VOTERS of the Fataleka Constituency in Malaita have urged their former member of Parliament (MP) Steve Abana to return machines he bought with the $1.5 million in 2018 from the constituency funds but never delivered it.
Chief Andrew Balasi of Fataleka said they have already got documents to prove the payment made for the three machines but until today they are yet to receive those machines.
The three (3) unit machines include an Excavator, one Dump truck and a Backhoe.
Balasi said they want the former MP to return those machines as preparatory work is currently on the ground to repair roads within the Fataleka constituency.
“Currently, the constituency is working on some of the recently bought machines already shipped but we also need those old machines which was bought by our former MP to be returned so we can quickly continue with the road work,” he said.
He said the money was secured by their former MP under the government-funded Constituency Machinery Grant (CMG) purposely to carryout road maintenance on the constituency road and its time that those machines should be returned to help out in the work.
Balasi said they all aware that those machines were already in Buala and they want them back.
He said failure to return those machines will lead to the next step which is to report the matter before the National Corruption Investigation Department (NCID) within the Police force.
“We want justice to prevail and we want the machines to be returned back to the people of Fataleka,” he said.
This paper understands that normally the funding was $5m for each constituency to own adequate fleet of civil works machineries and that Abana had applied for the machines to fix the 5 kilometre manpower road from Atori to Manu and that only $1.5m was allocated during the year 2018.
Abana in his earlier response said since 2017, the government only made a partial payment of $1.5m and with the weak cash flow during 2018, it does not allow the completion of the funding.
“So I didn’t use the money because $1.5m is not adequate to buy the required machineries for road projects.
“$1.5m can only cater for one new Excavator, so it’s no use to buy just one Excavator because it can’t be used for the road project,” he said.
He said he had applied for the machines and since he was no longer the MP, the only option is to pay back the money to the government.
But Balasi said there are no evidences of the return of the alleged payments of machines to the ministry but they are already aware that those machines were already taken down to Buala in Isabel where Abana is married to and has his second home.
By IAN M.KAUKUI
