Mover lands in Auki under tight security
BY SAMIE WAIKORI
Auki
DESPITE the tense situation in Auki and appeals for deferment, a no-confidence vote scheduled against Premier Daniel Suidani tomorrow will proceed.
“There has not been any change to the date,” Assembly clerk Mathew Maefai told Island Sun yesterday.
“The vote will go on tomorrow,” he added.
Students of schools within the township last week staged a protest calling for the deferment of the motion to avoid causing disturbances as they prepare for the national exams.
Mover of the motion, Elijah Asilaua, and other non-executive members arrived in Auki from Honiara yesterday under heavy security escort.
Asilau’s no-confidence speech was leaked on social media yesterday.
As he prepares to face his fate, Suidani called an executive meeting yesterday to discuss the appeal from the students.
A decision is expected to be announced today.
Meanwhile, Senior Administration Officer for Southern Region, David Mane told Island Sun in Afio on Saturday, they viewed the no-confidence motion as politically motivated and engineered in the interest of outsiders and not Malaitans.
Mane said the motion is a move not only to topple MARA government, but to destroy its development aspiration for the people of Malaita.
He said since MARA government came into power, people started to see changes on the ground and development partners started to arrive in the province.
Mane said this is what people want and not just business as usual as experienced in the province for the past decades.
He said Malaitans want a government that people feel the test of their leadership on the ground, and that’s what MARA government did to the people in the southern region of the province.
Mane said southern region has a total of seven MPAs, four in West and East Are Are constituencies and three in Small Malaita constituency.
He said only three MPAs – wards 19, 21 and 24 are on the government side and MPAs for wards 20, 22, 23 and 25 are behind the motion.
Mane said these MPAs represent themselves and not the people of the southern region.
He said the people in the southern region join the rest of the province behind MARA government and knew nothing of this motion since it is not in their interests and wishes.
