The Contemporary Pacific
Volume 20, Number 2, Fall 2008, pp. 469-475

Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events, 2007: Solomon Islands

Brian Lenga

Solomon Islanders entered 2007 with expectations that the Manasseh Sogavare–led Grand Coalition for Change government would make positive changes, especially in the delivery of social services. These expectations were created partly by Sogavare government’s announcement of its Bottom Up Approach to development, which promised to develop rural areas where a majority of Solomon Islanders live. The Bottom Up Approach was expected to bring fundamental changes in the development of the country after decades of dismal performance since independence. 

The year began with a nagging strain on diplomatic relations with Australia . The political drama began when twelve Solomon Islands police officers were sent to Taiwan for special security training involving firearms and self-defense. Although firearms-related training was denied by Taiwan ’s vice foreign minister who visited Solomon Islands in February, the prime minister continued to stress the need to rearm the Personal Protection Unit, which normally provides security to government ministers and dignitaries. Widespread national and international criticism over the rearmament proposal followed its announcement. Notably, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer took the unusual step of writing directly to the people of Solomon Islands to express his grave concern about the state of the relationship with Australia . In his “Letter to the People of Solomon Islands,” Downer said: “Australians and your regional neighbors who make up RAMSI [Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands ] remain committed to working with you to prevent a return to these bad old days; we remain committed to keeping RAMSI in place, so that Solomon Islands can continue to move forward.” He added that “sadly there seems to be a deliberate push to undermine RAMSI, to tarnish its reputation, and make it hard for it to continue its work” (Solomon Star News, 9 Feb 2007). Prime Minister Sogavare responded by accusing Downer of acting undiplomatically, pushed to establish a time frame for RAMSI to leave, and canceled two appointments for the designated Australian High Commissioner to Solomon Islands , Peter Hooton, to [End Page 469] present his letter of introduction. Hooton was eventually able to present his credentials, and Sogavare withdrew the rearmament plan. 

As this diplomatic row continued, four government members of Parliament crossed the floor and joined the opposition group just before Parliament convened for its first session of the year. The group consisted of former Prime Ministers Billy Hilly and Bartholomew Ulufa‘alu, Deputy Prime Minister Job Dudley Tausinga, and MP Trevor Olovae. The no-confidence motion was the second in ten months. However, it was disqualified by the Speaker of Parliament on the grounds that it did not meet the seven days notice required by parliamentary standing orders. The Speaker would only allow the motion to be tabled if the Opposition could demonstrate the numbers to debate the motion. 

Many citizens, however, hoped that the prolonged diplomatic row with Australia could be resolved because it had brought so much negative publicity, and to allow the government to concentrate on critical issues of national importance. These included opening major resource development industries, securing opportunities for temporary labor markets overseas, and creating a political and economic environment conducive to promoting foreign investment and creating more jobs. 

There were concerns that despite its promises of a Bottom Up Approach to development, the Sogavare-led government had not put in place a plan that outlined what needed to be done and how it would be implemented. Furthermore, Solomon Islands continued to depend on foreign aid. For instance, the 2005 budget showed that donors funded 55 percent of the recurrent budget and 90 percent of the development budget. In 2006, donors funded 86 percent of the development budget. Heavy reliance on donors highlighted the need for the Solomon Islands government to take the lead in determining its national priorities in consultation with other stakeholders, and in translating these priorities into national development strategies. 

As if the country’s political dramas were not enough, on 2 April an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale shook the country, causing a tsunami that destroyed villages in parts of the Western and Choiseul provinces. At least fifty-two people were killed, and approximately 36,000 people left homeless. Western and Choiseul provinces were declared disaster areas. This triggered a huge inflow of assistance. Despite this, as late as 2008 it was reported that many of those affected had not yet received assistance. This triggered a political row between the Western Provincial government and the central government. In early 2008, while visiting the Western Province , newly elected Prime Minister Dr Derek Sikua assured Western Provincial government that his government had earmarked fifteen million Solomon Islands dollars for reconstruction and rehabilitation of tsunami-affected communities. As the focus remained on the tsunami, the country was shocked toward the end of April by the sudden passing of Joses Sanga, a cabinet minister and member of Parliament for East Malaita . Sanga was a long-serving public servant who became a member of Parliament in 2001. His passing was regarded by many as a great loss to the country. 

The year 2007 was also dominated [End Page 470] by debates surrounding the appointment of Julian Moti as attorney general. Moti was appointed by the Sogavare-led government in September 2006, after Primo Afeau was sacked for opposing the terms of reference for the commission of inquiry into the April 2006 riot. In 1997 Moti had been charged for alleged child abuse in Vanuatu , but was later acquitted. After Moti was appointed, the Australian government announced that he was wanted in Australia in connection with the rape case in Vanuatu . Moti was arrested in Port Moresby by Papua New Guinea police at the request of the Australian government. He appeared in a Port Moresby court, and was taken into custody pending extradition to Australia . In early October, however, Moti escaped to Solomon Islands on a clandestine Papua New Guinea Defence Force flight. A commission of inquiry later alleged that the Papua New Guinea Prime Minister’s Office was somehow involved in Moti’s escape, and Canberra banned Papua New Guinea politicians from entering Australia . 

Following Canberra ’s extradition request, Moti had been suspended by the Public Service Commission in October 2006. However, the Sogavare government exerted political pressure on the commission for Moti’s reinstatement, and he was officially sworn into office in July 2007. This followed the lifting of the suspension order by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Public Service. The chairman of the Public Service Commission argued that the appointment was unconstitutional, and maintained that Moti was still suspended. 

In the midst of the debates surrounding Moti’s appointment, the government plunged into another controversy when it appointed a Fijian citizen, Jahir Khan, as commissioner of police without widely advertising the post. Khan replaced former Solomon Islands Police Commissioner Shane Castles, an Australian citizen who was declared persona non grata by the Sogavare government in 2006 for alleged interference in local politics. The decision was not popular, attracting criticism from around the country. 

On 8 August 2007, when Parliament resumed for its second sitting of the year, the Opposition launched a third motion of no confidence against the Sogavare government. The reason for the motion, the Opposition argued, was that the appointments of Moti and Khan were improper and not in the best interest of the country. On the eve of the Parliament’s sitting, however, Opposition leader Fred Fono was arrested and appeared in a Honiara Magistrate’s Court to face two bribery charges. It was alleged that in June Fono gave 50,000 Solomon Islands dollars to a government minister, Severino Nuaiasi, to support the no-confidence motion. Fono denied the bribery allegations, although he admitted giving the money to Nuaiasi in response to the minister’s request for help to send his son to school in New Zealand . The motion of no confidence was subsequently withdrawn amid accusations that the case against Fono had been staged by Attorney General Moti, who feared that a new government would favor Australia ’s demands for his extradition. However, the main reason for the withdrawal of the motion may have been that the Opposition knew it did not have the numbers to unseat Sogavare. [End Page 471] 

In the August sitting of Parliament, the Sogavare-led government passed the Prescription of Ministers (Amendment) Bill 2007 to increase the number of ministers from 20 to 23. Parliament also endorsed a review of the Facilitation of the International Assistance Act, the 2003 legislation mandating that RAMSI help Solomon Islands address its law and order problems, following years of armed conflict. The aim of the proposed review was to ensure that RAMSI play a more developmental role, rather than focusing primarily on law and order issues. At the 2007 UN General Assembly session, Foreign Minister Patterson Oti asked for UN involvement in future regional peacekeeping operations. Oti asserted that “while the visiting forces deserve credit for restoring law and order the underlying social and cultural causes of tensions in the Solomon Islands have not been addressed” (Pacnews, 3 Oct 2007). Oti also criticized Australia for what he saw as Canberra ’s neocolonial actions: “Mine is too nationalistic a Government to become captive to the fortunes which justify our perpetual retention under siege. My Prime Minister, fellow Government ministers and parliamentarians, as well as our Attorney-General, remained unmoved by Australian resistance to our attempts to reclaim our sovereignty and independence” (Pacnews, 3 Oct 2007). 

Solomon Islands international diplomacy took a further downturn when Sogavare boycotted the 2007 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting, which was held in Tonga . The boycott was to protest a Pacific Islands Forum–sponsored review that had found RAMSI a positive influence in the country in terms of improving law and order and promoting good governance. It recommended that RAMSI should continue to help the Solomon Islands government address key issues in these areas. The Sogavare-led government disagreed with the findings, and argued that the review team had ignored his government’s terms of reference. However, the leader of the review team, former Fiji Foreign Affairs Minister Kaliopate Tavola, noted that the team did take into consideration the issues raised by the Solomon Islands government. Sogavare’s absence at the Forum meeting attracted criticism from both within the country and outside. Instead of attending the Pacific Islands Forum meeting, Sogavare went to the Taiwan/Pacific Islands summit in the Marshall Islands . The 2007 summit was the second such meeting for Taiwan and its Pacific Islands allies: Nauru , the Marshall Islands , Tuvalu , Palau , Kiribati , and Solomon Islands . 

The Forum boycott generated allegations that a number of cabinet ministers were not happy, and that there was a rift in the government. However, caucus chairman Nelson Ne‘e described as “baseless and an alarmist propaganda” the idea that Sogavare’s leadership was being questioned over his boycott of the meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders in Tonga . He rejected the suggestion that there was a rift within government by saying: “The Prime Minister always consults us before making decisions. That’s the way he always operates and that’s why we have complete confidence in his leadership of our Government.” He went on to say: “The pm’s decision to keep his engagements in [End Page 472] Majuro and Taipei was the correct one for our country at a time when the Tonga Forum was dominated by concerns which were either not our priority or could only be addressed in the way our Parliament has already decided. pm Sogavare’s absence from the Forum meeting was a decision that Cabinet fully endorsed.” Ne‘e also noted, “The wisdom of that decision will be appreciated by our critics when the Prime Minister returns and when we unveil next year’s budget” (Pacnews, 18 Oct 2007). 

Despite Ne‘e’s denial of a rift within the government, by the final quarter of 2007 there was little that could be done to hide the fact that the Sogavare-led government was disintegrating from within. While the prime minister was on a trip to Taiwan in October, nine cabinet ministers and four backbenchers resigned and joined the Opposition. Their loss of confidence in Sogavare was attributed in part to several factors: the appointments of Moti and Khan, the rearmament plan, the failure to normalize relations with Australia , and the prime minister’s absence at the Pacific Islands Forum meeting. Those who jumped ship included Deputy Prime Minister Toswell Kaua, Minister for Education Dr Derek Sikua, Minister for Planning and Aid Coordination Steve Abana, Nollen Leni, Stanley Festus Sofu, Minister of Finance Gordon Darcy Lilo, Sam Iduri, Mark Kemakeza, Patrick Vahoe Jr, Peter Tom, Martin Sopaghe, Martin Magga, and Trevor Olovae. 

The members who resigned joined the Opposition, formed a new coalition, and called on Sogavare to step aside. In a letter delivered to the governor-general, Sir Nathaniel Waena, on 11 November 2007, the new coalition requested that Sogavare step down because he no longer enjoyed majority support from the parliamentarians. Furthermore, 28 of the 50 members of Parliament signed a memorandum of understanding that stipulated their lack of confidence in Sogavare’s leadership style. Sogavare, however, refused to step down, claiming that he still had enough support in Parliament: “I am elected by parliament and only parliament can vote me out” (Pacnews, 13 Oct 2007). 

The weeks that followed were tense and filled with political maneuvering. In a political somersault, some members of Parliament who had joined the Opposition rejoined the government and were made ministers (Pacnews, 13 Nov 2007). The three members were Martin Maga (representing Temotu Pele), Trevor Olavae (for South Vella La Vella), and Martin Sopaghe (for North Guadalcanal ). In the meantime three government ministers moved to the Opposition on 13 November. The political crisis continued for more than three weeks, and ministerial portfolios were left vacant as the government had insufficient numbers to fill them all. In the face of concerns that this was becoming a constitutional crisis, Governor-General Sir Nathaniel Waena was urged to step in. He refused, arguing that the impasse had to be solved politically, in Parliament. After weeks of uncertainty the governor-general announced that Parliament would convene on 13 December. This was challenged by the prime minister, who wanted to schedule the meeting for 24 December; he argued that this was necessary to allow time for the [End Page 473] newly appointed minister of finance to prepare the 2008 appropriation bill. Sogavare took the matter to court, but on 12 December the Solomon Islands High Court dismissed the case. In delivering his decision, Justice Edwin Goldsborough described Sogavare’s case as “frivolous and vexatious” (STN, 12 Dec 2007). 

Parliament convened on Thursday 13 December 2007, and a motion of no confidence in the prime minister was tabled. As Parliament debated the motion, there was much anxiety about a possible repeat of the April 2006 riot. Security was high as the police presence around Parliament increased. After a long day of debate, Sogavare was voted out of office in a 25 to 22 vote. On 20 December 2007, as the country prepared to celebrate Christmas, Dr Derek Sikua was elected prime minister, beating his only rival, Patterson Oti, by 32 votes to 15. It was an overwhelming demonstration of a lack of confidence in Sogavare and those, like Oti, who continued to support him. In the days that followed, Sikua put together a government dubbed the Coalition for National Unity and Rural Advancement (C-NURA). 

Moti was arrested and extradited to Australia soon after the new government took over. Sogavare questioned the legality of the deportation in view of an order by the Magistrate Court to halt any action until an asylum application was heard. Police Commissioner Jahir Khan’s contract was not renewed. In a letter to Khan, Prime Minister Sikua offered two options: resign or face a tribunal under the Police Act. According to a local online news bulletin, the Sikua-led government was concerned with Khan’s push to rearm the local police force. Khan agreed to leave when his contract finishes in June 2008. In a move to normalize ties with Australia and its neighbors, Prime Minister Sikua went on a three-nation tour, visiting the prime ministers of Australia , New Zealand , and Papua New Guinea . In a press statement, Sikua noted that the tour was “largely a symbolic one for the government to reassure the neighbouring countries that Solomon Islands values its relations with them” (STN, 29 Jan 2007). He also took the opportunity to express his regrets for any difficulties that may have arisen while the previous government was in power. 

Back home Sikua announced that his government would reduce the number of political appointees or advisers from 24 to 11. However, during the fist meeting of the Public Accounts Committee in 2008, it was revealed that the government would increase its appointees from 11 to 20. The Opposition was critical of this move, describing it as misleading.

By December 2007, Solomon Islands had its third government in the twenty months since the April 2006 elections. At the launching of the C-NURA government policy statements, the prime minister noted that his government was focusing on basic elements affecting the standard of living, such as food security, clean water supply and sanitation, rural health services, schools, and rural economic empowerment. Sikua noted, “We must be realistic about the great challenges facing us and the limited resources available to us to meet those challenges. . . . We must reject the notion [End Page 474] that we can get big amounts of money overnight with no hard work. . . . We must each take responsibility for our own lives and that of our families and work hard at it” (STN, 19 Jan 2008). It remains to be seen whether these policies will succeed. The new government knows that it has to deliver tangible results in order to prove to the nation that its removal of the Sogavare government was not just another politically successful motion of no confidence.

References

Pacnews. Regional news service, Pacific Islands Broadcasting Association, Suva .

Solomon Star News. Daily newspaper, Honiara . Online at http://solomonstarnews.com/  

STN, Solomon Times News. Daily online news service, Honiara , Solomon Islands . http://www.solomontimes.com

Brian Lenga is a political scientist, currently employed by the undp Fiji Multi-Country Office, based in Suva. Lenga holds a master’s degree in development studies. His research interests include aid and development issues in post-conflict environments, rural development, democratic governance, and political institutions in the Pacific.