DEAR EDITOR – Allow me to briefly respond to the author of the article in the above title as appeared in your Solomon Star Issue No. 4150, Wednesday 27th January, 2010.
In so doing may I take the opportunity to first of all thank the Chairman and members of the Constituency Boundary Commission for their deliberations, considerations, sound and valuable judgment in awarding Rennell Bellona Province an additional constituency.
Hopefully the commission will award a third one in the near future.
Having said the foregoing, may I also offer my sincere thanks to John Babasia in raising this very important issue which hopefully its discussions and debate would put the Rennell Bellona people’s noble request for an additional constituency into clear perception in public minds.
The primary reasons of the author in opposing the allocation of an additional constituency for Rennell Bellona Province are: (1) the proper utilisation of Government funding, that is to say the Provincial service grants (PSG) that are paid to Provincial Governments and; (2) the Rural Community Development Funds (RCDF) that are delivered to the populace via successive Members of Parliament.
I agree that Rennell Bellona Political leaders should do more in the utilisation of such funding for meaningful socio-economic developments, but, as to whether such funding are previously or currently misused is an isolated issue from the Rennell Bellona allocation of an additional constituency.
Misuse of Provincial Service grants (PSG) and Community Development Funds (CDF) has been alleged and speculated amongst the ordinary citizens of almost all Provinces in the Country, including Rennell and Bellona Province without central Government investigations, let alone punishment.
In other words, the lack of economic developments in Rennell and Bellona could be a Leadership failure similar to some bigger Provinces with population density of 1-2 million registered voters and is absolutely a discounted reason to deny God’s people in Rennell Bellona an additional Constituency.
The backwardness, or, advances of Rennell Bellona Province in terms of tangible economic developments is therefore, not a determining factor in the Rnnell Bellona noble quest for an additional Constituency.
Leadership failure backed by poor national Government policy framework is not endemic to a particular Province, a well known hard fact throughout the Provinces and constituencies of this Country.
I hope John Babasia is not another short sighted ghost writer from Rennell Bellona who permits trivial matters squeezed out the best of him.
I.e. he grossly misused the word “surprise” to describe his dissatisfaction on why Rennell and Bellona is awarded a second constituency.
It is the least expected that he would like to create a drama.
He seems to suffer from short memory, forgetting the past all too quickly that he does not need to surprise on none-exhaustive list of anomalies that unnecessarily brought the nation down to hell with associated huge costs, which we must charged to the unborn generations of this Nation to bear.
Some classic examples are: (i) the costs and expenses of establishing numerous royal commissions of enquiries, culminated from years of hatred and feuding. (ii) unnecessary increases of Government Ministries to facilitate political expediency. (iii) continuing national budget and financing of dead government commercial statutory bodies, not least ICSI and its portfolio companies, and the list goes on and on.
The fore goings however, are separated and isolated matters from issues of Identity and Power sharing amongst ethnicity, Religion, creed and may be culture of a Nation, which is the primary reason for Rennell Bellona to have an additional constituency.
The increase of our single chamber legislature from 50 – 70 is not only expensive but extremely dangerous, which necessitates our request and who knows, may be our additional vote will make a difference in the future.
In conclusion let me remind my friend Babasia that Rennell and Bellona is not requesting the Solomon Island Government for a recognition, as a minority group in this country of its absolute rights under United Nation Charter for self-determination.
Rennell Bellona people are simply asking for an additional vote in parliament, not money as implied by Mr Babasia because the National Parliament of Solomon Islands was never meant to be a Development Bank dealing with cheap and petty matters.
Kaipua Tohibangu
Marble Street
Honiara
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