PRIME Minister Jeremiah Manele has taken the trouble of using part of his first ever Christmas Message as Prime Minister to deplore the Motion of No-Confidence filed against his seven-and-half-month-old Government for National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) as an attempt to destroy, destabilise and disunite the country and asserted that through the will of God, the motion was withdrawn.
The Motion of No-Confidence was filed by the Member of Parliament for Central Honiara and a former Prime Minister, Gordon Darcy. He withdrew the motion after his request for the deferment of the motion from Monday 16 December to Wednesday 18 December was rejected by the Speaker of Parliament. In his withdrawal of the motion, MP Lilo admitted that the MPs of GNUT who masterminded the motion had retracted their support.
Touching on the Motion of No Confidence in his Christmas Message, the PM said, “Fellow citizens, ladies and gentlemen, our country survived efforts to destruct and destabilise our country and to create disunity amongst our people as we have witnessed in the recent tabling of the Motion of No-Confidence in the government that is only seven-and-half-month old.
“Through the will of the Almighty Father, we witnessed the motion withdrawn. I thank the Lord as I join King David’s declaration in the form of Psalms 121:1-2: I lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord which made Heaven and Earth,” PM Manele said.
PM Manele underscored political stability as the key to success as was witnessed through the successful hosting of the Pacific Games 2023, which he said was described as the largest and most successful Pacific Games ever, and on that note, he went on to encourage all Solomon Islanders to stand in unity in order to move the nation forward into 2025.
PM Manele said during the seven and half months that GNUT was in office, it put in place a platform to launch its transformational and unifying agenda for ‘our beloved’ country.
He said the government’s 2025 Budget, recently passed by Parliament, will ensure that work will commence on this agenda in the new financial year (2025), commencing on 1 January.
As for the Message of Christmas, the PM said this message represents a new beginning and a new life – that salvation is assured and humanity is transformable by God.
“As I have mentioned, let us share the gift of God’s love by giving and sharing generously with all in need like our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us become true peace makers, bringing the gift of peace to our home, neighbours, schools, communities, provinces, nation and beyond,” he added.
PM Manele said despite the hardships, challenges and difficulties the country faced in 2024, God has done amazing things and that through faith, he will do even more to uplift Solomon Islands in the coming year.
“Looking forward to 2025 and beyond with God’s guidance and your participation, GNUT pledges to build a strong, caring and united, resilient and prosperous nation. We’ll work with you to navigate through challenges, together we will seize opportunities guided by the principles of transparency, good governance, inclusivity and sustainability,” he added.
The PM dedicated a good portion of his Christmas Message to thank the churches, holders of constitutional offices and those serving in the medical and health sector, policing sector, justice sector, business sector, media industry as well as non-government organisations, civil society groups, traditional chiefs and all other Solomon Islanders as well as Solomon Islands bilaterial and multilateral partners for contributing towards Solomon Islands upkeep as a nation and its development endeavours.
By IAN LADDS OSO
Solomon Star, Honiara
