The Native Iowan

09 The Shape I’m In

THE battle to form the next government is now set to be fought between two major camps.

This followed the merger of three camps in Honiara at the weekend, which immediately claimed a membership of 35.

They include the Pacific Casino, Mendana Hotel, and Honiara Hotel camp.

However, the Heritage Park Hotel camp, comprised mainly of members of the last government, is also confident of forming the next government.

Heritage Park Hotel camp spokesman Mathew Wale said claims by the other group of having 35 members did not affect their numbers.

“Currently we have 22 signatures, but three – Clay Forau, Samuel Manetoali and Walter Folotalu – will arrive tomorrow,” Mr Wale told the Solomon last night.

“Another MP is hopefully going to sign with us tomorrow and that should give us the edge,” he said.

Mr Wale said he had various discussions with individual MPs from and other groups yesterday.

Each group needs a simple majority of 26 members to form the government.

Governor General, Sir Frank Kabui is expected to announce the date of the election of the prime minister this week.

This followed the gazetting of the national election results yesterday.

The announcement will open up four days of nomination which will be followed by the election, expected early next week.

Mr Wale said it’s sad to see the process of forming the next government being driven by the issue of prime minister rather than policy issues.

He said policy issues should come first before we could even discuss the issue of whose going to be the next prime minister.

The Heritage Park Hotel camp last night held its fellowship led by president of Solomon Islands Democratic Party Fr John Ini Lapli.

Mr Wale said they’ll go through the process of nominating their candidate for the PM’s post this week.

“At this time, we have no names being put forward for the post,” he said.

No one from the other camp was immediately available for comments last night.

what is the Speaker’s seat worth…

THE next question people are asking is who is going to lead the country for the next four years.

And from that, people are interested to know when the second election (election of PM) will be held.

It is still not clear at this stage but the parliament will have to meet and elect the new speaker first.

Asked how long it will take before a new prime minister is elected, caretaker Prime MInister Dr Derick Sikua said they will need to elect a speaker first.

“At this stage, we have to get parliament to come and elect the speaker, and once that is done we can then have parliament to set the date for the election of the Prime Minister and that will take about two weeks.

“So it will be a long process to get to the time, talking about another three to four weeks,” Dr Sikua said.

The election of a new speaker will be necessary because the incumbent Sir Peter Kenilorea is retiring.

The deputy speaker Clement Kengava has also lost his parliamentary seat.

Dr Sikua said they have a few options.

“We have a few options to consider, certainly the former deputy speaker who unfortunately lost his seat will be one of our candidates but the coalition will consider other people that we want to occupy the speaker’s position.

“But at this stage I have no one in mind but there are two or three well qualified people that can occupy that position.”

Meanwhile, he said coming to a conclusion as to who will lead the next government is not an easy task.

“It’s usually not an easy compromise to arrive at in any coalition.

“There will be a lot of discussions and it will take a lot of thinking but I hope at the end of the day the best for all of us will come out as to who we decided to put in, but it will take us a good two weeks.”

not good news here folks… Mr. Snyder Rini is the guy who was elected Prime Minister after the elections in 2006… His election sparked riots that saw China town get burnt. Job DUdley Tausinga is the guy who, after the riots, stepped up and said he would help solve the problems… and it all became a big mess, once again. Golly, sure do look like more o’ the same here…

COUNTING of ballots for four constituencies are yet to be concluded, but political lobbying has already started.

Parties trying to form the next government have started the so-called “number-game”.

A party, never active in its campaign prior to the National General Election, the Independent Democratic Party (formerly Association of Independent Members) has suddenly popped up yesterday and is now in camp.

Led by Snyder Rini, Independent Democratic Party (IDP) has Honiara Hotel owner Sir Thomas Chan as its president.

“We have already started a coalition and we are now in camp at the Honiara Hotel,” Secretary Leonard Kaitu’u told the Solomon Star yesterday.

Asked why IDP suddenly popped up just after the election to form a coalition, Mr Kaitu’u said IDP is a long established party.

“IDP started in 1997 under the name Association of the Independent Members of Parliament (AIMP).

“In 2004, AIMP was registered as an Independent Party under the current name IDP.”

He said they were inactive prior to the election because they want to take a low profile campaign.

“We did it silently, but we have our platform policies,” he said.

Mr Kaitu’u claimed that 19 IDP candidates have already won their respective constituencies seats.

“We contested in 47 constituencies and 19 have already won but the figure is expected to peak at 24 after the results of the remaining constituencies are known.”

Asked to provide the list of names of the 19 members claimed, he said they decided not to release the names at this stage.

“We await the last four and for everyone to come over to Honiara before we could confirm the list.”

He said IDP will partner with Job Duddley Tausinga’s Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement and People’s Alliance Party to form the next government.

“This proposed coalition is confident it will have the strength of about 42 MPs to form the new government, probably before the end of this month,” Mr Kaitu’u said.

AFTER two days of counting, 29 of the 50 new Members of Parliament have been known by last night.

Of the 29, 16 are returning MPs, while 13 are new comers.

A number of business men have become members of parliament, defeating long-serving MPs.

In the Central Kwara’ae Constituency, the former deputy prime minister in the CNURA government, Fred Fono, lost his seat to businessman turned politician, Jackson Fiulau.

Mr Fiulau is the owner of Rarasu Motel in Auki.

Mr Fono, a former public servant, served three terms as member of parliament.

In the North West Guadalcanal constituency, Siriako Usa, lost to another businessman turned politician Horst Heinz Bodo Dettke.

Mr Dettke polled 2,400 votes to Usa’s 1,094.

Jimmy Lusibaea, a former Malaita Eagle Force commander, is the new MP for North Malaita, unseating Enele Kwanairara.

Former member of parliament, Danny Phillip, has made a come back, defeating outgoing MP Francis Zama in the South New Georgia Constituency.

Sam Iduri has retained his West Kwara’ae seat.

Selwyn Riumana has also retained his seat in Hongrano/Kia/Havulei along with Mark Kemakeza of Gela.

Rick Hou was unofficially named the winner in Small Malaita last night.

Counting for Guadalcanal, Makira-Ulawa, and Temotu constituencies continue today.

Malaita Outer Islands will go to the polls on Monday after bade weather prevented elections from being conducted on Wednesday this week.

And there remains a ray of light, a shred of hope…

RICK HOU has won the Small Malaita seat after counting ended last night, the Solomon Star can reveal.

But the Returning Officer for the constituency has withheld announcing the results due to pressure from supporters of the runner up candidate William Haomae.

However, a polling agent of Mr Hou who returned from Afio station to his village at Riverside at 11 pm last night confirmed Mr Hou is the new MP.

Riverside is few minutes by boat from Afio station in the passage dividing Small and Big Malaita.

According to the agent, Mr Hou polled 1,689, 72 votes difference from Mr Haomae’s 1,617.

Fourteen candidates contested the seat.

The agent said Mr Hou managed to overtake Mr Haomae when counting settled at the last polling station of his village at Riverside.

Mr Haomae reportedly led the race from the start with 900 votes difference from Mr Hou at wards 21 and 22.

At ward 23, the tide changed for the former Foreign Affairs Minister, after Mr Hou slowly edged him to gain the victory.

It was a all night celebration for Mr Hou’s supporters and families at Riverside after the news was relayed to them.

The Solomon Star could hear the celebration at the background when speaking to the agent on mobile phone.

Mr Hou’s victory is poised to strengthen the profile of the Solomon Islands Democratic Party, as MPs move to Honiara in the next few days to form the government.

Other members of the party already declared winners are Mathew Wale, Sam Iduri, Stanley Sofu and Peter Tom.

The Party’s wing leader, Steve Abana is still waiting for his result in the Fataleka constituency, which is expected today.

Mr Hou returned to pursue a political career after he resigned his lucrative job with the World Bank in Washington DC this year.

Results bring a few surprises
SATURDAY, 07 AUGUST 2010 07:04

Voters queuing to cast their votes.
A FEW surprises from yesterday’s election results.

Deputy Prime Minister and leader of People’s Congress Party Fred Fono’s loss in Central Kwara’ae, had everyone talking.

Mr Fono served three terms in parliament and looking forward to his fourth.

With his unblemish track record, he was overly confident of retaining his seat.

But the people of Central Kwara’ae have made up their mind. And in doing so, they elected businessman Jackson Fiulaua instead.

A real upset indeed.

Then we have Francis Billy Hilly. A veteran and leader of the Nasanol Pati, the former prime minister was looking for his seventh term in parliament.

But the people of Rannoggah/Simbo want a change this time. And it came in Charles Sigoto, the medical officer who was elected in Wednesday’s election.

The story in North Malaita was different.

Voters there decided to elevate former militant Jimmy Lusibaea to be their new Member of Parliament.

Not only did they vote him in, they gave their overwhelming support which ensures Mr Lusibaea gets a landslide victory.

Across in Temotu, the talk of the day was the loss of high profile politician Patteson Oti and the subsequent rampage reportedly caused by his supporters in Lata.

Mr Oti, a senior Opposition figure in the last house was tipped to return for another term. But voters in Temotu Nende instead voted in little known Commins Aston Mewa.

With more results anticipated today, we may be expecting a few more surprises.

The results may not be to everyone’s liking, but the people have spoken through the ballots.

So congratulations to those who’ve already secured their seats. And to those who’ll be announced later.

Enjoy the moment but don’t forget you carry the hopes of your people and nation.

Troubles flare up: More police deployed to Auki, Tulagi
SATURDAY, 07 AUGUST 2010 07:55

POLICE authorities reportedly deployed reinforcements to Auki and Tulagi last night after election related troubles broke out at the two centres.

In Auki, Malaita, angry supporters of a candidate in Lau/Mbaelelea constituency grabbed ballot papers from the counting centre and burned them in front of election officials.

At Tulaga, Central Province, a group of men went on the rampage after outgoing MP Mark Kemakeza was declared the winner again.

They threw stones at buildings and broke into a shop owned by Mr Kemakeza, removing goods and anything they could lay their hands on.

Chief Electoral Officer Polycarp Haununu told the Solomon Star they’ve requested police deployment to the two centres last night.

He said police agreed to fly reinforcement in a helicopter.

In Tulagi, a resident there told the Solomon Star by phone11pm last night police officers from Honiara arrived in a fast craft and have taken control of the situation.

The resident, who asked not to be named, said those who caused the problem were unhappy with Mr Kemakeza’s re-election.

“Kemakeza is from Savo and people here feel they should be represented by a person from Gela,” the resident said.

In Auki, SIBC’s Ruth Ramoifuila, who is covering the elections in Malaita, told the Solomon Star last night police were outnumbered.

Ms Ramoifuila said the men threw stones at the counting centre and demanded a particular ballot box be handed to them.

She said the group claimed the ballots in that particular box should have gone to their candidate because the polling station the vote took place was their stronghold.

But they claimed the majority of votes in the box were for another candidate.

“They went and forcefully demanded the box from the Returning Officer, insisting the box be handed to them before they could leave the counting centre,

“In the end the Returning Officer threw the ballot box to them and they burn it in front of the counter centre before they left,” Ms Ramoifuila said.

She said the situation was very tense but cool down after the group left in the trucks.

Mr Haununu said police would be deployed to ensure counting continues this morning.

But with the burning of the ballot papers, it’s not clear last night whether counting of the remaining Lau/Mbaelelea ballot boxes will continue.

Meanwhile, counting of Fataleka constituency ballots has been halted yesterday after one of the ballot boxes were allegedly tampered with.

That alleged tampering is being investigated.

Democracy S.I. style:

The streets are over-full of combat fatigued soldiers in full riot gear. The sky is a ‘buzz with helicopters low-flying. The stores are closed, reinforced with new steel plate and bars. A pervading sense impending doom lingers like the fine dust normally floating over Honiara’s streets.

Today the streets have that “hung-over” feeling… and everyone knows why…

Today is the day… We’re having another national general election. Was it only 4 years ago, 2006, that Chinatown got pillaged and burnt due to political BS? We just love to exercise our democratic rights in this lovely land. And if’n we don’t get the outcome we want we’ll raise hell until we do.

But really folks, for all the good that is found in democracy… Do we have to go through it again?

Of course the powers that be declared voting-day a public holiday. So business stops. They also ban all booze sales. As near as I can tell the private clubs have been shut as well so it’s a couple dry days in Honiara.

Which means the black-market sellers are doing a great biz.

The past week has seen an offering of flatbed trucks, taxis, busses and even a garbage truck I saw driving through town plastered with fliers and festooned with bodies. All making noise and chanting the name of their candidate. Mostly filled with young men and boys I saw a few that had numbers of women involved. Yesterday I saw some convoys of up to 20 vehicles. All shouting and carrying on. Obviously alcohol is available in town by the behavior of some but by and large there was little actual violence reported, yet.

Yesterday the roads were grid locked due to the frenzy of last minute “campaigning”. This in it’s own right is enough to spark emotion. but so far… keep yer fingers crossed.

I guess “democracy” means we can break every driving/ road rule and even go as far as commandeering the main road for a private gathering in honor of a favored candidate.

This picture was reenacted dozens of times in the past week.

I have decided that democracy here is similar to the team spirited soccer hooliganism found in England in the 80s. I note, unhappily that some polling booths were closed to supporters of any other candidate but Mr. X. I assume the police have sorted such situations out. I also heard that names on the voting lists are confused. Some folks don’t have their name on any list while others have their name on more than one list at different polling stations.

So democracy means we can get into big groups, “teams”, and chant and harass and make noise… Each of these teams are big and emotional. There is so much energy and passion and perhaps alcohol involved that it cannot end peaceably. I am not looking forward to the announcement of the “winners”.

One could begin to query if/ when this lovely land will get it right. The air here is tense. Large, military style helicopters buzz low over the town. The birds have fancy photography gear on board. Including infrared, they claim to be able to take pictures and identify persons in a car from 1000 feet up. As mentioned the military presence is both good and bad. The idea that we have assault-armed military on the ground and ready to roll (or rolling) as we speak is good but… why is it necessary?

I have come to the conclusion that the S.I. leadership is simply fucked in the head. The self-serving “Mr. Me” attitude is too strong. It is too well supported by corrupt private interests. There is simply too much money at stake for it to “turn out good”. Between the Taiwanese “free money” and the millions in aid and the graft to be made turning an official eye… it is simply too big of a plumb not to be fought over.

Is this how a state begins to fail?

And, basically, it is no different than elsewhere. I feel the scales here are such that we see more and the need for vision is so real and keen that we feel the lack greater but…

BUT…

Another 4 years of lost opportunities?

I hope not but, for the first time in my 30 years here, I am very much less than optimistic about a positive outcome.

More later

In Aus on business.

A fun country this is. I have been bizzy but will start dragging my camera around for some local color…

this is flying into Brisbane on Monday…

no matter why… no matter what the reason…

Don’t make sense to me…

when there is sooo much funn to be hadd…

01 hug

05 hurricane

getting behind… need to keep it interesting…

Starting another chapter in the boring book… first line:

We use to talk about the girls we wanted to bed. Now we talk about our last doctor’s visit.

A line I remember from a Joseph Heller book: I used to sleep in the fetus position. Now I lie like a corpse.

I stopped working early today… about 430.

Blues Brothers 2000 is on TV. It’s good musik and good fun.  A pity more movies are not made along such creative and fun filled lines. Blue brothers, the original, is an icon for many, many reasons. The 2000 version is a rollicking ride with good music. Turn the Bose on and crank it up.

Grace and Dozer in Gizo…

The property development we are doing… we installed a wood tank out of New Zealand. Tank failed the first big rain we had… guess Solomon’s rain is heavier than Kiwi rain.

Life is good.

heard that my old friend “Boobby” King passed away.

Bang the drumm slowwly

07 f bang the drum slowly

http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/business/6576-chamber-thanks-hemmer-for-contribution

Turning 5 years of age

07 glory bound

http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/business/6463-mr-hemmer-resigns-as-chair-of-sicc

07 Fire and Rain