‘I have no issues with Malaita’
THE Democratic Coalition Government for Advancement (DCGA) Leader, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has reportedly declared he has no issues with Malaita.
But observers said Mr. Sogavare’s 11th hour declaration of innocence could be a wee bit too late to hold his government together.
“Mr. Sogavare is merely shifting the blame away from him, but the rumblings from within the DCGA largely from the Guadalcanal and Malaita support base are growing louder by the day.
“Guadalcanal Province in particular has begun taking tangible actions to show their dissatisfaction,” observers said.
For example, the Guadalcanal Provincial Government on Thursday “rejected outright” the Government’s Public Health Emergency Bill 2021, claiming the proposed legislation is about power, not health.
“It is about one man’s hold on power. And that is the conclusion the Bills and Legislations Committee has observed at every hearing around the country,” according to sources.
The sources said the Guadalcanal Provincial Government made its position clear on the matter to the Bills and Legislation Committee at its hearing at Visale, West Guadalcanal last Thursday.
One other act of defiance this week was the boycott of a training program for executive members of the Guadalcanal Provincial Government. None turned up for the training, according to sources.
The Provincial government is also angry the DCGA government by-passed it on the drafting of five Bills which could substantially alter access to and ownership of resources by Guadalcanal land and resource owners.
They have threatened to force the nine MPs from Guadalcanal to resign en masse from the DCGA over the issue.
In Honiara, opposing groups from Malaita’s Kwara’ae ethnic groupings are expected to hold a reconciliation ceremony at Gilbert Camp on the outskirt of the city this afternoon. The reconciliation is said to be a precursor to a two-day reconciliation for unity gathering being held in Auki on 18th– 19th November.
Once this Malaita ceremony is over, the next move is to ask the 9 Malaita MPs to walk out from the DCGA government, one source told the Sunday Star yesterday.
“If the Malaitan MPs refuse, the people will begin a civil disobedience campaign at any cost. That is what is behind all these reconciliation ceremonies,” the source said.
The MP for East Kwaio, Stanley Sofu, is believed to have received a letter from the Constituency, urging him to leave DCGA.
“If you do not do as we say you are not welcome to visit the Constituency,” the source said.
“There are suspicions that Prime Minister Sogavare is being led by foreign interests for his own benefits. That is what is stirring the pot.”
By Alfred Sasako
Newsroom, Honiara
