THE Honiara City Council’s (HCC’s) Deputy Mayor Charles Aiwosuga has refuted claims of conflict of interest levelled against him in the media.
Aiwosuga exclusively told the Solomon Star yesterday that he thanked the person who brought the matter up through the media and hope to clarify the claims.
A writer by the name of Roy Redly Ray in his letter to the editor stated that the Deputy Mayor has disregarded the administrative process and went on to hire some boys to fix the Honiara City Council bus.
It was understood that the bus was damaged last year after it was hit by a Hilux opposite the Central Market.
The accident was then ended up in the Magistrate Court which the ruling was in favour of HCC.
The court ordered that the owner of the Hilux must pay the cost for repair.
It was also understood that Aiwosuga was the then Health Chairman, which he initiated the idea for HCC to purchase the bus for their staff and nurses working in the HCC clinic.
“As the Deputy Mayor, I fully understand and aware of the process but as far as I am concerned, the bus needs to be fixed so that it provides the much-needed transport for our nurses,” he said.
He also added that “the Kukum Clinic renovation is about to complete now and we need that bus as soon as possible to provide transport for our health officers.”
Councillor Aiwosuga further added that he is also aware that due to other commitments by the HCC administration, he decided to find local boys who have experience in panel beating to do the job.
“So yes I did found some local boys to panel beat the bus but the cost for that job will be met by the owner of the Hilux as ordered by the Court and not HCC.
“My only concern is to get the bus running to help with staff transportation. I gain nothing from this arrangement,” he added.
Mr. Aiwosuga also told this paper that last year, an HCC owned vehicle (Rav4) was not working properly and was sitting for quite a while in the HCC Works Division workshop.
“I went to the Works Division and enquired about it and was told that it only needs spare parts.
“When I asked about why it took so long to purchase the spare parts, the Works officers said they have already submitted their order but nothing was done, maybe due to other commitments by our admin,” he said.
This prompted Aiwosuga to go to a spare parts shop and bought the parts for less than $300 and gave the Works officers to fix the vehicle.
“I told the works officers that I will not claim my money from our admin and tore the receipt in front of our officers,” he said.
Aiwosuga reiterated that all these doings are not for his personal gain or because he has some personal interests.
“I am doing this with good intention especially to see that we continue with our mandate to serve Honiara city well, with whatever resources we have,” he said.
When asked about the audit report, Aiwosuga said he cannot comment on it but leave it to the responsible body to deal with.
By ANDREW FANASIA
Newsroom, Honiara
