Three Cabinet ministers who are members of the Solomon Islands People’s First Party (SIPFP) are expected to be removed from their portfolios this week, well-placed sources have confirmed.
Those reportedly facing the exit door are:
- Harry Kuma, Minister for Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration;
- Paea Polycarp, Minister for Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology; and
- John Tuhaika Jnr, Minister for Traditional Governance, Peace and Ecclesiastical Affairs.
Mr Kuma, a former strong member of the Ownership, Unity and Responsibility (OUR) Party, resigned from OUR to join SIPFP in October 2025.
Sources said the move is aimed at strengthening the numerical dominance of the OUR Party within the Government for National Unity and Transformation (GNUT).
According to the same sources, MP for Temotu Nende Stephen Kumi is expected to replace Mr Tuhaika Jnr, while MP for West Kwara’ae Alfred Tuasulia will take over from Mr Kuma.
However, SIPFP wing leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Fredrick Kologeto said he is not aware as he just arrived back from Singapore last Friday evening.
Meanwhile, Minister for Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening Wayne Ghemu, also a SIPFP member, is tipped to replace Mr Polycarp. This would see OUR Party MP for South Guadalcanal Rollen Seleso retain his former portfolio by replacing Mr Ghemu.
Despite the expected changes, sources insist the reshuffle will not threaten the stability of the GNUT coalition.
Last Wednesday, former political appointee Redley Raramo fuelled speculation after posting on social media that political tensions were intensifying within the coalition, with an imminent Cabinet reshuffle or ministerial axing looming.
He claimed two backbenchers were already positioning themselves to enter Cabinet, citing growing distrust and political uncertainty within GNUT.
“Only last week, a senior GNUT minister confided that the coalition is ‘too weak’—a blunt admission that speaks to non-performance and low output at the highest level,” Mr Raramo said.
He described the unfolding reshuffle as part of what he termed “Politiking KALSA”—a political culture where loyalty is fluid, principle is expendable, and narrative control outweighs performance.
“In our system, power sits in portfolios, not in policy,” he said, adding that reshuffles are often justified publicly as realignment or recalibration, while masking deeper coalition fractures and struggles for parliamentary numbers.
Mr Raramo called on Solomon Islanders to scrutinise every reshuffle and hold leaders accountable beyond party lines, warning that governance would only improve when political survival is no longer prioritised over integrity.
