble opinion - he should then be arrested and tried (along with his accomplices). He should, as part of this, pay restitution for all the years he lived on SI's money. Reimburse all the money he spent during his time in Parliament and all other costs he incurred over the years. If he's found guilty, all these should kick in immediately. However, should the law found Tran innocent of all charges, a constitutional amendment should be considered to ensure such the Trans of the world don't exploit our system.
A Constitutional amendment can be done in many ways: an edit to the existing language of the law - changing the language and meanings, or an injection of new clause(s) that gives additional meanings and emphasis to the already existing laws. Or a complete overhaul of the constitutional section which deals with immigration and the right to contest in national elections. This would mean a new law is added by way of a Parliamentary bill. The Bill is passed, and the language of the newly established law is adopted immediately and goes into effect immediately.
In US, for instance, you cannot become a President of United States unless you are a natural born citizen to American born parents. Using this model, our law should be amended to do the following: reserve Parliament seats for natural born citizens only. Naturalized citizens can live, work, and enjoy the benefits that come with their citizenship, run businesses, and also run for local offices - city councils and provincial governments except national elections.This law should also prohibit prospective leaders from using external sources (from interest groups and foreign entities) to manipulate the outcome of an election. Those who use money from foreign sources and local businesses can be tried for official corruption and that those who fund such behavior, if legal residents of the country, can be cited for attempting to influence the outcome of an election. It should also prohibits coalition vying for the top jobs in parliament from meeting in hotels, motels, or homes of people who want to benefit from the newly established government, other than the homes of those in the coalition. The law-making body (parliament) of Solomon Islands is such an important body therefore it should be reserved for those who rightly call SI their natural home. This law will prevent the exploitation and abuse of power by greedy and corrupt politicians, and will also prevent foreigners from using money to rise to the top echelon of society.
Failing to do so, people like Hon Tran will continue to dominate the political discourse and economic activities of the country and god knows who these people are connected to from outside the boundary of our country. Without this proposal, Hon Tran is, according to our current law(s), legally entitled to his seat and his post as the elected parliamentarian representing West Honiara.
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