PM’s pledge to salvage CEMA comes to nought as much of its funding is syphoned odd to help bolster shortfalls in the PG23 Games
THE COMMODITY EXPORT MARKETIING AUTHORITY [CEMA], now trading as Solomon Commodities, has been forced to close down its copra buying centres in Pakera and Honiara due to lack of funding
A directive by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare for the immediate release of $21 million to salvage CEMA’s Revitalisation Strategy 2021-2027 from going under appears to have fallen on deaf ears.
Prime Minister Sogavare gave the directive about two months ago following meetings with senior officials from the Ministry of Finance &Treasury, the Office of the Prime Minister & Cabinet and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Labour & Immigration.
“No one appears to have heeded the directive,” one angry CEMA official told Solomon Star yesterday.
The failure by officials to act on the directive has now resulted in the closure last month of Pakera Copra and Cocoa Buying Centre in Kira Kira, Makira-Ulawa Province. according to insiders.
CEMA was also forced to close down its Honiara Copra Buying Centre as of last week. Although it is still buying cocoa, insiders said it could close down by the end of this month due to lack of funding.
Thousands of rural farmers from the provinces which do not have buying centres such as Guadalcanal, Choiseul, Isabel, Malaita and Central Islands provinces, will suffer the consequences of the closure of the Honiara Buying Centre, making life even more unbearable for them.
In 2021, Cabinet approved a seven-year funding of $77 million for the revitalisation of CEMA buying centres nationwide.
Today, the government still owes CEMA some $54.5 million, according to figures obtained by Solomon Star.
Much of the CEMA funding was syphoned off to help bolster shortfalls in the PG23 Games, depriving CEMA of fulfilling its mandate to revitalise the multi-million-dollar industry.
Malu’u Copra Buying Centre which Prime Minister Sogavare officially launched earlier this year remains idle as there are no funds to start trading.
Critics said they could not understand why the Prime Minister could easily hand out millions of dollars to fund overseas visits, which has a zero return to the nation’s economic growth.
“The CEMA revitalisation programme has huge potential but it seems the government is focusing on the wrong things. It is unbelievable,” they said.
“It makes you wonder where the Prime Minister still calls the shots or not.”
By Alfred Sasako
