Permanent Secretary (PS) to Ministry of Culture & Tourism John Wasi has clarified that they disallowed the FSII meeting intended to host at the Museum Auditorium because he was not informed and according to their policy government premises were restricted for political gathering.
Speaking to the Solomon Star yesterday Mr Wasi stated that the normal process of hosting any meeting or activities within the Museum area would have to request in a formal letter written to the PS, whereby the application would be considered.
He stated that once their request letter to use the venue is approved then they will pay for the fee charges.
“This process was never followed and we later learned that they made arrangement to our junior staff with fees paid to them, which is wrong,” PS stated.
PS added they should write a letter to my office seeking permission to host their meeting in the auditorium.
“Secondly, according to our policy it does not allowed government premises to be use for political gathering, because we are concern about safety and security of public properties, therefore we have to avoid likely occurrence of riots or demonstration.
“We have no personal grudges with anyone, as we have open policy for people to feel free to approach us,” he added.
Wasi further stated that he had met with FSII administrators and they accepted the reasons for disallowing Museum auditorium.
He said, their decision has nothing to do with political affiliation or any other matters, rather their governing policy is what they upheld.
By AATAI JOHN
