A FORMER Attorney General Gabriel Suri has criticized the Government’s decision to pay $140 million to liquidators Hall Chadwick, calling it ‘unwise’ and ‘irrational.’
This criticism follows the Cabinet’s agreement to raise the sale of Treasury Bonds to State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to buy back Levers Solomons Limited (LSL) and Russell Islands Plantation Estates Limited (RIPEL) estates.
The Solomon Islands National Provident Fund (SINPF) appears to have avoided this financial move by the Government of National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) likely because the previous Democratic Coalition Government for Advancement (DCGA) already borrowed about $150 million from the workers’ savings scheme in exchange for a treasury bond.
Mr Suri clarified on social media that the company in liquidation is Orbis Commodities Pty Ltd which is owned by Willem Johan Van Vlymen and Margriet Hermine Van Vlymen and not by Patrick Wong, Lever Solomons Limited (LSL) or Russell Islands Plantations Estate Limited (RIPEL).
He said Orbis does not own any property.
“Orbis owns Pacific Investment Holding Pty Ltd (PIH), which also does not own any property. PIH owns Pacific Investment Ltd (PIL), which similarly does not own any property.”
According to Mr Suri, PIL holds a 50 percent shares in International Comtrade & Shipping (SI) Limited (ICSL).
“Wong’s company Overseas Shipping Trading and Investment Pty Ltd (OSTI), holds the other 50 percent of shares in ICSL.
“Therefore, the partnership between Vlymen and Wong is in ICSL, which holds 75.1 percent in LSL and RIPEL, while Lavukal Investment Company Limited holds 24.9 percent shares in LSL and RIPEL.
“For the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) to control LSL and RIPEL, it must fully control ICSL.
“However, the current scheme SIG is advised to adopt would lead it to take control of only PIH’s 50 percent shares,” Mr Suri explained.
“In other words, SIG is seeking to replace Vlymen only, while Patrick Wong will still hold 50 percent shares in ICSL.
“Therefore, an additional $140 million or more would be needed to buy out Wong’s 50 percent shares in ICSL. SIG will thus have to deal with Patrick Wong in ICSL, not directly in LSL and RIPEL,” he added.
Mr Suri also refuted Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele’s claim that an Australian court had ordered the sale of LSL or RIPEL, calling it a “public lie or deception.”
PM Manele stated that the government’s involvement in this substantial investment aims to ensure that the land ownership returns to Solomon Islanders rather than remaining in foreign hands.
He said once funds are transferred and settlement is completed, there will be efforts to clear up all the paperwork, including the titles of land pieces already sold, before handing back the ownership of LSL and RIPEL estates to the government.
PM Manele added that the government would establish a Cabinet subcommittee responsible for developing a mechanism to oversee the governance and management of the two estates once they are returned to the government.
He said this process will involve several steps, including:
- Identifying and reaffirming people who have already bought pieces of land from these two estates and have legal titles;
- Identifying people who have been living in parts of the two estates without legal titles; and
- Identifying land that is not being used for future investment and development.
By EDDIE OSIFELO
Solomon Star, Honiara
