The Leader of Opposition, Hon. Matthew Wale, says the unfolding scandal involving the SI Group and Minister Vokia is precisely the kind of scenario the Opposition warned about during the recent debate on the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Bill.
Hon. Wale stated that the Opposition had opposed the Bill’s passage, raising serious concerns over its failure to ensure adequate integrity checks on investors, operators, promoters, and beneficial owners.
“During the debate, I made it clear that the Bill failed to guard the country against dubious investors.
“We warned that without strong safeguards, this legislation would open the door to exploitation and corruption.
At the time, Government dismissed our concerns and accused us of playing politics,” Hon. Wale said.
“What is happening now is that the Government has found itself entangled with a foreign group that appears to have no respect for our laws or processes, and whose legitimacy is now in serious question. This is exactly the kind of mess we feared the Bill would enable,” Hon. Wale said.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Aoke Langalanga said, he had specifically warned Parliament that successive governments had consistently failed to perform proper due diligence and had instead fallen for appearances and false promises.
“Past governments have been abysmal at due diligence. That was said plainly during the debate. Time and again, land, tax exemptions, letters of guarantee, and other incentives have been handed out to so-called wealthy investors, who later turned out to be conmen,” Hon. Wale explained.
He said it is now evident that the Minister and the former Chief of Staff failed to heed those warnings.
“It is incumbent upon Ministers to act with integrity and only on advice by officials based on robust due diligence, to avoid being pulled by scam schemes, as is evident in this matter.
“At best, Vokia’s incompetence and pride made him vulnerable to scams.
“At worst, he was complicit in a scheme designed to undermine the country’s sovereignty and governance, perhaps even involving corruption,” Hon. Wale said.
Hon. Wale further noted that the SEZ Act itself assigns these responsibilities to the SEZ Authority, not to the Minister.
“There is no room in the Act for a Minister to assume such powers on his own. What Vokia did is squarely outside his legal mandate. His actions directly undermine the SEZ Act that just passed,” Hon. Wale said.
Hon. Wale also expressed alarm over reports that the SI Group co-sponsored a music concert in support of the Kandere Party’s membership drive.
“Whether it was the initial membership drive, or the now harvesting of personal data, the partnership is a clear case of foreign interests involving themselves in domestic political activity.
“It is obvious that the relationship between Vokia and the SI Group runs deeper than what has been made public,” Hon. Wale said.
Hon. Wale said that a mere reshuffle of Vokia is not discipline at all at this point.
“Reshuffling is not discipline, but simply evasion. Vokia should be removed from Cabinet,” Hon. Wale said.
Hon. Wale concluded by urging the Prime Minister to take full stock of the situation and act decisively.
“The Prime Minister must now take firm steps to clean up the damage, protect the national interest, and ensure that such blunders are never repeated,” Hon. Wale said.
-Opposition Press
