The Leader of Opposition Matthew Wale has called for the sacking of the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock (MAL) Dr Samson Viulu.
Wale made the call following documents he obtained that showed Viulu has continued to give directives under the Chinese Embassy’s Rural Sustainable Development Programme (RSDP) to the officers administering the funds within the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD).
He said documents showed that on October 4th 2024, Viulu used the RSDP letterhead to write a transfer memo for 200 drums of fuel purchased for Temotu Nende Constituency in 2023 to be transferred to Renbel Constituency in October 2024.
“This was done long after Viulu was moved out from the MRD,” Wale said.
The Opposition leader provided copy of the letter. In-depths Solomons has reached out to Viulu, but he has yet to make a response. When he does, we’ll publish his comments.
Wale also questioned why the RSDP letterhead is still used by someone no longer an officer employed under MRD.
“The Opposition office is aware that this is just one of many letters Viulu wrote under the RSDP since he moved to MAL.
“Viulu is the PS of MAL and not MRD so why is he still writing transfer memos under the RSDP and why are officers of MRD still taking directions from him.”
“Is the RSDP his personal account and monies?
“There is clearly wrong doing on Viulu’s part, but also on the part of the MRD officers that are enabling his illegal unethical behaviour.”
Wale said the RSDP is administered by MRD and not MAL and something fishy is going on.
He has also questioned why signatories of the RSDP account have not changed from the previous management to the current one.
“Viulu also confirmed to MPs that he only takes instructions from the Minister for Police Jimson Tanangada which is total wrong,” he said.
“In this matter, it is clear the Prime Minister knows everything that is going on with RSDP, and he is allowing it to continue,” Wale adds.
He said the Prime Minister is too weak and indecisive and cannot take tough decisions and this is a real problem for governance for Solomon Islands.
Wale said the PRC’s RSDP programme is being run by a mafia operation that treats the funds as private property and they refuse transparency and accountability to parliament and the public.
The Opposition Leader said it is surprising that both the government and Chinese embassy have remained silent with the RSDP.
“Why the silence? What are they hiding?” Wale questioned.
He adds it seems the Minister of MRD himself is not aware of the situation or maybe he is ignorant of the crooked practices happening within his ministry.
“This should not be the situation, and it is tragic and negligent,” Wale said.
Wale said the RSDP must be brought under the budget and have the Public Finance Management Act applied to it.
He calls on the Chinese Embassy to insist on it.
“The current RSDP set up outside the budget has proven to be a hotbed for corruption and other unethical practices that are not good for the governance of Solomon Islands,” the Opposition Leader said.
ENDS//
