Rebuts report, says MPG account sits at $6million
By WILSON SAENI
Auki News Bureau
MALAITA Provincial Premier Daniel Suidani has rebutted a report that the Malaita Provincial Government (MPG) has visited Honiara lately to seek funding because the provincial account has dried up due to the Premier’s actions.
At the same time, he said the MPG bank account sits at the $6million mark.
Premier Suidani was responding to a front-page article carried by this paper on Friday bearing the headline ‘Suidani in Town.’
In the article, the writer quoted a source as saying that, “The premier and his advisor were put in an embarrassing situation last Tuesday when they realised the Provincial Bank Account had dried up. No funds were paid into the account since Monday.
“It left the Premier in a situation where he had no choice but to seek urgent talks with the national government,” end of quote.
But reacting to the report yesterday Premier Suidani lashed out at the report saying that Malaita Provincial bank account has never dried up as alluded to by the writer.
He said that it is sad to see a reporter disseminating false and unsubstantiated information that is grossly misleading to say the least.
He said the recent visit to Honiara was in response to a call from the Ministry of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening (MPGIS) to mend the standoff between the province and MPGIS regarding the recalling of the PS and not to seek funding as mentioned in the local media.
Media reports stated that the Malaita Provincial account dried up due to Suidani’s action and after MPGIS recalled PS Fredrick Fa’abasua.
The premier said since MARA took office, the provincial account sits comfortably on the million-dollar mark.
“This is evident in the way the provincial government is effectively delivering services in the province and managing to pay its workers on time,” he said.
According to Malaita Provincial Government’s daily bank balances at the moment, the three days the PS was not working due to instructions from the MPGIS, the provincial account sits on SBD6million mark.
The premier said that the misleading media report is a cheap shot at his MARA government and a lame volley to dry up the Malaita Provincial bank account.
However, according to daily bank movements, the province has SBD6,267,151.24 in its accounts as of Monday this week.
This indicates that the Malaita Provincial Account balance this September hovers between SBD6million -SBD7million.
