‘SLOW DOWN MR D’

Wale calls on Finance PS to resign from DBSI Board

By EDDIE OSIFELO

OPPOSITION Leader, Matthew Wale has called on Ministry of Finance and Treasury permanent secretary, Dentana McKinnie to resign from the Development Bank of Solomon Islands (DBSI) Board.

This call is made in view of the conflicts of interest posed in Mr Dentana’s membership in two of the country’s finance entities, DBSI board and CBSI board, while being the PS of the finance ministry.

Wale made the call during the Public Accounts Committee hearing in Parliament yesterday when the Ministry of Finance and Treasury appeared to defend the $3.9 billion 2021 Appropriation Bill 2021.

He said it doesn’t look right for the PS to be holding three positions at the same time. Being the Chairman of the DBSI Board, member of CBSI Board and at the same time the PS of Finance.

As such, he said the best option is for the PS to resign from the DBSI Board.

Wale also said that Attorney General John Muria Junior and Chief of Staff and two political appointees Trevor Manemahaga and Andre Manepora’a should also resign from the Board.

The only qualified banker in the Board is former CBSI Deputy Governor Gane Alva Simbe.

Wale first made the call in July 2020 when he questioned the appointment of controversial Chief of Staff, Robson Djokovic in the DBSI Board.

While welcoming the government’s seriousness in reviving DBSI as an important financial institution for our people, the Opposition Leader stressed that DBSI is a bank and so will be heavily regulated by banking laws. 

“In this respect therefore, it is important that people who are appointed to the Board must pass the ‘fit and proper test’ and have the technical capacity in the area of banking to be in the Board

 “For all we know, Mr. Djokovic is the nephew of the Prime Minister and he has been implicated in a lot of controversial issues raised in the past, which also link the Prime Minister.  

“More so, he has not demonstrated qualifications in banking or any related areas for that matter,” the Opposition Leader adds.

Transparency Solomon Islands also joined the call in questioning the composition of DBSI Board which it claimed was politicised.

PS Dentana decided not to response to Wale but said he will leave it to DBSI to explain the composition of the board when its members appear before the PAC on Tuesday, March 30.

Last year, Dentana was caught out as misleading the people of this nation when he said that under the DBSI Act, 2018, section 49, the term of the interim board is only for six months.

However, from information gathered, the DBSI Board members’ appointments were gazetted for two years.

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