Solomon Islands Parliament Call to Tackle Corruption

[6 October 2011, Honiara] The Solomon Islands Parliament yesterday concluded a two-day seminar for Members of Parliament on the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). The seminar brought together Members from across the political spectrum to discuss priorities for the country to promote accountable governance and address corruption.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon Peter Shanel stated, "The Government will be progressing accession of UNCAC as a priority. I have given strong instructions to my officials to expedite the process of accession. We recognize that corruption disproportionately hurts the poor and we want to take action. As a Minister of Government, I see the importance of ratification as a symbol of our Government’s commitment to deal with corruption."

Discussions during the seminar were wide-ranging, with MPs suggesting a range of concrete options for dealing with corruption. Article 6 of UNCAC identifies the importance of independent anti-corruption bodies. During a participatory discussion on existing accountability bodies in the Solomon Islands, MPs from both the Government and the Opposition agreed on the need to explore options for establishing a new independent commission against corruption.

Deputy Opposition Leader, Hon Mathew Wale, observed, “The current legislative framework and institutions that ought to fight corruption are obviously inadequate to deal with this curse. It is therefore both urgent and important to our future society that we demonstrate our resolve to eliminate this scourge from our society by establishing a new, better resourced and better empowered institution to tackle corruption. In order to better use our resources, this new institution may need to encompass some of our existing bodies, but this will only help to sharpen the focus on corruption.”

Members discussed the various provisions of UNCAC, with officials from a range of constitutional bodies and government departments serving as resource people, to assist Members to better understand the on-ground challenges in tackling corruption. The Solomon Islands Ombudsman, Auditor, Leadership Code Commission Chair and Director of Public Prosecutions all presented to MPs. Representatives from the Chamber of Commerce and civil society, most notably, Transparency International Solomons, also participated.

Reflecting on some of the priorities issues facing the country, Mr Joe Poraiwai, the Solomon Islands Ombudsman highlighted the need for a law which would give members of the public a right to access information from the Government, in accordance with Article 10 of UNCAC.

"I have many people come to my office, not because they want to make a complaint but because they want to get information from Government and they are having difficulty getting an answer from officials. It is specifically because I can see the need in the community that I strongly urge the Government to move forward on passing a right to information law We cannot wait any longer. It is very important that our people can find out about what the Government is doing. This will also help improve accountability, " stated Mr Poraiwai.

Members of Parliament and officials were united in their recognition of the importance of taking practical action to improve the state of accountability in the Solomon Islands. At the conclusion of the meeting, Members endorsed an Issues Statement which summarized their recommendations for action.

The meeting was sponsored by the Foreign Relations Commission of the National Parliament of Solomon Islands, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Ms Charmaine Rodrigues, Democratic Institutions and Accountability Specialist with the UNDP Pacific Centre, facilitated the two-day seminar.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Ms Akiko Suzaki, Deputy Resident Representative of the UNDP Solomon Islands Sub-Office reflected on the outcomes of the meeting. “UNDP agrees whole-heartedly with the Members of Parliament who have so actively participated in this workshop, that promoting accountability and addressing corruption are core good governance issues. Corruption diverts public resources that should be used to provide public services to the people of the Solomon Islands and at its most sinister, may lead to conflict and stability. I congratulate the Government of the Solomon Islands on their commitment to ratify UNCAC. On behalf of the UN, we very much look forward to welcoming you to the community of UNCAC State Parties,” stated Ms Suzaki.

ENDS

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