$2 Million to cover government sin

Why does the Solomon Islands Government plan to fund the incomplete PNG Chancery building? This is a kind of question being asked by Solomon Islands citizens and those of PNG.

Before the project started last year, the PNG Government and Solomon Islands Government, as understood, had made an agreement to build their chancery buildings in each country. Green light was given to Solomon Islands Government, and the construction of this chancery building started last year in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and completed towards the end of that year. It seems that everything from PNG Government side was just fine as far as the agreement was concerned.

Just beginning of last year, the two governments moved on to build PNG Chancery building in Honiara, Solomon Islands. The PNG Government took all responsibilities in funding the project. A local company won the bid to carry out the construction of the chancery building. 

However, towards mid last year, the company stopped working because there was no fund to continue on with the project.

The PNG Government has been questioning how the fund was used, but the Solomon Islands Government kept silence about the issue. Since then, it was a matter of concern between the two governments.

Recently, the Solomon Islands Government under the leadership of Prime Minister, Danny Philip, announced $ 2Million to fund the chancery building project. Solomon Islands Government described it as goodwill fund for the project.

Both PNG Government and Solomon Islands opposition spoke out against this move by Solomon Islands Government. This is because, according to the two groups, a full investigation should be carried out on the matter, especially on how the PNG funds for the project were used, which resulted in the incomplete Chancery building project.

The leader of Opposition, Dr Derick Sikua, is surprised that instead of launching an investigation into the misappropriation of the chancery project funds as requested by PNG, the cabinet has seen it fit to pay an additional funding of SB$2 Million dollars towards the project.

What amazes the Opposition is the fact that the Cabinet's decision swiftly followed the call by the PNG Prime Minister on the Solomon Islands Government for a separate investigation into the misappropriation of PNG funds for the construction of the chancery.Solomon Islands should be facilitating the PNG Government's request for an investigation into the misappropriation of the funds and not additional goodwill payments for a project that had obviously failed.

The question that should be asked now is why does the Solomon Islands Government want to fund the incomplete project while there has been no any kind of investigation what so ever being carried out on how the PNG funds for the project were used.

Something must be wrong within the government and responsible individuals should be held accountable.Such case like this, citizens should talk out against. It seems some of our parliament representatives think of themselves first rather than people they represent.

Just days after the recent political argument, PNG Government announced state wedding  for the nation's ninth Governor General, Sir Michael Ogio.

Sir Michael is to wed a Solomon Islander. Sir Michael Ogio met Ms Esmie Ereoli, a former employee of Pacific Casino Hotel in Honiara in 2009. The report said they met when Sir Michael Ogio was a PNG Cabinet Minister. The couple maintained a very private relationship since then to this day.

In an interview with Radio Australia, the Governor General's Official Secretary, Tipo Vuatha, confirmed it and said that the wedding will be the first of its kind in PNG, which is to be staged in public.

It is also another big story for both Solomon Islands and PNG people, which, to some extent, calmed down the recent political tension.