The reappointment of Harry Kuma to Cabinet, days after his resignation from the same Government, has drawn sharp criticism from the Official Opposition, which points to what it describes as deepening instability within Prime Minister Matthew Wale’s GREAT Coalition.
Kuma was sworn into office at Government House today, marking a return to the front bench he had left just days earlier.
In a statement, the Opposition said the sequence of events of a minister resigning, the resignation being accepted, portfolios changing, and the same minister then being sworn back into Government reflected instability rather than sound administration.
“Solomon Islanders have watched ministers resign, resignations accepted, portfolios changed and now a resigned minister sworn back into Government within days,” the Opposition said.
“This is becoming a revolving door, not a demonstration of stable government.”
The Opposition said the situation would “almost be laughable” were the consequences for the country not so serious, and contrasted the reshuffle with the Government’s stated commitments to good governance and accountability.
“A Government that cannot keep its own house in order cannot lecture the country about good leadership or good governance,” the statement said.
The criticism comes ahead of Monday’s scheduled Motion of No Confidence, as the Prime Minister works to maintain his parliamentary numbers.
The Opposition also rejected any suggestion that the current instability was of its making, saying the divisions were emerging from within GREAT itself, and called on the Prime Minister to take responsibility rather than blame others.
In further remarks, the Opposition said GREAT’s public attacks on political opportunism were undermined by the Kuma reappointment, arguing the Coalition could not “condemn political manoeuvring when it threatens the Prime Minister and embrace it when it helps him survive.”
“If GREAT wants to talk about political opportunism, it should first look in the mirror,” the Opposition said.
More broadly, the Opposition cautioned that Cabinet positions should not be treated as bargaining tools as parliamentary numbers shift, describing ministerial roles as “positions of national responsibility.
” Rearranging the Cabinet and securing political commitments may steady the Coalition in the short term, it said, but would not resolve underlying leadership questions.
“Stability is not built on promises. It is built on leadership, trust, consultation and the ability to hold a Government together,” the statement concluded, describing the latest changes as “a band aid treatment to a deeper persisting problem leadership.”
