SPOL board chairman Joses Tuhanuku announced the sacking after his board met yesterday to decide on Mr Hemmer’s future with the company.
Mr Tuhanuku said with Mr Hemmer’s removal, the current arrangements for the management of SPOL were also terminated.
SPOL was owned by Solomon Islands National Provident Fund (NPF), which holds the majority share, and GRP & Associates, a company Mr Hemmer owns.
Under an arrangement between the two shareholders, GRP & Associates was engaged to manage SPOL, which saw Mr Hemmer holding the top job.
Mr Tuhanukua said the decision his board took was done on a recommendation of the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund board.
“SINPF is the majority share holder of the South Pacific Oil Limited, holding more than 75% of total equity in the company,” he said.
He said at a meeting held on Tuesday, the SINPF board passed a resolution making the recommendation to terminate the arrangements that made Mr Hemmer Managing Director of SPOL.
“The SINPF resolution also recommended that SPOL take legal action against directors, Mr Hemmer and his wife Grace.
“SINPF chairman, Austin Holmes, called Tuesday’s board meeting after being informed of the results of an internal inquiry into SPOL’s finances conducted by the company’s secretary and internal auditor,” Mr Tuhanuku said.
He said the inquiry had uncovered transactions worth significant and substantial amounts that had been made without the proper legal authority of the SPOL board.
Mr Tuhanuku said a member of SPOL’s senior management team, Carson Korowa, had been appointed by the board to act as general manager of SPOL to replace Mr Hemmer.
“It is important to note that Mr Korowa is not new to the job as he was the general manager of the same facility when it was owned by the Shell company, prior to the takeover by SPOL in 2006.”
Mr Tuhanuku said that he wanted to reassure SPOL’s customers as well as the general public that the company’s operations will continue as normal.
“As chairman of the board of SPOL, I can confirm that the board has acted in the company’s best interests and we have every confidence that SPOL will continue to have a profitable future. “
Mr Tuhanuku, who is one of the two representatives of the workers in the SINPF board, said it had been important to deal with such a serious matter as quickly and efficiently as possible in order to protect the savings of ordinary NPF members which have been invested in SPOL.
“The board also ratified the commencement of legal proceedings against GRP and Mr and Mrs Hemmer,” he said.
Mr Hemmer, who is currently in Australia, declined to comment when the Solomon Star contacted him yesterday.
“I have received no notification of this so I cannot comment,” he said.
He is due back in the country today.
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