CHIEF Executive Officer (CEO) of Indigenous Chamber of Commerce and Trade Solomon Islands (ICCTSI), Charles Dausabea has reiterated the call for police to arrest and prosecute all recipients of the shipping grant.
He made the call on Monday, since parliament is approaching its natural death on 17th December.
Dausabea said politicians are the ones behind the move to set up funds for shipping grants, which many people have accessed as recipients, including their cronies.
“Those politicians and ordinary citizens who received shipping grant but failed to purchase any vessel must be arrested and prosecuted.
“This is not something for police to take lightly because already the reports of funds released are available in the Office of the Auditor General (OAG).
“So given a month left for parliament to dissolve, police must arrest and prosecute those who receive the fund but failed to purchase a ship up until today,” he stressed.
Dausabea said MPs who received the fund but failed to purchase a vessel must be prosecuted, so that more evidence will unveil as the matter continues in the process of the court.
He said two person closely associated with certain MPs have received shipping grants of SBD$3.5 million and SBD$3 million respectively, but never purchased a vessel till today.
“One went over to China and do private shopping and now operating her private second hand shop and the other will contest the National General Election next year,” he revealed.
The former Member of Parliament argued that these two people needs to be arrested and imprisoned for receiving shipping grants but failed to purchase any vessel.
Dausabea further stressed that during his time as an MP, he was arrested for conversion of discretionary fund, which he argued that the same treatment applied to him then by police must be done as well for shipping grants recipients.
“I was arrested by police when I took my oath in parliament, so what is so special about these MPs’ and certain individuals who received shipping grants but never purchased a boat as intended for the million dollars received,” he argued.
Dausabea pointed out that police must crack down on these shipping grant recipients who abused the funds, instead of purchasing a ship for the people.
He also stated that media reports and audit reports are there to act upon rather than waiting for someone to lodge a formal complaint.
Dausabea said during his time in the police back in the 1980s, they were very active and consistent on reports of alleged corruption surfaced in the paper or the audit report.
By AATAI JOHN LAUNGI
