The parliamentary opposition in Solomon Islands has expressed disappointment at China for allegedly bankrolling a fund solely for Government MPs.
Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare (right) with Li Ming, China's first ambassador to the Solomon Islands. Photo: George Herming - Government Communications Unit
In a statement, the opposition party has made public a Government minute document from August 25 supporting this accusation and which appears to have been signed by the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.
The minute states that MPs will be able to access more than $US 24,000 ($SBD 200,000) each for projects within their constituencies through a facility called the "National Development Fund."
It also includes a list of 39 MPs who will be able to apply for these funds, all of whom are a part of the government. The total value of the fund is over $US 960,000, equivalent to $SBD 7.8 million.
Opposition leader Matthew Wale said the name "National Development Fund" is misleading.
"These funds are not for national development at all. The title of National Development Funds is to mock the people of this country, the funds are purely political, used by the Prime Minister to maintain his office."
Mr Wale also said that the fund had been previously financed by Taiwan and has now been taken over by China, after the Solomon Islands government's decision to end diplomatic relations with Taipei.
"The fact that the funds are paid by a foreign power is an egregious breach of Solomon Islands sovereignty and undermines government's ability to maintain any semblance of independence in its foreign policy," Mr Wale said.
Matthew Wale is the Leader of Opposition in Solomon Islands. Photo: Office of the Leader of Opposition
Mr Wale said he was disappointed with China, as he had raised his objections to the Fund with China's ambassador to the Solomon Islands last year, and had been assured it would be discontinued.
"It is shameful. This Prime Minister has built his reputation as the champion of sovereignty when he fought hard to resist RAMSI (Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands) in its early days, but it seems he has no problem at all receiving direct foreign power funding to secure his political interests, without the slightest thought of the impact on the sovereignty he often pretends to protect," he said.
In response to the accusations the Solomon Islands Government has issued a statement conceding that when the fund was started by the Republic of China or Taiwan it was a discretionary fund for the prime minister.
"Previous Prime Ministers have exercised their discretion in allocating these funds. However, when the Republic of China gave these funds they did not require that these funds be used for development projects," the statement said.
But it said under China's financial arrangements the National Development Fund is now a project based constituency fund which opposition MPs are also welcome to apply for.
Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koroi Hawkins
It accused Mr Wale of feigning ignorance about these changes in order to create political instability.
The government statement also condemned the opposition leader's singling out of China which it says is simply supporting development in the country.
"The politicisation of the diplomatic switch to China overt and covert by some of our politicians is becoming childish and tedious. We should all be focusing on development and not on politicking," the statement said.
Matthew Wale in turn has rubbished the government's response pointing out that the leaked list of recipients of the fund this year are all government MPs.
Mr Wale challenged the prime minister to publish all of the recipients of the fund in 2019 and 2020 to prove the claim that it is not only government MPs who benefit from the 'shameful' fund.
The Chinese Embassy in Honiara has so far not responded to the accusations of political interference.