_{By Ronald F. Toito’ona}

For villagers in the eastern region of Malaita, the province’s East Road holds significant importance to them.

Although it’s just a gravelled-road, it is perhaps the most notable infrastructure the British colonial government left behind in East Malaita before their exit in 1978 when Solomon Islands gained political independence.

Built in the early 1970s, this 41.7 kilometres road cuts through the rugged mountains in the heart of Malaita – from Dala in West Kwara’ae to Atori in East Kwara’ae.

It conveniently connects the people of Malaita’s eastern region to the provincial capital Auki, and other parts of the province and beyond.

But over recent years, the road has been consistently used as a “fundraising tool” by certain individuals who took advantage of the road’s poor condition to award themselves lucrative maintenance contracts worth millions of dollars.

“It’s very sad to see our leaders using East Road to enrich themselves,” David Maepeza, a youth leader and teacher in East Malaita Constituency, told In-depth Solomons during a recent trip there.

“In fact they were using the road to milk public funds for their own personal enrichment,” Maepeza added.

Records have shown that East Road is the most funded rural road in Solomon Islands. This is happening while roads in other parts of the country received next to zero funding, and were left in states of disrepair.

Records have also indicated that East Malaita Constituency company, Eastern Esterm Construction (EEC), has been given contracts since 2016 to repair and upgrade the road, despite on-going questions about the quality of their work.

EEC and the Malaita’s east Road

The founder of EEC is the four-term MP for East Malaita Constituency, Manasseh Maelanga.

Maelanga is seeking a fifth term in the upcoming elections on April 17.

EEC was first registered in 2016 by Maelanga and his backers as a constituency company.

It appeared Maelanga initiated EEC to be used as a vehicle through which funds from the Transport Initiative Fund, managed by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development (MID), would be channelled.

Records show EEC received up to $20 million from the Constituency’s Transport Initiative Fund to purchase heavy-duty machines and repair feeder roads in East Malaita Constituency.

In February this year, when In-depth Solomons visited East Malaita, EEC workers were seen busy repairing the worst part of the east road, from Baratalo to Atori.

Whilst villagers highly appreciate the emergency repair work, questions remain: why is millions of dollars spent to repair the road, but the quality of work is still poor?

Exposing EEC

As a constituency company, MP Maelanga has the upper hand in EEC’s  operations.

But Company Haus records show EEC was deregistered in May last year. 

Why it got involved in the emergency road contracts early this year when it was already deregistered left observers baffled.

Maelanga and his Constituency Development Officer did not respond to requests for an interview.

Previously, Maelanga said EEC is a constituency owned company with the roadworks machines being purchased using public funds under the transport initiative scheme.

At the time of its registration, the company directors included Maelanga, Constituency Development Officer (CDO) Gabriel Rockson, and three others, Albert Malua, Timothy Bobby, and one Pastor Bako. According to east Malaita constituents, the three directors were close associates of Maelanga himself.

However, due to legal reasons, Maelanga was removed from the Directors position shortly after registration. 

He later told the media that the decision was based on instructions from the Leadership Code Commission (LCC) to avoid conflict of interest in the company’s operations.

The company was awarded a contract to do improvements on the feeder road from Nafinua to Kwaibaita in 2017 for $4.424 million. 

But the constituency owned company was deregistered on 1 June 2019. 

Around mid-2020, EEC was also engaged to do a road extension towards highlands communities of East Malaita region from Taba’akwaru village for ease of access to basic services. 

Initial work on the Taba’akwaru road started way back in 2012 but due to the steep gradient and lack of funds, the construction was halted. 

However, the work was completed during the time when EEC was deregistered, which raised questions regarding the legitimacy of the funding that the company was given at that time.

EEC was only registered again on 20 October 2020.

With its unstable registration status at the Company Haus, observers were surprised and concerned if the company ever paid taxes to the government. 

“If it is a Constituency owned company, registered under the country’s laws, then it must also pay taxes to the government. The company must also generate its own income to ensure sustainability in the long run. But with  evidence that it’s being deregistered for a third time now, this constituency company is not paying any taxes to the government at all, since registration,” one former provincial government worker told In-depth Solomons.

Apart from the irregularities related to the company’s registration status, there is also a case which was exposed by the former Opposition leader Matthew Wale.

Wale accused Maelanga of using his position to secure a road contract for Eastern Esterm Construction. 

Wale claims that public funds totaling between SBD$15-$20 million have been disbursed since 2019 in connection with this contract. 

He stated that such abuse of office not only raises ethical concerns but also erodes public trust in the former DCGA Government’s ability to fulfil its promises to grassroots communities. 

One particular case was recorded in 2022, when EEC made a bid for emergency road works on the 42.7 kilometres east road from Dala-Atori. 

In a letter dated 12 May 2022, signed and stamped by one of the EEC’s directors and former CDO, Gabriel Rockson, the bidding request was SBD$4,080,990.00.  

The bid was approved and the MID’s Ministerial Tenders Board (MTB) granted the emergency maintenance works contract to EEC, for a period of six months. 

It is unclear how this contract was awarded, but Maelanga denied any conflict of interest claims made by Wale.

Speaking to In-depth Solomons, East Malaita Constituency youth and school teacher, David Maepeza said “EEC is not a good company.”

“It is sad to see that the company is recruiting people from the roadside with no knowledge of road constructions,” Maepeza said.

“I know who is who, as they are close family and blood relatives, and I can tell each of the workers,” he added.

Poor road condition affects businesses

Preston Billy Farobo runs Borae Transport Service along East Road since 2010.

As a public service transport provider, he knows the status of East Road since the 1970s and the difficulties they face today due to the poor road conditions.

“It’s a big concern to realise millions of dollars being spent to maintain the east road only to see it returning to its former state as soon as the contractors leave,” the former Malaita Provincial Assembly (MPA) member for Ward 16 said.

“Where do the millions of dollars go? It’s like some people are using the East road to milk money from government coffers,” Farobo added.

He said he entered provincial politics in 2019 with the aim to work with the national government to address the persistent poor road condition in his region.

“But due to political reasons between the national and provincial governments at that time, nothing was being done to address the road situation,” he said.

Farobo also pointed out that the bad state of the road is also costly for transport operators, especially when it comes to spare part replacements.

Enoch Tisa Manibili, a popular businessman from Kereth Village, told  In-depth Solomons “it is surprising to see that we have the Minister for Infrastructure Development (MID) with past governments that are running the country yet we have the worst road in Solomon Islands.” 

“I have been operating a trade store since the 1980s and have seen how the state of the east road is going from bad to worse,” Manibili said.

“For any business to operate, it is very important to have good infrastructure ,” he added.

“Having a bad infrastructure means businesses will be adversely affected because they have to spend more money to bring goods to their customers.”

He said when the road is in its worst form, businesses will have to dig deeper in their pockets to bring goods to the selling points. This also means an increase of prices in goods.

“In the end, it’s the ordinary people in the constituency that have to meet the high demands of goods and services.”

Margaret Kwalutafe, proprietor of a canteen at the Atori Wharf, has voiced her frustrations over the recent condition of the east road. 

In an interview with In-depth Solomons, she described the road as a disaster, recounting a harrowing experience during a recent trip from Auki to Atori. 

Kwalutafe said her cargoes were damaged by prolonged delays, with vehicles frequently getting stuck, forcing them to spend nights along the treacherous route. The ordeal has significantly impacted her business operations.

“While I’m relieved that the east road has seen some repairs, the situation remains dire,” Kwalutafe expressed. 

“There is an urgent need for further improvement to ensure smoother transportation.”

Kwalutafe also criticised the effectiveness of the constituency-owned company, Eastern Esteem Construction, stating that their efforts fell short of adequately addressing the road’s challenges.

 She advocated for the reinstatement of the Public Works Division (PWD), citing their historical success in maintaining the east road from the 1980s through the early 2000s.

“I believe the return of the PWD would greatly contribute to restoring the road to its former days,” Kwalutafe said.

Her remarks highlight the pressing concerns of local businesses and commuters relying on the east road. 

It also highlights the necessity for sustained efforts to enhance transportation infrastructure in the region.