THE Parliamentary Opposition Group has urged the Prime Minister to “walk the talk” and “put the money where his mouth is”.
In a statement, the Opposition Group said amongst the list of promises the Prime Minister and his Government promised to the people of this country, a notable one is the projects in Malaita province.
The Prime Minister during the launch of Malaita’s New Policy Strategy Document in Auki, in March this year boldly assured the people of Malaita that the DCC Government is now focusing on Malaita province.
The Prime Minister during his speech then assured the Premier, executive members, members of the Malaita provincial assembly and the people of Malaita province that his government is fully focused on Malaita province.
However, the Parliamentary Opposition said this has all been nothing but political rhetoric.
“After seven months of DCCG existence; we are yet to see the difference the promise the Prime Minister has promised to the people of Malaita,” the statement said.
“There has been no progress report of any tangible developments on the ground apart from the fact that the Government sending political appointees from the Prime Minister’s Office to do the usual scoping and mapping visits to the proposed project sites.
“To what extent these so called visits can impact the projects on Malaita, is a question only physical implementation can prove,” the statement said.
The Opposition Group said it understands the Prime Minister will attend the Malaita province second appointed day in Auki today.
As such, the Parliamentary Opposition urged the Prime Minister not to proclaim any more promises if he cannot fulfill them.
“The Opposition is concerned that the Prime Minister might use that occasion to present another of his political rhetoric speeches in reassuring the Malaitan leaders and its people of his Government’s commitment to the development of Malaita,” the statement adds.
The Opposition Group also wished to encourage the people of Malaita to be vigilant and be mindful of political propaganda that lack substance.
It added that whilst the Prime Minister has promised so many things for Malaita; they have done nothing but the opposite in splashing the cash all over the place to facilitate not budgeted payments that does not positively impact the lives of people in this country.
“The Prime Minister and his Government must be put to task and tell the truth to the people as to how he is going to live up to his words when he is busy prioritizing and spending public funds on non budgeted commitments,” it said.
“The Opposition Office has received complaints from resource owners from earmarked project sites in Malaita that there is no progress at the Ministry of Commerce regarding the projects.
“And this should not come as a surprise as the Malaita projects as reflected in the so-called People’s Budget itself were not specifically allocated with funds but instead muddled up under one project.
“What the people of Malaita are expecting is to see a substantial and clear allocation of funds marked under the 2015 development budget for its development programs.
“Therefore, the Prime Minister must be truthful to the people in Malaita province,” the statement adds.
The Opposition Group also added that if DCCG is prioritising and truly focusing on Malaita, then the Prime Minister must inform the people of Malaita on the progress and status of development projects ear marked for 2015.
The Parliamentary Opposition also raised its concern on the continuous promises the Prime Minister is giving to the people.
This includes the promise he made to the Makira/Ulawa province recently which the Opposition would like to see this Government deliver to the people.
“These promises amounted to serious obligations which the Prime Minister must deliver as he promised.
“But with the country’s limited financial resources and the fact that DCCG continues to throw money left and right as witnessed over the last couple of months only indicate that nothing tangible will be forthcoming,” the statement said.
“Therefore, the Prime Minister must put money where his mouth is as failing to do so would be detrimental to the socio-economic development of our country.”
