TENS of thousands of voters will know either this week or the next when they will be voting to elect their next Member for the 9th Parliament.
Governor General, Sir Frank Kabui, who will announce the date, arrived in Honiara yesterday from a week-long visit to Taiwan.
While officials are tight-lipped about the exact date, which the Electoral Commission decided a week ago, pundits are putting forward several dates.
29 July is the most talked-about. August 05th and 18th have also been mentioned. We shall soon know.
The date for the election is just but one side of the coin. The other is the number of political parties which have registered to contest.
Thus far, at least 13 have launched their manifesto or blueprint for governing should they make it with a good number at the polls.
There are indications that a small number will launch before the election.
The unprecedented increase in the number of political parties was spurred on by the Political Integrity Bill, which was defeated at the last sitting of the 8th Parliament, a defeat which saw several senior government ministers lose their portfolios, including Finance Minister, Snyder Rini.
Many political parties that have launched thus far, often used the “strong and the mighty” in society to launch their manifestos, a repeat of the same old, worn-out record that’s been replayed over and over again in the last 32 years.
Last Sunday, Direct Development Party, one of the newcomers on the political scene, launched their manifesto and policies in Honiara.
Apart from the author of this article who also took part, the rest of the participants in the formal two- hour program are young people as well as ordinary folks.
Samuel Ramosaea, who delivered the keynote address, is an example.
Mr Ramosaea was a former bank officer and a senior finance officer who had spent several years working for the government.
He’s retired now, but the point about involving the man in the street so to speak, never escaped him.
“Today, I am given the high honor to be the Guest Speaker during the launching of the Direct Development Party [DDP],” he told the estimated 400-strong crowd, who waited three hours for the launch because of some major maintenance work on an SIEA line feed.
“… it is not often that ordinary citizens of this country are given such an honor. In the present case, I have no doubt, whatsoever, Ladies and Gentlemen, that the decision to have me as the guest speaker is a direct reflection of what the Party stands for and who the leaders are.
“This also shows the intention of the Party to link directly to the people on the ground – the rural people,” he said.
Mr Ramosaea did not hide his view on what’s in store.
“I have read through the manifesto of the Party. As a former bank officer and a senior finance officer, I can say that the Party has proposed financial policies that are certainly radical.
“Once adopted as government policies, these initiatives would surely require amendments to the present financial legislations. This is because what the proposed legislations required … can be referred to as quite against the grain,” Mr Ramosaea said.
“But ladies and gentlemen, this is positive if we want to make changes to the system we have adopted. It is also progressive if we want to ensure our people benefit from the financial institutions we have in the country.
“On that note, ladies and gentlemen, I personally, would welcome DDP’s policy initiatives,” he said.
Over the years, he said, most political parties “have bartered the same policies, time and again”.
“It is refreshing,” he said, “to see that DDP has come up with fresh and radical policies and policy approaches.”
“And even where the Party proposes familiar ones, the Party’s approach towards them is refreshing and radical.
One of the radical policy initiatives that DDP has devised, for example is Policy 3: Taxation.
In Solomon Islands, we have seen that government taxes have taken out [or eaten up] most of the income individuals earn.
“This is mostly true of employed individuals and companies in Honiara. The proposed Transaction Tax that DDP proposes seems a better universal approach to addressing government’s fiscal policy.
“It also offers a simple approach to taxation that would benefit both the government and allow individuals to save some of their money,” Mr. Ramosaea said.
While other parties promised the world in terms of huge reduction in the number of ministerial portfolios and substantial increase in funding grants to provincial governments, Mr Ramosaea saw what everyone else had overlooked: DDP’s policy on economic development in the rural area.
“… as a village person, myself, I am enlightened to see the proposed uplift of rural communities and villages in the DDP policies. DDP believes in assisting build economically viable communities towards economic independence,” he said.
“This is important because what we have seen so far, even with the CNURA government, is the time worn idea of building political structures instead of establishing economically viable rural communities.
“The Party’s emphasis on rural economic development for economic independence is welcome news to all rural dwellers who have waited to see possible benefits from government through fundings such as the Rural Constituency Development Fund [RCDF],” Mr Ramosaea said.
“As previously mentioned, the country was given political independence [some] thirty-two odd years ago. But, so far, we need more in terms of economic viability and financial independence. It is time, we – through DDP’s policies – do just this.
“… in launching DDP today, I hope those who are here and those who listen by radios around and throughout the country will feel encouraged. One thing comes out ringing loud and clear: IT IS TIME FOR CHANGE,” he said.
“We cannot wait for other people to do things for us. It is time we do things for ourselves if we want to pave a smooth path for us and for the future of our children, friends and relatives,” Mr Ramosaea said.
He noted that changes that make a difference come from within.
“Finally … if we hope to see changes and improvements in our lives, we need to change from inside out.”
“As a Christian, I also believe that when God puts us in Solomon Islands, he also ensured he put adequate resources that would cater for our needs. Most of these resources are in the rural areas and communities.
“And the DDP has correctly pointed the right direction and policy approaches for us.
“As it is emphatically written in the Party’s Manifesto, to have economic development that leads to economic independence, the country needs to change ordinary Rural Communities into Rural Economic Communities [RECs].
“Only then can we vie for a New Political Order,” he said.
The author of this article who also spoke said “the DDP believes it should assist in building economically viable communities towards economic independence instead of building political structures only”.
“The Party therefore places emphasis on rural economic development for economic independence,” he said.
Alfred also touched on government policies which had benefited some but excluded a whole lot of others.
“An example of this is the National Provident Fund [NPF]. So far … NPF only benefits those who are in paid employment. But what about those work but are not formally employed? Can they be included under the NPF scheme,” he said.
He said these individuals too could contribute to “the NPF scheme so that they can benefit when they retire or enter their old age.
“DDP intends to open up NPF so that any Solomon Islander who wishes to can save in this important government financial institution”.
By ALFRED SASAKO
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