As church followers disciplined for participating in rioting and looting
OPPOSITION Leader Matthew Wale has filed a no-confidence motion in Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, Clerk to Parliament David Kusulifu, confirmed Monday.
Mr. Kusulifu said the motion was put on notice on Sunday. It will be debated on 6th December as December 5th which meets the seven-day notice requirement of the Constitution falls on a Sunday.
“With the notice requirement of 7 days (Section 34(2) of the Constitution) the motion will be ready for introduction by 5th of December 2021,” he said.
Parliament will resume this morning after it adjourned yesterday.
Prime Minister Sogavare was present in the Chamber for yesterday’s proceedings.
The Opposition hope of winning the vote rests with large number of Members of OUR Party deserting the DCGA government between now and when the vote is taken. The government maintains its numbers are intact despite the resignations of about six MPs – largely from Malaita Province.
As the numbers stand and with the departure of the six MPs who resigned – the Government still boasts of having 33 while the combined Opposition-Independent Group in Parliament has 17.
The Opposition is hoping that more MPs would leave to avoid what could be another round of rioting, which could result in the use of force against civilians.
Prime Minister Sogavare is believed to be out of town. At 10pm on Thursday night, he and his family were seen getting off two white hiluxes at Red Beach. Fifteen minutes later he and his entire family were also seen boarding two OBM canoes powered by 40HP each heading towards one of the Patrol Boats waiting offshore.
“The Patrol Boat remains there until around 5am before it took off,” an eyewitness told Solomon Star.
It is not clear whether the Prime Minister and his family are still using the patrol boat, believed to be the TARO as a base. Patrol Boat TARO is one of the newest Australian-supplied boats.
Meanwhile, the news of the no confidence motion comes as mainline churches have reportedly begun disciplining its members for allegedly taking part in the looting in Chinatown and Kukum commercial centers last week.
This means those who took part in the looting and rioting are being ex-communicated.
As such, they will not be taking part in any formal programs of the churches. The defaulting members are said to be largely from the South Sea Evangelical Church [SSEC] as well as the Seventh-Day Adventists Church (SDA).
These members were allegedly from the Milestone, Kobito and other outback settlements in east Honiara.
The members were allegedly seen carrying large items such as chainsaws, outboard motors, large solar panels and television screens from the burning buildings, according to church members who also live in these areas.
It is not clear whether the stolen items would be returned to the owners.
By Alfred Sasako
Newsroom, Honiara