-New coalition with majority MPs holds PM Manele to account with mass resignation of all chairpersons of the 9 parliamentary standing select committees
-New coalition reiterates call on PM Manele to resign or call parliament
BY IRWIN ANGIKI
The new coalition which commands support from the majority of parliament has handed Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele an ultimatum to resign or call parliament to debate the motion of no-confidence next week.
All the chairpersons (who are in the new coalition) of nine parliamentary standing select committees resigned last night, leaving Parliament crippled in its duties including legislative ones.
This is an unprecedented circumstance for Solomon Islands, in which during a parliamentary term the standing select committees are vacant due to mass resignation of their chairpersons and members.
Parliament operates with 10 standing select committees. However, one was left vacant after its chairman, MP Alfred Tuasulia was sworn in as a government minister on Wednesday this week.
A government minister cannot serve as a member or chairperson of a standing select committee.
Making the announcement last night to media, the nine former chairpersons led by MP for Central Honiara Gordon Darcy Lilo said the decision is their response to the current government ruling with a minority.
“In the situation where the Prime Minister no longer commands the majority support of parliament, which is an important principle in our constitution … as chairpersons of these important select committees of parliament, we have decided that we cannot take any instruction from a minority government for the purposes of processing businesses that goes into parliament,” MP Darcy Lilo said.
“Therefore we have decided to resign from our positions as chairpersons of these select committees, and as of today we have all decided to resign from those positions. Also we have served as members of the various select committees, and that also goes with our membership of these select committees.
“Message to the government that we as chairpersons of the select committees have resigned from our positions including as members of those select committees until such time that the Prime Minister himself resigns because he does not command the support or he calls parliament to put to test that situation once the motion matures on Monday next week.”
This mass resignation creates a procedural vacuum that would effectively paralyse the legislative and financial functions of Parliament.
Immediate effects on Parliament include: frozen legislation since the Bills and Legislation Committee (BLC) will not review bills before they are introduced to the House; financial shutdown risk since the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) cannot scrutinise the Budget for its passage; and loss of oversight because the committees are the primary tool for holding government (the Executive) accountable.
Government will also be affected.
“Any business or instruction from government cannot happen. For instance, Bills, it has to go through the Bills and Legislation Committee. In this situation right now it cannot. Supplementary, or appropriation bill, any forms of appropriation, requires Public Accounts Committee to examine in detail before it goes to parliament, and that will not happen right now,” Darcy Lilo said.
“Why is that? Government is on a minority. It is incumbent upon us as members of the select committees to ensure that whatever business comes from government has that legitimacy. How do you determine that? The principle in the constitution says government must have majority in order to rule.”
Peter Kenilorea Jnr, MP for East Are’are, said it was necessary to take this action although it may be deemed as a ‘drastic’ measure for the sake of Solomon Islands’ democracy.
“We are all leaders who represent our people. We are … a government in waiting. This situation about rule by minority is such an affront to a democracy like Solomon Islands. And, each ticking minute is an insult, attack to democracy. That is why we are taking these measures that some might see as drastic, but for us it suits the situation where we are in, in the sense that we can not take instructions from a minority government. We’re definitely questioning their legitimacy when we’re doing this.”
For stability, Rick Hou, MP for Small Malaita urged PM Manele to ‘do the right thing and call parliament’.
“At this time, government does not have any business, the only business it has before parliament is the motion of no-confidence that will mature on Monday next week. It is incumbent on the Prime Minister to make sure to stabilise [the situation] to call parliament so that this number issue is affirmed on the floor, suppose he does not want to resign. That is the only right thing to do in these circumstances,” Mr Hou said.
John Maneniaru, MP for West Are’are, said that the decision was made by the coalition, and not by the former chairpersons themselves.
Meanwhile, the notice for the motion of no confidence is before parliament and will mature on Monday, March 23. The motion can be debated any day starting from the day after – Tuesday, March 24.
The Prime Minister holds the power to call for parliament.
PM Manele has not released any statement on whether he will call for parliament when the motion matures for debate or not.
However, in a press conference on February 2 this year, he voiced his intention to call parliament in the ‘later part of the second quarter of this year’, either May or June.
The former chairpersons and their former committees are as follow:
Gordon Darcy Lilo – former chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC)
John Maneniaru – former chair of Bills and Legislation Committee (BLC)
Peter Kenilorea Jnr – Foreign Relations Committee (FRC)
Lazarus Alfred Rina (MP for East Central Guadalcanal) – former chair of Public Expenditure Committee (PEC)
Rick Houenipwela – Parliamentary House Committee (PHC)
David Gina (MP for South New Georgia Rendova and Tetepari) – former chair of Constitution Review Committee (CRC)
Dean Kuku (MP for North West New Georgia) – former chair of Education & Human Resources Training Committee
George Temahua (West New Georgia and Vona Vona) – former chair of Environmental & Conservation Committee
James Bonunga (MP for Temotu Pele) – former chair of Police, National Security & Correctional Services Committee
Health & Medical Services Committee – VACANT [Alfred Tuasulia]
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