Commissioner Tabusasi says lack of financial support left SIICAC inactive since inception, Japanese funding through UNDP Transparency Accountability Project should be given directly to commission if progress is to be seen
THE Solomon Islands Independent Commission Against Corruption (SIICAC) has never done anything since its establishment almost five years ago.
One of the SIICAC Commissioners, statesman Waita Ben Tabusasi told Solomon Star at the launching of the updated National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) in Honiara last Thursday that SIICAC has done absolutely nothing tangible since its establishment due to the lack of financial support.
“I have served for almost five years now in the commission without doing anything because the commission was never given the money it needed to carry out its mandate as stipulated in the Anti-Corruption Act 2018.
“We have never done anything because there was no money to employ staff to do the work. There are investigators and supporting staff to do the work.”
Mr Tabusasi said since the establishment of the Commission, commissioners meet once every month just to comply with the Act.
He said the five-year term of the current commission will end in January 2025 but it will be interesting to see what will happen after the launching of the updated National Anti-Corruption Strategy by Prime Minister Manele.
“Yes, they mentioned challenges and indeed, money was a challenge for the commission,” he added.
Mr Tabusasi said the funding provided by Japan towards the work of SIICAC was not given to the commission as it is administered by the United Nations Development Programme.
He said if any foreign government wants to support the work of SIICAC, it should directly give the money to the commission.
“Giving money directly to the commission to do its work is only way forward that I see for the commission to move forward. If they don’t trust the commission to administer any funding intended to support its work, then nothing will happen as we have seen.
SIICAC Director General John Kouni, in his welcome, remarks at the updated NACS launching said the commission have been severely constrained by a number of factors, including lack of finance, manpower and resources.
But despite the little support, Mr Kouni said SIICAC still managed to achieve some of the foundational necessities that will enable it to move on to full operational phase.
He said the commission is embarking on a major recruitment of staff and has concluded a number of Memorandums of Understanding with other Integrity, Accountability and enforcement institutions to enable it to be more effectively engaged
In his keynote address at the updated NACS launching, Prime Minister Manele declared the commitment of his Government of National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) to fighting corruption.
However, he made no mention of any financial support from the government except to state that the government looks forward for more collaboration with development partners for the implementation of the updated NACS.
The Prime Minister also thanked Japan for their support to SIICAC through the UNDP Transparency Accountability Project.
Solomon Star understands that the SIICAC Chair Sir Frank Kabui has described SIICAC as a toothless tiger due to the lack of financial support from the government.
