Opposition says new information and documents reveal total of government’s activities from January to September 2024

Opposition says it has obtained documents and new information which show Government has exempted in total $199 million in taxes in nine months.

A total of $199m discretionary exemptions from January to end of September 2024 were granted by government to individuals and companies, a media statement from the Opposition yesterday said.

Opposition Leader Matthew Wale describes this as ‘outrageous and reckless’.

Yesterday, Finance Minister Manasseh Sogavare held a press conference to rebut Opposition’s media revelations of tax exemptions which government had granted to selected businesses, one at the cost of $29m.

Sogavare labelled Opposition’s revelations as misleading but failed to deny their truthfulness.

Sogavare defended the tax exemptions saying the practice is intended to boost critical infrastructure projects, necessary for the country’s development.

Opposition’s latest statement said more than $30 million of tax exemption was given to Lee Kwok Kuen & Anthony Veke, Nature Motel, and Wan Chen Company.

In the case of Anthony Veke, it appears that there is a deliberate attempt by the Minister of Finance to misrepresent the facts by referring to Veke with the title ‘Honourable’, although the exemption was granted after the elections in which he lost his seat, the statement said.

“There are no reasonable grounds, given the current precarious cash flow problem in government, for the Minister of Finance to award these exemptions. The Minister’s press conference today [Sunday, November 10] is a cover up of the whole truth,” Wale said.

GNUT’s string of exemptions are a slap in the face of every hardworking Solomon Islander, Wale said in the statement.

“Ordinary Solomon Islanders struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table for their families, yet the Minister of Finance sees it fit to subsidise a select few who are already well-off,” Wale said.

Wale said citizens of this country deserve to know and the Prime Minister and his Finance Minister have a duty to inform the nation.

“I am calling on the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister to clarify to people in this country how many exemptions have been granted by GNUT, how much they cost, to which companies and individuals and why exemptions are granted when GNUT cannot even fund the 2024 budget,” the Opposition Leader said.

Wale said one would expect the Finance Minister to be apologetic now that he has been called out publicly.

“But this is not the case; surprisingly the Finance Minister is trying to defend his actions. This is worse than it appears.

“Obviously, the Finance Minister does not fear discipline from the Prime Minister. This is clear political calculation.

“The Finance Minister knows the Prime Minister is very weak and cannot sack him.

“This situation is terrible for the good governance of Solomon Islands. A weak Prime Minister emboldens Ministers to make decisions without accountability and not fear sanction,” he said.

Wale said as the Finance Minister’s conduct is under question, he expects the Prime Minister to inform the nation on the extent of exemptions granted and whether he, the Prime Minister, accepts it, and what actions he will take to discipline the Finance Minister.

The Opposition Leader said if the Prime Minister does not address this issue, then it merely confirms his utter weakness as Prime Minister.

 “$199M of exemptions granted by a government which cannot even fund its own budget. Although it is not surprising, it is frustrating that GNUT lied to parliament that they have cancelled all exemptions as of June this year, yet they have done the opposite.

“This hypocrisy smacks of the worst arrogance. GNUT does not respect the people’s parliament. GNUT therefore does not respect the people, and feels it can lie to the nation,” he said.

The Opposition Leader also criticised the Prime Minister as to why he remains tight-lipped over all these controversial issues happening under his nose, the statement said.

“A Prime Minister with any sense of integrity would have taken stern action already. Yet he is abetting all these nonsense.

“It is clear, the Prime Minister is either part of all this or too weak to control his ministers, either way, the Prime Minister is enabling all of this,” he said.

The Opposition Leader said GNUT likens itself, as a regime for ‘transformation’ but it only seems the transformation is going from being bad to worse.