By Gary Hatigeva

SOLOMON Islands Democratic Coalition for Change Government (SIDCCG) since taking over office, is expected incur just over $12million to keep Political Appointees (PAs) in office, it is revealed.

Prime Minister Rick Houenipwela revealed these figures when responding to the Member of Parliament for Aoke/Langalanga and Chairman of the Bill and Legislative Committee (BLC), Matthew Wale who questioned the government in yesterday’s parliament sitting during a question and answer session.

Mr Wale was questioning the Prime Minister over the percentage reduction in salary and all other benefits for PAs since the SIDCC Government assumed office.

PM Hou pointed out that the current $12millioin is actually a reduction of around $6million having compared to the past government, which was incurring well over $19million per year to cater for the salaries and benefits of around 51 appointees.

“In terms of cost, the previous number would have cost 19 million for the government to cater for, but under the reduced number of PAs, the expenditure is around 12 million annually.

“So this is a reduction of just over 6 million, and the reduction of cost is a result of reduction in the number of PAs and the releveling of their salaries and benefits, most of which have been reduced.

“To be exact, taxpayers through the government is to pay a total expenditure of $12,926,064 annually for the salaries and benefits of the 37 Political Appointees,” the Prime Minister revealed.

It is understood that the current government was forced to take action on the number PAs as part of its promise, which PM Hou revealed when giving his victory speech in November last year.

The reduction of PA numbers according to Hou also comes as his government’s approach to cutting costs, and that had led to the relieve of some of the PAs and keeping only those appointees the government felt relevant to its policy.

He pointed out that the recruitment and reduction is a political decision based on what is relevant to the set of government priority policy areas for implementations and that Caucus as the guiding political arm of the government decided on what important positions will be kept.

He added that Caucus with its decision, also came up with a structure which resulted in the reduction from 51 to 36 political appointee positions.

He was however hesitant to go into the details of salaries and benefits for the PAs but clarified that out of the 36, 27 are from the former government, while nine are new recruits.

He said the 37 PAs were kept because of their relevant backgrounds and qualifications needed to oversee the progress and programmes within government priority policies.

To further support his response based on the PA issue, Hou recalled a decision made in 2005 for a temporary employment programme with intentions to take away the load from the Ministry of Public Service.

“So when the government comes, it appoints people to work on what it has decided on what their priorities are.”

His point on qualities and qualification highlighted came under heavy criticism from the Aoke/Langalanga MP, who suggested that many of those being appointed do not meet requirements and are becoming liabilities to the government and taxpayers of the country.

However, the Prime Minister expressed total disagreement with theBLC Chairman, stressing that there are people inside that are totally accredited in terms of their qualifications, background and skills to do what the government had engaged them for.

“They are political appointees, decided by the political government but they are people with merit in terms of their qualifications, their backgrounds and experiences.”

Meanwhile, Wale stressed that the idea of political appointee practice is worrying as it has no structure to guide the nature in which appointments are made and funds are allocated to cater for the recruitment programmes.

He then suggested for the current government to take heed the suggestions and work on setting the precedence by introducing mechanisms and criteria to guide any governments in the matter of political appointees.

There were also suggestions for a widespread representation in the recruitment of political appointees in terms of provinces and gender balance.

BY BARNABAS MANEBONA

TOTAL localisation of business ownership in the forestry and fishing sectors is crucial for the economic empowerment of Solomon Islands citizens said Member of Parliament Hon Jeremiah Manele.

Speaking during the Democratic Alliance Party’s (DAP) fundraising over the weekend, DAP’s Parliamentary Leader said this is one of the policies that he would like to highlight which from his view is very important.

“While I must admit it’s an ambitious policy to achieve in a short term. DAP believes that full and unreserved participation of our people in commerce and economic activities must go beyond the current participation rate,” said Manele.

“It must be the ultimate goal to ensure our people are not seen as mere bystanders but as active participants in a magnitude beyond what we are currently experiencing.”

As a party in the current SICC Government, DAP has infused some of their party policies into the current government policies as can be seen in the government policy statement.

According to Manele, there is need to strengthen the political parties of the country in order to achieve such ambitious goals and other important party policies.

“It is widely known that the current legislative framework the political parties are operating under is coming under pressure and necessitates the need for a thorough review of the framework,” said Manele.

“I understand there is work going on in this and we look forward for participating in the passage of any amendments to the current PPI act.

“As an immersing democracy, we still have the opportunity to conduct experimentation on what would work for us.

“And I must admit that this is not an easy task because we are dealing with the behaviour of our people who have different perceptions about our system of government.”

THE process towards finalising the Solomon Islands Draft Federal Constitution is nearing completion.

The Constitutional Reform Unit (CRU) in the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has been assigned to oversee the lengthy process of nationwide consultations together with the drafting process over the past 10 years.

Director of the Constitutional Reform Unit, Philip Houlia said legal and technical issues surrounding the draft have been addressed by the Government’s Draftsman and the edited document is now returned to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The remaining task now is for the Constitutional Congress and Eminent Advisory Council to endorse and hand over the document to the Prime Minister, who is also the Minister responsible for Constitutional Affairs sometime in May or June this year.

The Prime Minister will take the document to Caucus to be noted and endorsed by Cabinet with the possibility of tabling it in Parliament during the November 2018 Sitting.

Other minor tasks currently pursued by the CRU is to engage an international expert to carry out a Cost Benefit Evaluation of the two governing systems, which is the current Unitary System and the proposed Federal System of Government.

“Currently, an expert has been identified and work is being progressed to engage him. Once formalities are completed, he should start the work as soon as possible,” Mr Houlia said.

A nationwide promotion and awareness of the Draft Federal Constitution will also begin as soon as the 2018 budget is passed.

Key stakeholders in the process including the Constitutional Review Committee of Parliament, the Law Reform Commission, the national judiciary, provincial premiers and others will be informed during the process.

–GCU