The Solomons will have a one-party government

one-party government

From a Honiara correspondent

Elected members of the Solomon Islands Governing Council the legislature have made the remark able decision to voluntarily form a one-party government under the new constitution to be adopted in April.

After three months of political manoeuvring by the United Solomon Islands Party (USIPA) and their generally more conservative and amorphous minority opponents, the “flexible idealism” of the elected members (PIM, Sept, p 8) surfaced in a way unexpected by all but the most hopeful.

Within 24 hours, an opposition party steering committee was formed, then disbanded, and USIPA disbanded itself as the majority party and handed chairmanship of a steering committee for an, as yet unnamed, all-encompassing parliamentary party, to one of its opponents—all, of course, for the sake of unity.

Since USIPA was formed in August, it had claimed privately that it had tried to draw the remaining nine Govco members into USIPA.

The general feeling in the party was that the Solomons was not able to take the divisive effects of multi-party politics, yet the discipline of a formal party structure would be necessary to enable the government formed next year to present its policies to the people without being open to attack.

All the fighting about policy, it hoped, could be done in the back rooms.

USIPA was formed by newly elected members with the exception of the eldest member, Jonathan Fifi’i.

The members of the former Govco who were re-elected immediately felt alienated by this already fairly cohesive group of new boys.

Their feelings of apartness came out on the night of November 19 in a meeting in Honiara of most re elected members, some former elect ed members, some local govern ment councillors and others, when it was decided to plan an opposition party.

The following morning, a state ment was issued by Solomon Mama loni, the Chairman of Govco’s Local Government Committee in the name of the meeting, that he condemned USIPA for its departure from what he said was the customary manner of doing things in the Solomons. He said USIPA members had not dis cussed their policies first with their

constituents before forming the party.

Mr Mamaloni said the meeting had discussed a manifesto of draft policies, which each elected member would discuss with his constituents in the traditional way, before deciding whether an opposition party would be formed to carry out whatever policies were agreed to or amended by the people.

This was broadcast on the local news at lunch time. But while it was being broadcast, a private meeting of all elected members of Govco was drawing to an end after nearly three hours, with the compromise decision to form one party.

The Chairman of Social Services Committee, Willie Betu, was to chair the steering committee made up of all five Govco chairmen.

This meant that the publicly very moderate Mr Betu would be trying to find common ground and com promise among already different philosophical and practical ap proaches by the other chairmen— David Kausimae of Commerce and Industry, still said to be wanting the new party to be called SUN Party after his defunct child of the last Govco; Solomon Mamaloni of Local Government, who had given every sign of seeing the still-born opposi tion party as his road to leader ship he desires; Dr Gideon Zoleveke, of Communications and Works who was deputy leader of USIPA and looks more and more likely to be a compromise choice for first Chief Minister, and Philip Solodia of Natural Resources, also USIPA, who has so far found himself strongly at variance with David Kausimae on the still unsettled policy towards alienated land.

Chairman of USIPA, Benedict Kinika, stood down in the interests of getting the steering committee formed. USIPA felt that it gave away much for what it felt was the over-riding need—unity—while its former opponents felt that USIPA had to do this because it had gone out on a limb.

By news time that night, the one party statement from Mr Betu was out, Mr Mamaloni’s statement was being glossed over, and a call went out from Mr Betu for everyone to support the formation of the new party and to put aside their old allegiances.