A PEACEFUL march to protest the decision by the Malaita Provincial Government (MPG) Executive not to accept a Chinese company to upgrade Fiu bridge is being proposed.
A group of supporters believed to have been influenced by few Members of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) and members of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) are planning the protest, it was disclosed.
Information gathered on Thursday stated that a protest march is expected to be staged in Auki today.
The Malaita Alliance for Rural Advancement (MARA) government recently agreed to an executive decision not to allow any Chinese owned company to repair Fiu Bridge.
The stand did not go down well with the three MPAs who are members of the PAC. They recently visited Honiara, it was claimed.
Information reaching Solomon Star Auki further claimed the three MPAs with the backing of a former provincial secretary and a former premier have conducted a secret meeting with communities in Ward 2 and Ward 3. This was to get these communities to stage the protest.
During this protest march protesters will meet the Deputy Provincial Secretary to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the protesters and provincial administration with the aim to weaken the MARA executive decision on Fiu bridge project.
Gathered information has it that if the protest did not happen today as planned, it will take place any time soon before the return of Malaita premier.
Malaita for Democracy Vice President Max Bobby described such planned protest as untimely and has the potential to attract unlawfulness if not handled properly.
Mr. Bobby said those who plan the protest march should think carefully.
“Such action during this time is untimely,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development (MID) Permanent Secretary Stephen Maesiola has told the Bills and Legislation Committee (BLC) during the Public Health Emergency Bill (PHEB) hearing this week that a total of 21 contractors have collected the tender form to apply for the Fiu Bridge project but only one had submitted its application to the tender board. And that’s the China Harbour Engineering firm.
Mr. Maesiola said the company was able to satisfy all the requirement.
By WILSON SAENI
Auki News Bureau
