THE Office of the Prime Minister & Cabinet (OPMC) has rebutted a front-page story in the Island Sun newspaper, describing it as “‘irresponsible and misleading”.
In a statement, the OPMC said ongoing claims in the media that the prime minister has encouraged members of Parliament in Caucus to invest in One Link is nothing but “political propaganda and a blatant lie”.
“To set the record straight, the attorney general never sits in any Caucus meeting,” the statement said.
“Therefore, the claim that the attorney general was present during that time is entirely false meaning all other information regarding this issue is also incorrect,” it added..
The statement also reiterated that the government cannot render any support towards such an enterprise in the absence of proper compliance by owners of the scheme including and as directed by the prime minister, a thorough due diligence assessment and comprehensive analysis of the current legal framework regulating such enterprises within the country,” it said.
The statement clarified that in view of recent information and awareness made by the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI), the government also concurs that due to the nature of the operations of the scheme, it recognizes that the One Link Pacifica scheme is a pyramid scheme.
The statement said such fabricated information orchestrated and promoted by the Opposition and certain individuals in our society has become an agenda for petty politics.
“The modus operandi of the Opposition has become so predictable that it now borders on it being ridiculous.
“It is the usual politics that when Parliament is about to start or is in session the Opposition will use the media to promote lies about the government.”
The statement added that it is clearly obvious that the Opposition is using the media to circulate rumors to influence public opinion, create instability and provoke internal distrust with the aim of toppling a democratic elected government.
“The Opposition is encouraged to use question time during Parliamentary meeting to hold the government to account, and this will also give the opportunity for the government to respond thoroughly on the floor of Parliament in accordance with our democratic processes,” it said.
Meanwhile, the OPMC in the statement encouraged the Opposition and individuals alike to stop promoting half-cooked reports in the media to try and score political points.
“Political and social instability does not serve in the national best interests at such a crucial moment of our development journey.
“We have no time for petty politics.
“We encourage the Opposition to work constructively with the government in moving our country forward.”
