AN estimated 400 retired and surviving members of the police officers who served on the Solomon Islands-Bougainville sea border have given the government an ultimatum to settle their outstanding payment or face the consequences.
Many of our members have passed on, leaving large families behind. Before they died, they told their children that the government owes them money for service on the border during the ethnic tension,” a frustrated member of the group told Solomon Star yesterday.
Unfortunately, the government has simply given us a merry-go-round all these years. We have now decided at our last meeting that it is now time to act,” the man said.
As members of the disciplined force, we have waited 21 years on false promises the government gave us year after year. Our patience has run out and all we are asking the government to give us is a “yes or no.”
“If the government says yes, it will pay us we want the outstanding payments settled between now and the 31st of December this year,” the member who did not want to be identified, said.
“You know we have been bullied all these years. We have had enough,” the man said.
According to the man, the government owes each police officer about $200, 000. That’s about $80 million.
“The key words we would want to hear from the government is either yes or no. The government’s response will determine the next course of action we will take. The important thing is that the government must tell us immediately its response.
“And we have not taken these steps lightly but I think any would agree that 21 years is a very long time. We need an answer now,” the man said.
By Alfred Sasako
