Dear Editor – The Solomon Islands Ports Authority (SIPA) like other statutory body is a creature of stature. It was created by the Solomon Islands Ports Authority Act and therefore its activities are regulated by this legislation.
Since its inception as an entity I cannot recall any controversies surrounding the SIPA and its operation. Yes, in the past, there has been accusations of inefficiencies at the management level or of stand-offs between workers and management or of petty thefts at the port area but none of these compares with what is now swirling around the SIPA.
Now the accusations levelled at Mr Yow and SIPA is beyond comprehension. He is accused of doing business dealings outside the ambit of the act.
He is also accused of criminal activity; that is of being involved in money laundering and he is also accused of unauthorised spending on himself, the Board members and on new business ventures.
SIPA is one of the vital organization for our country because it controls one of the two vital routes through which people and freight enter or leave Solomon Islands.
In terms of freight, the greatest volume enters and leaves by sea. In this context, it puts into perspective just how vital and important SIPA’s operation is to our country. We cannot afford to see the failure of SIPA or to comprehend it being run as a corner-shop.
If the SIPA is run inefficiently and unproductively, the repercussions on our economy will be huge. If investors believe that on the basis of the new port charges and tariffs it is costly to do business in Solomon Islands, they will simply take their business to a more conducive country.
If this occurs, it has negative implications for government revenue, operation of public goods and employment creation.
Further, cost of living will also be affected since business houses will most probably pass the increased cost of doing business at the ports to the public by increasing the margins on their products sold in the country.
The multiplier effect of this on the working man’s and working woman’s salary will reverberate throughout the entire economy and at the end of the day, it will also have a social impact on the majority of our people who live on the margins of our society.
In light of this, I believe the best option available to the DCC government now is to instigate an independent commission of inquiry into the activities of the CEO, Mr Collin Yeo to establish once and for all whether the allegations levelled against him are true or just hearsay.
Due to its urgency, .the investigation should be completed within a short period (eg 30 days) and the report produced. A vital member of this independent commission must be a forensic auditor.
As part of this independent commission’s terms of reference it should also include how the SIPA CEO was recruited in the first place because if these allegations are established then it will bring into question whether there are mechanisms in place to carry out due diligence on the recruitment of important positions at this organisation.
The lessons learned will be important not only for the SIPA but also to other state owned enterprises, in terms of how they conduct their business and how executives in their organisation are recruited.
Paul Kausimae
Honiara
