LEADER of Opposition Matthew Wale has described Finance Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s press conference on Sunday as extremely disappointing but not surprising.
Wale said instead of apologizing for deceiving the nation about his hypocrisy and bad decisions in granting almost $200m in exemptions from January to September 2024, Sogavare instead sought to justify his actions.
Wale said tragically Sogavare’s attitude is not surprising.
“We all know his attitude. Even when he is wrong, he persists in justifying himself,” he said.
The Opposition Leader said no amount of self-justification would ever undo his hypocrisy.
“The fact remains, Sogavare stood on the floor of Parliament in June 2024 and very loudly made the announcement that he was cancelling exemptions and not issuing new ones.
“It’s recorded in the Parliament’s hansard. He lied to Parliament; he lied to all Solomon Islanders – that’s a fact,” Wale said.
The Opposition Leader said if these exemptions were not leaked to the Opposition Office, Sogavare would have been happy to keep up the pretense and deception of his announced statement in Parliament in June 2024.
Wale said the Finance Minister is only now seeking to justify himself because it is out in the open and he is exposed before the people for his hypocrisy.
He said the Finance Minister had already granted some exemptions between Jan and June 2024 before he made his announcement in Parliament.
Worse, Wale said, he granted further exemptions after he made that announcement in Parliament.
“Deception and hypocrisy are nothing new or surprising, as we know his politics well.
“The real tragedy is that the government is flat broke – there are no medicines in clinics and hospitals, people are dying as a direct result, and government is unable to afford to deliver basic essential services to the people.
“That is the real tragedy, and it is clear Sogavare does not get that.
“He is unhinged from the reality of struggling Solomon Islanders,” the Opposition Leader said.
He added there are many indigenous Solomon Islands businesses that need government support through exemptions, yet foreigners have the easiest access to Sogavare and GNUT to get whatever they want.
Wale said it is clear that “GNUT is a government for foreigners and not Solomon Islanders”.
“There is no amount of justification from Sogavare that will ever make his bad decisions right in the eyes of reasonable-minded struggling Solomon Islanders.
“These exemptions are a clear demonstration of how out-of-reach GNUT is to the rest of Solomon Islands. So much for transformation,” Wale said.
The Opposition Leader reiterated that the Prime Minister’s silence on this issue is damning.
“Why is Prime Minister Manele silent?
“It is time for the Prime Minister to stand up and be the leader he is supposed to be.
“Solomon Islanders expect Prime Minister Manele to act, and each day that slips by merely confirms the people’s perception that the Prime Minister is weak.
“This makes GNUT a laughing stock, its transformation promise mere empty rhetoric, and is not a government for indigenous Solomon Islanders,” Wale said.
