Wale says MPs’ are trading RCDF for votes, focussing on their power NOT people

Leader of Opposition Matthew Wale says the fact that MPs’ continue to engage in the kind of politics where their voters live outside their doors trading votes for money, means “we are clientelist focusing on our own power and is not people power.

“It is individual MP power,” Wale said in Parliament yesterday.

The MP for Aoke Langalanga said this is fundamental weakness of the way the RCDF mechanism is currently organized.

“It has been over 40 years and still little is done to properly represent our people and develop our nation Solomon Islands.

“Even 40 years ago our founding fathers spoke of the need to be closer to our people, to devise a system which supports both our culture and our aspirations. We inherited a system which for 40 years has not done enough. We must not blame our founding fathers for this problem. We have the responsibility to fix it. It is time we fix the system to pave the way for a meaningfully united and developed Solomon Islands,” he said.

Meanwhile Wale said national unity and working together in a democracy is not defeated only because some people have different views to the government.

“Let us escape the immaturity that insists it is only when everyone agrees with the government on any issue that there is national unity and working together.

In fact, in a democracy with such diversity as ours, we must not only expect but also embrace differences – that is critical to national unity and working together. Let us stop demonizing our own people. Is not the power with the people?” he said.

Meanwhile Wale said the Prime Minister keeps repeating the hatred of some towards him.

“I hope this is not true, at least not in this House. It is essential to parliamentary democracy that when we disagree we freely express our disagreements. This cannot mean hatred. We are leaders together and must have respect for each other, which must include holding each other to account when necessary. None of us is perfect, that is why we need to hold each other accountable,” he said.