REMOVING Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Bradley Tovosia from the top political leadership is the only way the Coalition Government of National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) will remain in office, according to an assessment by pundits.
“Unless he is removed, it’s the end of GNUT,” one told Solomon Star Sunday.
The term pundit dates back to 1665–75 and stems from the Hindi word paṇḍit, which comes from the Sanskrit word paṇḍita meaning “learned man.” How learned some of our pundits today are is up for debate.
“But it does not excuse the fact that the potential fall or survival of GNUT rests with what to do with Hon Tovosia,” one pundit said.
“His closeness as a confidante of Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele will be the biggest hurdle to overcome. Both men are very close.
“However difficult the choice is, Prime Minister Manele must decide if he wants to save his leadership of the GNUT coalition,” pundit said.
“Even former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare supports the view that the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Mines and Energy and Rural Electrification “is the source of instability within the ruling GNUT government”.
“Both men have had clashes over the way Hon Tovosia runs the mining industry. Many MPs feel the Deputy Prime Minister seems to have access to lots of resources including money, while the rest have nothing,” pundit said.
He said the source of their differences dates back to May last year when the group chose Hon Manele as their candidate for the Prime Minister’s job and Hon Tovosia for the second spot.
At the time, Hon Sogavare allegedly felt the process was pushed too fast by none other than Hon Tovosia after securing the second top spot in the upcoming new administration.
Hon Sogavare allegedly felt his seniority as a politician in the formation of the government had been ignored.
The answer for restoring political instability in government is to make internal changes in the top leadership.
“Remove the Deputy Prime Minister from his job and all will be well. Ignore it and we can kiss goodbye to GNUT. Hon Tovosia must go in order to restore political stability in government and the nation,” the pundit said.
The Office of the Prime Minister (OPMC) was sought for comments on Sunday but none was forthcoming.
By Alfred Sasako
