VANIKIRO indigenous landowners were taken by surprise on Sunday 26th June when MP Freda Tuki and her co landed their machines to clear the land for her so-called township on the island.
There were no negotiations with the Vanikoro Indigenous Landowners by the Ms Tuki.
She negotiated with four Tikopian settlers who claimed to be landowners, without having respect for the original landowners.
What a shame! If a man from Vanikoro did that to her on her land at Tikopia, how would she feel?
Her egoism had overruled her leadership as the MP for VATUD constituency and being a Minister of the Crown.
Try to be ethical in order to respect the BIRTH RIGHTS of the Indigenous Landowners of Vanikoro.
Some of the indigenous voted for her in the hope of her representing their interests.
Mrs Tuki and your elite Ngu Brothers, you already made the first attempt and you failed, what are you trying to prove by making the second attempt in which you failed miserably and nearly lost all your machineries and the lives of the employees who were taking charge of the tugboat and the badge that carry the machineries?
Do you realise that you had already defied the Order given to you by the Temotu Provincial Premier dated in which I refer?
This is a Criminal Offence and the Commissioner of Police must consider the matter seriously.
Mrs Tuki, you do not have leadership qualities for being unethical as you are manipulated by your egoism and make you to sit on a High Mountain dishonesty, covered with Glass in which people praised you for your RECENCY when you bought the ship for VATUD Constituency.
Mrs Tuki, I want to earnestly remind you not to throw stones all over the place by pointing fingers on other people that they are the ones who are manipulating the Indigenous Landowners of Vanikoro to oppose your illegal development.
I want to inform you also that if you want to claim land ownership, why not work on it first and when you are given the decision from the High Court that you are the rightful owners of the land on Vanikoro, you can then proceed on with your ‘Logging Constituency Development Centre.’
A very simple wisdom “Do not put a CART before a HORSE.”
I call on the national government to do something to help the indigenous landowners of Vanikoro.
Settling of the Tikopian settlers by the colonial masters is a second grievance mistake the government did to the people of Vanikoro to which Mrs Tuki is taking advantage of it.
The colonial government brought the Kauri Timber Company of Australia to harvest kauri to which the Colonial Government get the royalties is the first grievances.
We will pursue the matter with the Leadership Code Commission to investigate whether Mrs Tuki is practicing corruption at its highest peak and will seek legal action against her.
Furthermore, I want to remind Mrs Tuki and her foreign loggers that that you will not succeed with your Constituency Development Centre.
If you want it to materialise, go and build your Constituency Development Centre on your land in Tikopia or put it in the lake (teroto) because you get your consent from these four Tikopia settlers – Channey Fenukumoa, Chris Panaki, Joses Ofakirongo and Michael Onomarie, who claimed to represent the Tafua, Fangarere, Taumako and Kafika tribes.
I think you have mistaken Vanikoro for Tikopia. They are from Tikopia and I know what villages they belonged to.
They do not have birth rights for landownership in Vanikoro but they do have in Tikopia.
They have mistaken the Ramboe bay for the Lake (Teroto) in Tikopia.
Get your machines to their lands, which they inherit from their Great, Great Grandfathers, which they gave you and your elites the Ngu Brothers their consents to do logging and your Constituency Development Centre
I retrieved your demarcated area for the Constituency Development Centre.
This is not a demarcation for Constituency Development Centre but for a logging operation.
If you want to continue with your development, the simple tale is, today you can be successful but tomorrow when the weather is fine you will reap desolation and mourning.
The call by MP Tuki in the Solomon Star issue No.6313 page 2 on Tuesday and I quote, “These people do not respect me as their MP.”
My question to her is, did she respected them so that she demand respect in return?
“Do to others what you want them to do unto you.”
She also continues to request and I quote, “Let me go on to develop and help the people of Vanikoro with the proposed Constituency Development Centre.
“They should give me time to prove their criticisms wrong.”
May I humbly ask you MP for VATUD, when did you hold consultations with the Indigenous landowners to explain your plan to build the Constituency Development Centre?
Did they gave you their consent? When did you facilitate the Land Acquisition Process?
Have you completed the Registration formalities?
Have you paid the premium to the landowners? Who is the Perpetual Owner of the Land you acquire for your so called Constituency Development Centre?
What is the Lot No. of the Land proposed for your Constituency Development Centre?
If all answers to my question is “Yes” please publish them in the Solomon Star for the public to see.
If all the answers are ‘No’, then who are you referring to, to let you develop the Constituency Development Centre and to prove their claim is wrong?
Please MP, you are making yourself a fool being the Minister of the Crown but do not understand the process of acquiring land for development.
This is government’s engagement so proper formalities must be followed before you can start with your Constituency Development Centre.
I know someone will reply to this article but I will regard them as a “drowning person trying to grasp a breath.”
I call on the people of Vanikoro and Tikopia to remain calm as the matter is not in the best interest of everyone but only few people for their own gain and I am giving my last call to Mrs Tuki to disassociate her from people who are her advisors and if she employed them, sack them.
By JOHN W. NABU
Vanikoro Island
