The Challenges remain the same......
The Challenges remain the same......
Monday 24 December 2007 was a historic day in Solomon Islands.
It was the first time in many attempts a members of Parliament unseated a Prime Minister in a motion of no confidence. First timer Parliamentarian and deflected Education Minister and MP for North East Guadalcanal, Dr Derek Sikua became the terminator of the sitting Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare. Dr Sikua and Mr Sogavare became part of Solomon Islands political history when Parliament voted on the motion.
PM Sogavare oust in no confidence motion
The downfall of the Sogavare-led government was set in motion through the appointment of Australian lawyer Julian Moti as the country's Attorney General.
Moti had been a controversial figure in Solomon Islands for some years. Previous governments have engaged him in various projects. The proposed Mamara Township project on North West Guadalcanal was one of them. Moti was one of the key men behind the project in providing his legal savvy to the drafting of the project. After some heated debate on the project it never saw the light of day.
The other project was the Solomon Mutual Insurance, which after operating for several years it has folded because it was facing financial difficulties. Although, Moti was involved in the formulating stages of the Insurance company through his legal representation, he was not involved in the running of the company.
The former PM Sogavare is very firm in his beliefs and decisions. Despite mounting criticisms against his government and his leadership style which some people have described as dictatorial, he never bow down to the pressure. He stood by his words saying he was elected by Parliament and only Parliament could vote him out. And that was the verdict. Dr Sikua won the secret ballot vote with 32 votes to 15 votes. While the result was a foregone conclusion, the winning margin was a surprise.
The New Government
Dr Sikua an educationist by profession was elected on what seems to be a firm foundation.
His Cabinet was a mixture of seasoned politicians, public servants and young first time Parliamentarians. A significant aspect of that Cabinet is the Guadalcanal-Malaita led administration. Dr Sikua and his Coalition for National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace selected form Opposition leader, Fred Fono from Malaita as the Deputy PM. Guadalcanal and Malaita were the main conflicting parties in the ethnic tension and some Solomon Islanders those two leaders were the right persons to address the the outstanding issues head on.
MyBlog comments
Its early days....and the remaining two or so years of the life of the present Parliament is too short for the new government to implement its policies and programme.
The government's immediate task now is to put together the 2008 budget. The new government like any other previous governments cannot implement it policies and programme on its own. It needs the cooperation of Solomon Islanders and all sectors of the community and developing partners to achieve its aims and objectives.
The tasks and challenges ahead are awesome and seemed difficult, but they can be tackled.
MyBlog
Monday 24 December 2007 was a historic day in Solomon Islands.
It was the first time in many attempts a members of Parliament unseated a Prime Minister in a motion of no confidence. First timer Parliamentarian and deflected Education Minister and MP for North East Guadalcanal, Dr Derek Sikua became the terminator of the sitting Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare. Dr Sikua and Mr Sogavare became part of Solomon Islands political history when Parliament voted on the motion.
PM Sogavare oust in no confidence motion
The downfall of the Sogavare-led government was set in motion through the appointment of Australian lawyer Julian Moti as the country's Attorney General.
Moti had been a controversial figure in Solomon Islands for some years. Previous governments have engaged him in various projects. The proposed Mamara Township project on North West Guadalcanal was one of them. Moti was one of the key men behind the project in providing his legal savvy to the drafting of the project. After some heated debate on the project it never saw the light of day.
The other project was the Solomon Mutual Insurance, which after operating for several years it has folded because it was facing financial difficulties. Although, Moti was involved in the formulating stages of the Insurance company through his legal representation, he was not involved in the running of the company.
The former PM Sogavare is very firm in his beliefs and decisions. Despite mounting criticisms against his government and his leadership style which some people have described as dictatorial, he never bow down to the pressure. He stood by his words saying he was elected by Parliament and only Parliament could vote him out. And that was the verdict. Dr Sikua won the secret ballot vote with 32 votes to 15 votes. While the result was a foregone conclusion, the winning margin was a surprise.
The New Government
Dr Sikua an educationist by profession was elected on what seems to be a firm foundation.
His Cabinet was a mixture of seasoned politicians, public servants and young first time Parliamentarians. A significant aspect of that Cabinet is the Guadalcanal-Malaita led administration. Dr Sikua and his Coalition for National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace selected form Opposition leader, Fred Fono from Malaita as the Deputy PM. Guadalcanal and Malaita were the main conflicting parties in the ethnic tension and some Solomon Islanders those two leaders were the right persons to address the the outstanding issues head on.
MyBlog comments
Its early days....and the remaining two or so years of the life of the present Parliament is too short for the new government to implement its policies and programme.
The government's immediate task now is to put together the 2008 budget. The new government like any other previous governments cannot implement it policies and programme on its own. It needs the cooperation of Solomon Islanders and all sectors of the community and developing partners to achieve its aims and objectives.
The tasks and challenges ahead are awesome and seemed difficult, but they can be tackled.
MyBlog
posted by Myblog | 7:30 pm
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