Dear Editor – From being an Office Cleaner and errand boy to Church Pastor, David Day Pacha was elected to Parliament thereafter appointed Minister with responsibility for Mineral and Energy Resources.
“The sky is the limit” so they say in a democracy.
Anyone with determination and drive could be whatever they wish and whenever they like.
Mr Pacha’s meteoric rise through the ranks to become a senior cabinet Minister in a ruling government shows that the adage holds true in Solomon Islands. That is with a little skill at manipulating church and custom for a political end one can easily become MP.
What Mr Pacha may not have realised fully is that, despite the illusion, the sky is indeed a physical barrier for mortals.
Sir Isaac Newton, one of greatest scientific minds the world has ever known, observed after he was hit on the backside by an apple, which fell from a tree he was sitting under that things naturally fall towards the centre of the earth.
A genius as he was, Sir Newton, concluded that, when a banana is thrown upwards is bound to come down no matter how long this may take.
Legend has it that he (Newton) immediately on being hit took out a solar powered Panasonic calculator from his shirt pocket, crunched some numbers and came up with what became one of the most fundamental Laws of Physic called – The Law of Gravity.
Simply put, Newton’s Law of Gravity states that whatever goes up must come down irrespective of one’s position on the earth’s surface.
When Mr Pacha was appointed Minister for Minerals there was nothing but elation among actors and stakeholder within the mining industry.
Hope was in the air.
What the Minister lacked in terms of paper qualification is compensated with his background in church things.
Stakeholders in the sector had hoped to see improvements on how things are being administered from the Ministry of Minerals.
A Minister with a church background would, either through sheer will-power and a little help from above coming from that background would push through with the changes needed in a Ministry known for what it has achieved as a government Ministry but for being incompetent and corrupt.
So when it became obvious that Mr Pacha is playing double standards and that mineral licences are being considered, approved and issued on an adhoc basis, people will obviously become suspicious and suspicious they became.
Mr Pacha was caught on video meeting with a representative of a company who should have never been issued a Mining Lease over Rennel Island in the first place.
The incident seem to suggest that Licence in the Ministry of Mines are being granted not based on legal prescribed procedures but on the Bid Price going to the pockets of those who control the process.
In short, Mr Pacha may have been dealing in mineral licenses not as expected of a Minister but to line his own pockets.
As mentioned earlier, the Newtonian law of gravity holds true and true both in physics and in the social spheres, i.e whenever anything is thrown up wards (lemons included) must come down.
Even if that thing gets temporary caught among the tree branches it will eventually hit the ground.
It may be too early to say with certainty whether Mr Pacha has finally hit the sky and is now on his way downwards.
Nevertheless, the fact that the election is just round the corner cannot be disputed and that his constituents are not headless chickens.
As things happen here in Solomon Islands there is little time left for Mr Pacha to sketch out a hat trick.
It is also not clear as yet whether Mr Pacha will get caught among the branches on his way downwards or whether he is going to hit the ground come the next round of voting.
One suggestion I wish to make in preparation for that general elections is to position 12 inch metal spikes under each tree with the sharp ends pointing skywards.
The metal spikes will help cushion the fall of Members of Parliament who may not get caught up among the trees as they fall from the skies through the trees but before they hit the ground.
I believe Mr Pacha no doubt would agree with me 150% for this recommendation.
Melson Giki
Guadalcanal
