THE Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development has clarified that the huge amount of money received by the Solomon Islands Ports Authority (SIPA) board, was not a one-off bulk payment.
Henry Murray was responding to claims board members were paid a hefty one-off payment of between $150,000 and $170,000 as bonus payment.
“We received the payments on separate occasions without clearly knowing what each payment was for,” the Mr Murray said.
He confirmed that the money was actually paid.
“We were not sure whether it was a bonus payment or some other payments. What we are so sure of was the sitting allowance we receive.”
The permanent secretary added that the total amount of money paid on different occasion amounts to the figure claimed above.
“But it’s only right to give back what is not rightly ours. Any amount beyond what should be ours should be returned,” he said.
By BRADFORD THEONOMI
