THE Parliamentary Opposition Group has described the response by the Secretary to Prime Minister Joseph Waleanisia in defending the Special Secretary to Prime Minister Rence Sore as ‘lame’ and ‘childish’.
This follows Mr Waleanisia’s recent media statement on Wednesday this week to explain and defend the SSPM’s hiring of a room at Rock Haven, purposely to write the Prime Minister’s independence speech.
“This is a lame excuse and most ridiculous explanation one could ever imagine,” the statement said.
“Why do you need to book a personal room for 27 days to write a speech? Does Mr Sore have to use a private hotel room to draft the Prime Minister’s speeches?
“This is absurd and only goes to demonstrate yet again how insensitive and careless Mr Sore is – he continues to bring shame and disrepute to the highest office of this land,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the Opposition said the call made by the SPM and SSPM for the media to make a public apology is pointless.
“Why should an apology be served when all the documents are in black and white and published clearly in the media?
“In fact, it is the SSPM that should apologize to people of this country for misleading and expending thousands of dollars at the expense of taxpayers,” it said.
The Parliamentary Opposition also reiterated their concerns that whilst these serious malpractices continue unabated, the Prime Minister and senior members in DCCG have chosen to remain silent.
“Do they condone such malpractices or merely turn a blind eye on their self-serving official, or maybe they are also part of this mess,” it said.
The statement said the current attitude of political appointees in the like of the SSPM has demeaned the integrity of the OPMC and the Government to its worst ever.
“It is a shameful thing not only in the eyes of the Solomon Islands public but also in the eyes of our international and donor partners.”
