by Ronald Toito’ona
The institutional machinery of the Solomon Islands Parliament has effectively ground to a halt following a bombshell announcement by the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Member of Parliament for Central Honiara, Gordon Darcy Lilo.
In a move that deepens the constitutional crisis facing Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele, Lilo together with eight other Chairpersons of nearly every major Select Committee announced their collective resignation in a press conference in Honiara, Thursday.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Lilo said they will no longer serve a “minority government” that has lost the mandate of the people.
A Stand for “Majority Rule”
Standing alongside the other leaders of the nation’s legislative oversight bodies, Lilo framed the mass resignation as a defense of the Constitution. He argued that the fundamental principle of parliamentary democracy that the ‘majority must rule’ has been violated by the Prime Minister’s attempt to cling to power with only 22 members in his camp.
“In the present situation right now, [the Prime Minister] does not command the majority support of Parliament,” Lilo stated.
“As Chairpersons of these very important Select Committees, we have decided that we cannot take any instruction from a minority government for the purposes of processing businesses that are going to Parliament.”
Lilo confirmed that the new opposition-led coalition now stands at a firm 28 members, leaving the Government for National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) locked at 22.
Paralyzing the Parliamentary “Engine Room”
The resignation of the committee chairs is a strategic strike against the government’s ability to function. Select Committees are the “engine room” of Parliament, responsible for vetting bills, scrutinizing the budget, and producing the reports required before any government business can be debated on the floor.
“The Select Committee in our system is a very, very important tier of our parliamentary system,” Lilo who’s also a former Prime Minister explained.
By vacating these seats, the Opposition has effectively pulled the plug on the legislative process.
Without these committees, the Prime Minister cannot legally progress new laws or financial measures.
Lilo was blunt about the implications.
“We have decided to resign… until such time that the Prime Minister himself has decided that he either resigns… or that he calls Parliament to put a test.”
The Collapse of the Cabinet
Lilo also cast doubt on Prime Minister Manele’s ongoing efforts to “rebuild” his Cabinet following the defection of 12 ministers.
He suggested that the Prime Minister might be in breach of the law if he continues to operate without a full executive team as required by the Ministers (Prescriptive) Act.
“We can only say that it will not be possible for him to be able to build up a Cabinet… as prescribed by the law,” Lilo noted.
He suggested that the pool of remaining government MPs is too shallow to legally satisfy the requirements of a functional executive.
Monday: The “Only Viable Business”
With the government paralyzed at the committee level, Lilo argued that the Prime Minister’s options have narrowed to a single path.
He dismissed any talk of the government pushing through its own legislative agenda in the coming days.
“The only viable business that [the Prime Minister] can call Parliament to put into Parliament is the motion of no confidence that will be matured on Monday next week,” Lilo declared.
The “Alternate Government” in Waiting
During the press conference, Lilo introduced a “Who’s Who” of leaders who have now walked away from their posts, including the former chairs of:
- The Foreign Relations Committee – Peter Kenilorea Jr (MP, East Are’Are)
- The Bills and Legislation Committee – John Maneniaru (MP, West Are’Are)
- The Parliamentary House Committee – Rick Hou (MP, Small Malaita)
- The Public Expenditure Committee – Alfred Lazarus Rimah (MP, East Central Guadalcanal)
- The Constitutional Review Committee – David Gina (MP, South New Georgia)
- The Education and Human Resource Committee – John Dean Kuku (MP, North New Georgia)
- The Environment and Conservation Committee – George Temahua (MP, West New Georgia)
- The Police and National Security Committee – James Bonuga (MP, Temotu Pele)
“We should be able to offer ourselves as an alternate government,” Lilo concluded, adding that the 28-member bloc is “locked” and committed to staying together.
[ENDS]
