A MOTION of no-confidence against Guadalcanal Premier Francis Sade was withdrawn yesterday before any votes were taken.
Across in Central Province, Premier Stanley Manetiva survived a no-confidence vote filed against him.
He had nine of the provincial members with him, while four were against him.
Monday this week in Makira-Ulawa, Premier Julian Maka’a saw a similar motion withdrawn in front of him in the chambers of the Assembly Hall.
Towards the end of last year, Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani beat a no-confidence vote the non-executive brought against him.
While motions of no-confidence are part of the democratic process, they are often abused.
And this is true at our provincial government level.
For instance, there were claims that certain national politicians are behind those no-confidence votes.
These national politicians, it was asserted, were backed by loggers.
While it would be difficult to prove such assertions, what’s clear was these premiers have in recent times initiated anti-logging policies as part of their leadership.
Central Province’s Stanley Manetiva, for instance, came out public to declare his anti-logging stance.
Malaita’s Suidani hit the loggers operating in his province hard when he imposed a huge increase in the business licence fees.
Premier Sade of Guadalcanal initiated a battle with logging giant Sino Capital, which has been operating in the province over the last 10 years.
He accused Sino of neglecting to pay his province business licence fees through out the course of its operation.
Sade went further to ask the High Court to stop all Sino operations in Guadalcanal.
In Makira-Ulawa, Maka’a has been exploring ways to reduce logging activities in his province.
The sudden move to oust these premiers left everyone guessing.
But thankfully, common sense has prevailed.
All premiers beat off the no-confidence votes and continue to enjoy the support of their executive members.
It’s sad that certain
Premier Sade summed it up well with this statement yesterday:
“If you’re here for money, if you’re here for power, if you’re here for fame, then this honourable Assembly is not for you.
“We’re here to serve the interest of women, youth, children and men of Guadalcanal.”
