Choiseul province leader voted out in motion of no-confidence
BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO
CHOISEUL province premier Tongoua Tabe has been ousted by way of a motion of no-confidence.
The outgoing premier Tabe confirmed last night to this paper that he was removed yesterday afternoon.
“Yes, I had been removed this afternoon (yesterday) during the Motion of No Confidence (MoNC) because they have the number and representative democracy dictates that the group with the majority of the house has the confidence of House.
“It has nothing to do with their allegations because the second MoNC is just a repeat of the first MoNC which had been ruled out by the high court last month,” he said.
The motion was moved by the former deputy premier, MPA Harrison Pitakaka.
Reasons behind the motion include the following:
-Tabe’s tendency to make decisions himself. The mover of the motion claimed that Premier Tabe makes unilateral decision on significant executive matters which not discussed by the executive.
-Tabe’s failure to handover responsibilities during his absence in office. The mover claimed in the motion that on certain events when he (Premier) left for official or personal reasons he did not observe the protocol of handing over responsibilities to his deputy or any other appropriate person.
-Tabe’s unflinching stance against all extractive industries, including mining. The mover of the motion claimed Tabe did not consider the interest of the Choiseul provincial government or the people of Choiseul when he refused to engage in dialogue with interested foreign investors (mining and logging companies)
-He ignores the executive decisions to engage a legal practitioner to assist the government in updating and preparing governments ordinances and regulations.
Tabe said they all voted for the MoNC except the MPA for Katupika ward.
“I told my six members, let us vote for the motion so that we move to the next stage to avoid delaying time that may affect our budget and people. At the end of the day the majority will win.
“My strong stand against mining saw this MoNC to be honest as transpired yesterday during debate,” he said.
The motion was tabled around yesterday afternoon in the Choiseul Provincial chamber.
Nominations for a new premier are scheduled for Monday, March 11 and the election of a new premier is set for Tuesday, March 12.
Earlier this year, in January, Tabe had survived a first motion of no-confidence, which was moved by MPA Lincoln Galo.
The reasons for MPA Galo’s motion were the same as the one’s behind MPA Pitakaka’s motion yesterday.
