CHOISEUL Provincial Premier Tongoua Table, who is likely to face his first Motion of No Confidence when the Full Assembly meets this month, has described the allegations levelled against him as ‘frivolous’ and ‘lacking substance.’
Premier Tabe was responding to a ‘Notice of Motion of No Confidence’ filed with the Speaker of the Choiseul Provincial Assembly last week.
The notice dated 26 January 2024 was instigated by mover Lincoln Galo, MPA for Vasiduki Ward.
It is understood the Choiseul Provincial Speaker is studying the details of the motion and will provide advise if the motion satisfies the standing orders that will allow it to be tabled and debated.
MPA Galo in that letter of notification based the proposed motion on the following grounds;
- There is gross neglect of mandated powers and responsibilities by the premier when ignoring the Executive’s general consensus to request a legal advisor to assist the government to review outdated Ordinance of the Province.
- The Premier has shown conflicts of personal interests with regards to Choiseul Province policies and Executive decisions with regards to have consultation with interested investors in the natural resources of the province, especially in mining.
- The premier has failed to adhere to expected protocols and cooperation as head of the Government, when during his absence from office to go to China in 2023, did not handover the supervision of premier’s office to the Deputy Premier, with no explanation to the Executive Committee.
In an interview Solomon Star yesterday, in response to the allegations, Premier Tabe said all the points raised lack substance and are not true.
“All the allegations are frivolous and lacking substance.
“All the allegations are absolutely not true,” he said.
He added that he was in office for just over a year and there is no way he had bring the office into disrepute.
“In all seriousness, how could I have abused the Office of the Premier or bringing it into disrepute when I have hardly been in office for a year.”
The premier said, the Officer of the Provincial Speaker is handling the proposed motion which in his (premier) view does not meet the requirement of Clause 108.
“The Speaker is dealing with the motion but on a Motion of No Confidence, that motion must satisfy Clause 108 of the Standing Orders of the Assembly.
“My stance on the motion was that it does not meet the requirement of Clause 108.”
Some of the provincial ministers within the Tabe regime have reportedly resigned to team up with the non-executive.
The proposed motion has been a matter of discussion through the social media over the past days when the letter of the notice was posted online.
It was claimed that the bottom line for the proposed move is the premier’s stand against a mining project.
“The motion of no confidence is set to be moved against our premier because of his strong standing against mining,” one of the commentators said.
Many of the commentators, on the other hand, commended the premier for his stand on the proposed mining investment.
There was mixed reaction to the proposed project with some saying the provinces is not ready for such project which will cause damage to the environment.
Others said it is time to venture in to the project so that the province, government and country benefit from its operation.
The date of the Full Assembly Meeting in Taro is yet to be announced.
One of the legal experts from Choiseul Province in his personal view expressed online that grounds 1 & 3 are administrative issues.
“How are they relevant to the role of the Premier? The Provincial Secretary (PS) of Choiseul Provincial Government (CPG) is responsible for actioning executive decisions, including maintaining minutes or records of proceedings by CPE.
“So, it’s difficult to attribute any failure on the part of the office of the Premier on account of those two grounds.
“Ground 2 is vague. In total, these grounds lack substance as required by Standing Order 108.
“It sounds like misunderstanding and miscommunication to me, which can be addressed internally unless there is something else that gravitated the motion but not seen on paper.”
By Moffat Mamu
Solomon Star, Gizo
