Gap between the super rich and the dirt poor grows alamrmingly

 

J. Roughan

23 April 2010

Honiara 

The public's response to the heavy-weight increases in Parliamentarian salary packets and their other perks rubbed a raw nerve among local citizens. Members couldn't have chosen a worse time for flaunting their immense wealth in the face of the vast majority of poor Solomon Islanders who don't know where the next few dollars will come from to feed the kids . . . and the other 13-15 wantoks who crowd around the dinner table each night.

 

Most members, however, are actively thinking, talking about and working on plans to be re-elected to parliament. Attendance at parliamentary meetings are secondary because their whole attention is to work on ways to get back into power. Yet, their right hand doesn't know what their left hand is doing! Do they really think that voters have such short memories that come election day--probably at the end of June this year--voters will already have forgotten how their members have pocketed thousands and thousands of dollars in a time when most of the country doesn't have much at all?

 

Solomons' electoral history, over eight separate elections, dating back to 1984, already shows clearly that at least 4 out of every 10 members never make it back to the House. In fact in the last two elections the number of parliamentarians failing in their re-election bids rose to more than half of all sitting members. In the 2001 election, for instance, more than 6 out of 10 sitting members failed to return to power.This will be, I suspect, the lot of most members in the present house--more than half of them will be looking for new jobs come the middle of the year when the polling day rolls around..

 

But most members still think that if they had a bit more money, then they could be reassured of getting themselves back to their parliament seat. But that's an illusion! It's not merely money that swings the electorate to back a person getting into office but how well has the member served his people. Since 1998, however, the Solomons nation has turned a corner, a rather disturbing corner. The average Solomon Islander is poorer now than at any time in its 32 years of history.

 

SIDT's eight Report Cards over a twenty year period, since 1989, show a disturbing trend. Thousands of Solomon Islanders have failed eight governments of the day on how they have treated the backbone of society, the small person, the villager, the woman gardener, etc. in their reachout programs. Now, Canberra's People's Survey 2009 of Solomon Islands, added its own voice. It said much the same thing: governments of the day were not doing their best to reach out to those who need the most help. 

 

Over the past two weeks, also, the Bishops of PNG and the Solomons have been holding their annual general meeting in Lae. They pinpoint the growing levels of poverty as painfully worse in both countries in spite of the great natural wealth in both countries--minerals, timber, fertile ground, abundant water, etc. Bishop Panfilo, president of the Bishops Convergence stated bluntly, "we know that the conditions of our people are becoming worse rather than better. We know that social services are very inadequate and our people are becoming frustrated with the Government."

 

Too many of our senior politicians live in another world. They think that if they can hand out some project monies, take care of voters daily needs like pocket money, ship fares, school fees, doctor's visits, etc. then they have delivered as politicians. Of course, most people do need these kinds of help because job creation has stopped--really never begun with the CNURA government--, youth employment has dried up and simple ways of gaining a few dollars has become harder and harder.

 

Villagers currently stream over to Honiara because there are so few ways of making some money at home and think that the town wantok must have tons of money, enough to take care of his own family as well as many village visitors. Feeding 12, 15 and even up to 19 hungry mouths at dinner time each night has become part of the Honiara scene. Yes, our parliamentarians face much the same problem--feeding dozens and dozens extras daily--but at least they have deep pockets where too often RCDF monies and other rural assistance funds that should be spent in the constituency end up here in town in the mouths of visiting village relatives. 

 

We fool ourselves, however, if we think there is none of the African poverty here where starving children are seen on TV, wolfing down bits of food to feed their bloated stomachs. Fortunately, we do not have that kind of poverty but poverty takes on a different face as you travel from country to country. Our poverty takes the form of begging, not the kind that one is growing on Honiara's streets, but using the wantok system or the modern version of it "Member's Slush Fund" to meet daily needs. 

 

Perhaps it's foolish to think that the next lot into parliament will be different but things are changing. Voters have become much more savvy and are pressing their politicians to wise up, pay better attention to them and their lives and stop thinking that the odd hand out is the way to do it. Next parliament's main work will be to plan for new jobs, especially for youth and make sure that the rural funds actually get to the village and are not diverted to taxis, buses, stores, rest houses, member's family, etc. Otherwise, the gap between the very well off and our poorest will grow wider and more dangerous.