I wish to share my opinion in relation to how underdevelopment and dependency has persisted in West Makira over the years, while West Makirans continue in their search for a new leader. The period I would like to dwell on is the sixteen years span after the late Solomon Mamaloni; the period when West Makira people had
started on the rather unpredictable and disappointing journey to search for a
new leader; a new Mwaeraha; a new
Son.
The late Mamaloni
came into power for West Makira and Solomon Islands for that matter as an educated
and qualified elite; a pioneer of and for a new nation, Solomon Islands. He had
his tertiary education in New Zealand and therefore was well prepared and ready
to take up the leadership call.
As one of our
elite leaders the late Mamaloni (Solo) had recognised the difficulty of
bringing the people together, hence his description of the new Solomon Islands
as “a nation conceived but never born” – a nation that will forever be diverse
and where the concept of unity is and will forever be an ideal objective to
achieve.
Despite the
grand recognition and realisation, the late Mamaloni had during his reign
committed his time and energy not only for the nation but also for the people
of his constituency. His focus and approach of leadership was one of simplicity
and humility. For that reason, he was liked, cherished, highly regarded and
respected not only by his own people of West Makira but Solomon Islanders alike.
In his passing,
it is undoubtedly so that there will never be another person like him. We can
only strive to be like him but we will never be exactly like him. That is an
undisputable fact of life – no two persons will ever be exactly alike or the
same. But we should not be disappointed because with new development comes the
prime need for new leadership approaches. Times have changed and new challenges
have began to emerge which I believe may require a little tweaking of old
styles and culture to be effectively and adequately addressed. The late Mamaloni
however, will always remain our local hero of West Makira. He is THE one and
only true Solomon Mamaloni; our true leader.
During the late
Mamaloni’s era, West Makira strived for progress, growth and development. Back
then people were content with everything that was there. Whether there was
development or not, people did not care much because the late Mamaloni was able
to bring happiness and peace amongst all peoples. People peacefully coexisted
and the atmosphere was filled with great harmony and cooperative spirit. The West
Makira Games is a manifestation of how the late Mamaloni had highly regarded
the existence of harmony in society as an important prerequisite for
sustainable and equitable development. He was the founder of the Games; an
uniting factor for West Makira people for many years until his passing away.
When the great
leader sadly passed away, a great vacuum emerged. West Makirans realise that
the only person they have ever known as the most capable leader has sadly left.
So the search for a new leader that can fill the very big shoes that Mamaloni
had left behind began.
Because of the
great grief and sympathy, it was unsurprising that the person that was voted in
to replace him as our elected leader in Parliament was none other than his own
brother. The high regard for the late Solo was also extended in Parliament when
the incoming MP for West Makira, even though he was only elected in at a
by-election later become the Deputy Speaker, having gained the favour of most
MPs then to become their second boss in the Parliamentary Chambers.
So nationally,
the late Mamaloni’s immediate successor was highly regarded and he had dwelled
and excelled in that regard. He was himself a long-serving and experienced politician
at the provincial level and had many years of political experience behind him. Unfortunately,
he did not survive the next general elections, and returned to serve at the
provincial political level for some time. Perhaps West Makirans did not see the
leadership characteristics they expect of him; or time was too short for him to
make an impact at the constituency level; or whether he was just at the wrong
place at the wrong time – it was unclear. But one thing was clear; the journey
in search for a new leader for West Makira has only begun.
After Mamaloni’s
immediate successor was voted out of Parliament, a new face entered the
political scene for West Makira. The mandate was given to a long-time
educationist and public administrator. He had an agricultural background and
had served for many years in his respective field, as an agriculture field
officer, a teacher and school principal.
Upon becoming an
MP he became a Minister and expectations were high that given his
approachability and simplicity he would be the ONE West Makirans were looking for.
He undertook his Ministerial responsibilities exceptionally well and was a
robust and active voice for his people in Parliament.
However, despite
his good undertaking of national responsibilities as a national leader, his
focus on the development woes of West Makira constituency was minimal. He
continued with the undesirable “ballot box” politics of free handouts, nepotism
and cronyism. There was no evidence of a Constituency Development Plan and
development therefore was unguarded and was thus handled and decided more or
less on a case by case, adhoc basis.
Hopes were gone
and discontent began to intensify amongst West Makirans. Harmony faded and the
atmosphere began to shift from one that was filled with happiness and joy to
one that was filled with frustration and despair. He was voted out quite
dramatically in the next general elections as a result of a ‘block vote’ by
people of a particular part of the Constituency, the very people who were
credited to have backed him to victory in his previous election success.
With his
unsuccessful defence of title, a not-so-new face entered the scene to be the
not-so-new political voice for West Makira. One of the longest serving public
officers, the new MP for West Makira was a good representative of the people on
the floor of Parliament. Given his experience throughout the colonial
administration era, at the executive public service level, and as a former MP
but for another Constituency in Makira, he was well-versed with his day to day
duties and as the voice for his people in Parliament.
In fact, apart
from the late Solo, his work rate in the chambers of Parliament is next to none
comparably. He always contributed with his heart on the floor of Parliament and
does not worry much at all about whether he is talking in or out of Order. He
was initially appointed a Minister but later became the Deputy Opposition
Leader after the coalition government he was part of was voted out in a no
confidence vote.
But like his
predecessors, he did not commit enough time or focus on matters of importance
and priority for his constituency. Like those before him, he rarely visited his
people by touring the constituency. He opted to remain in Honiara throughout
his whole four-year term and rented a house despite that fact the under the
Parliamentary Entitlements he was not entitled to rent a house in town. By
doing so, he invited pressure upon himself and was alleged that throughout his
term as an MP he was using funds meant for the development of the constituency
for the rental of the house he was living in.
He was a strong
leader; but perhaps too strong a leader. He usually disregards advices from his
constituents and decided instead to have around him people of questionable
agendas; people whose dubious characters are well known to most ordinary West
Makira constituents.
Perhaps the most
controversial point of his term as the MP for West Makira was his firm and
unwavering decision to purchase a vessel using constituency funds. He told West
Makirans that the MV Hausori was purchased with RCDF. Almost half of the
four-year RCDF allocation was committed to purchase the vessel. That was what
he told constituents but he never publicly revealed the price of the vessel in
Solomon Islands Dollars. Perhaps the real cost was more than half of the RCDF
or even more because even at the dawn of the next general elections there were
rumours that the payment for the vessel was still incomplete and there were
orders from the supplier for the vessel to be tendered to recover the outstanding
money.
The purchase of
the vessel did not change the development situation in West Makira. People were
still struggling and the vessel was rarely running given its constant visits to
the slip-way as a result of unsound management. There was no proper management
in place to oversee the running of the vessel. If people had benefitted at all
from the running of the vessel it would be his family, close friends, and
cronies. No other people from West Makira had benefitted because the vessel was
run as a private asset and its takings similarly so.
During his term
as MP for West Makira nothing substantial occurred. He was alleged to have
misused funds allocated for constituency activities and development. Thus,
development remained stagnant and the level of discontent and disillusionment
with government intensified. Leading to the next general elections back then,
some West Makiran voters were even alleged to have put their ballot papers on
sale announcing their intention in the media, an indication of the embedded lack
of confidence they have on our democratic system and processes. Their argument
is that even if they go to the polls to vote, the outcome will not be different
as whoever they would vote for and win will still be a bad leader.
So in the midst
of their search for a new leader or THE Leader, West Makirans were starting to
give up. They were starting to realise that indeed it is not easy to fill the
shoes of the late Mamaloni, and the fatigue was starting to show.
Unsurprisingly,
the only MP responsible to have ever purchased a vessel for West Makira
constituency was voted out of Parliament in the most unprecedented fashion.
During the campaign period he was not even allowed in some of the villages. In
others he was able to campaign; he often faced furious crowds of people who
were there only to tell him off; some even physically confronting him.
So even when he
was voted out his misdemeanours did not leave him. He was summoned in court for
allegations of misappropriation of public funds; a case that is yet to be
judged by the courts.
The next phase
of the political journey of West Makira was lead by a young leader. In their
leadership search West Makirans chose a young leader; a science-educated young
leader. He has a science education background, with years of teaching
experience at the former SICHE now SINU. He was a former political appointee
under the Sogarave-led government and later became the Director of SICHE.
In both
occupations as a political appointee and SICHE Director, he was removed from
Office allegedly due to under performance. This was quite unsurprising for many
who know him closely. They have described him as a good talker but a
not-so-good undertaker. In other words, he is only good in talking but rarely
carries out what he talks about. This has been evident in his current
leadership as the MP for West Makira constituency in that up to this day he has
not fulfilled most of the promises he had given to the people during his
campaign.
He became a
Minister; and a good one too because he is a Minister in his area of specialty:
education. SINTA members, students and some parents however, may think
otherwise given the current failure of his Ministry to adequately deal with
teacher’s re-levelling issue.
Consequently, given
his hectic ministerial responsibilities he had not been able to resolve many of
the issues that are affecting or holding back development in West Makira.
Discontent is still rife and only a certain component of the society is being
given close attention and repeated assistance. The cunning behaviour of his
Constituency Development Officer (CDO) is not helping at all in this situation;
nor is the use of his own brother as shadow CDO, or the fact that his spouse is
the secondary signatory to the West Makira Constituency account (the MP is the
primary signatory). All these are only adding salt to the wound.
In his term as
MP, the disconnectedness between MPs and the people has widened, as he
continues to overlook small but underlying aspects that are held close to the
wellbeing of West Makirans. There are many proofs to this observation. For
instance, while the West Makira Games has never been held since 2010, the year
of general elections due to financial difficulties, the SDA Games has continued
undisturbed since his coming into power. As a result people are claiming that
because the current MP is an SDA, he is only focusing his support and
assistance to the West Makira SDA communities. And while many people are yet to
receive any material assistance from him, his home village or settlement at
Boro’oni continues to be built into a settlement of another class as compared
to all the rural communities of West Makira. Thanks to the flow of public funds
that are at his disposal to freely disburse. His family; associates and cronies
are the only ones reaping the benefits of the materials that are being
purchased with the monies that are meant for development of the whole West
Makira constituency and its people.
The current MP
had opted to purchase vehicles and solar panels – the new phenomenon in the
politics of Solomon Islands which is driven by free handouts from Taiwan. His
supporters call this development. I personally disagree. This is not
development. These materials are tools for development. These are materials
meant to aid or boost development and should never be confused as actual development.
The purchase of these materials is not development. It is their use that should
result in easing of tangible development. What is happening now is that even
with the vehicles and solar panels, development continues to remain stagnant
and West Makira remains one of the worst developed constituencies in the whole
of Solomon Islands.
What is worst is
the continuous under-utilisation of the potentials for development. Money is
being handed out freely with no genuine intentions for positive outcomes.
Despite the millions of dollars available every year since 2010, nothing
tangible is happening in West Makira. People continue to suffer and encounter
the same problems over and over again- the same old unaddressed development
woes. Instead of progress the general development situation in West Makira is
actually deteriorating. This is happening in our West Makira while in many
other constituencies development is occurring robustly with progress and
improvement in people’s wellbeing and livelihood, and thus people are directly
benefitting from positive change.
As a matter of
fact, West Makira Constituency is very ill or sick. The sickness is embedded in
part to the lack of sound leadership, which is prevalent due to lack of guided
or planned development and unsound decision-making. The result is repeated
political leaderships that are concerned only on how they are to get re-elected
in the next general elections. Thus, cronyism and nepotism or favouritism are
the main components of the norm of the day. People are given assistance only
because of who they are, not because there is any genuine intention to develop
the constituency.
For instance,
late last year 2012, a good number of farmers from West Makira were given SBD$2,500
each in the pretence of assisting them to rehabilitate their farms. But they
were also told that the money was just to thank them for their hard work all
year round in looking after their farms, and that they can use the money for
whatever purposes they may wish. So guess what the recipients do? They pay
themselves Christmas presents. And how can we blame the innocent farmers – what
can one do with $2,500 these days, especially when it is for the ongoing upkeep
of coconut and cocoa plantations? $2,500 is the labour cost for only a single
week’s work to maintain a standard sized farm in West Makira. After that
everything returns to square one.
All this is
happening while hundreds of thousands of dollars are available within the
ministry of agriculture for cocoa and copra rehabilitation projects. These are
budgetary allocations which were to a certain extent at the discretion of MPs
in their disbursement. Had these funds were utilised I am sure that the amount
of money that was to be given to the farmers would have been more than the
lousy $2,500.
To make it
worst, we continue to focus on purchasing material things even when we know too
well that these things are not development but are tools to boost development. And
how can development be guided and boosted if there is no plan at all in place –
at least a plan that all West Makirans are aware of and are part of in its
formulation. These material things will not get us anywhere but will only add
to the sickness that is affecting our constituency. What is happening now in
actual fact is the creation or the development of underdevelopment in West
Makira. It is not development that we are witnessing but underdevelopment and
continuous dependency.
The sickness
that is affecting us must be resolved. We need the right doctor to give us the
right prescription and medicine for the sickness.
But we need not
just any doctor; we need a specialist. By specialist I mean the right person
and people to lead us into a new era of leadership; a new legacy. Everybody – a
village elder; a builder; an educationist; an agriculturist; a fisherman; a
farmer; a mechanic; a church pastor; a student – and you name it– can be a
politician if they have the support of the majority of voters. But the problem
we have now is deep and serious and we need the right person to solve it. Lest
we forget that despite our different qualifications sound political leadership
is not just about qualification. It is about having the right qualification,
specialty and qualities to be a good and effective leader. There has to be a
balance between one’s knowledge of the political and governance context of
Solomon Islands and the challenges affecting us at the rural, grassroots
setting.
Remember, a
mechanic is qualified but he or she won’t build a house. A carpenter, even
though qualified in his or her own right can build a house, but they won’t fix
a vehicle. The sickness that is affecting us is about development and governance:
it is about politics and that requires a person that is trained to be a good
politician. That is, a person who is a trained politician and had some
firsthand experience of the problem at hand. We need a person that is well
versed with the problem at hand; who has felt this problem and has suffered and
struggled just like any other person in West Makira. A person who is energetic
and committed with their whole heart and mind to focus only on the problem at
hand; a person who knows what this is all about. A person that is knowledgeable
about our culture, politics, governance and development issues – a person who
can bring back harmony and peaceful co-existence within our society. That is
the kind of specialist we need – not just any qualified person. We do not need
any more political wannabes – enough of them.
We need a person
that goes in Parliament not because he or she is enticed or attracted by the
millions of dollars that are at the discretion of MPs; or a person who wants to
go in there just to build up their wealth or ego at the national level. We need
a person that goes in there and focuses not only on himself and his family,
friends or religious community but the whole of West Makira; a person who will
have time for his people and put the affairs and concerns of his people first
than anything or anybody else. A person who will be able to heal our illness or
sickness and take us forward prosperously with harmony, humility and
humbleness. That is, a person that does not need more time to learn to be
well-versed about the workings of government and parliament but a person who
already understands these processes and procedures. That is the kind of person
we want. A person who will never tell lies to us again and is serious about his
role as a law-maker, a national leader and a representative of his constituency
– all the people of his constituency and not just his voters, friends and
family.
So as the next
general elections draws nearer our search for good political leadership
continues. The choice is on us to decide – whether we want to continue to
suffer or should we make some tough decisions and change the leadership of West
Makira forever for the better. We have searched enough – today is the time for
us to appreciate and acknowledge that the leadership we have been looking for
all along is ready to take us forward. We only have to recognise that and allow
that to happen. The time has come for that change to happen. The ball is in our
court and whether or not we are happy or suffer tomorrow is a decision we have
to make today.
You make your choice, and make sure it is the right choice! For a
wrong choice today will be your suffering tomorrow!
God Bless West Makira. God Bless Solomon Islands.
Mr. John Saenitoro
Concerned Voter, West Makira Constituency
