Kuma removed for closing sufferance wharves, PM urged to come clean

BY MORRIS NAFU

The recent political upheaval surrounding former Finance Minister Harry Kuma is not about a complex investigation, but about a single, decisive policy – the closure of the sufferance wharves.

Insiders have revealed that the official narrative of a “Taskforce investigation” is a smokescreen, and the truth is that Mr Kuma was removed for implementing a Cabinet decision that powerful business interests wanted overturned.

Both Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele and new finance minister Trevor Manemahaga had insisted that this reshuffle had nothing to do with the sufferance wharves,

But, the fact that the revocation of the wharves’ international port status happened within a decisive 96-hour window leading into the weekend proves otherwise.

Island Sun had reached out to Mr Manemahaga for comments following his press conference September 9 but was unsuccessful.

A lot of questions government are shying away from.

One main question is why the revocation was timed to be enforced just before the arrival of two specific ships—one scheduled for Saturday, September 6, and another for Monday, September 8.

This was not a coincidence; it was a calculated move to stop the discharge of cargo at these wharves immediately. The sudden “investigation” and Kuma’s removal were the direct retaliation to this effective action.

The real architects of this ministerial reshuffle are not within Cabinet, but in the boardrooms of businessmen Johnny Sy and Harry Chen, who have benefited immensely from the corrupt and chaotic status quo at the wharves and whose shipments were directly threatened by Kuma’s enforcement.

It is therefore puzzling why a senior journalist would attempt to shift public attention to a narrative of “Cabinet solidarity” and a vague taskforce, a sequence of events he may not fully understand or is choosing to misrepresent.

The real story is not about defiance, but about a minister doing his job and being swiftly punished for interfering with the lucrative operations of a powerful few.

Their influence is a matter of public record. Harry Chen notoriously lied to the Government to obtain a $29 million tax exemption on the false pretence of building a hotel. No hotel was built. Instead, he used part of the exemption to construct a warehouse for his business, TBC Hardware, which he then rented out to the Chinese state-owned company, BNBM.

This massive $29 million tax scheme by these foreigners is nothing less than stealing from the Solomon Islands people. It is stealing our normal, day-to-day Solomon Islanders’ hard-earned tax money – money that should be funding our schools, our clinics, our roads, and our essential public services.

This revenue was lost to the people so that a select few could massively enrich themselves.

These two businessmen are not acting alone. They are backed by a cohort of very strong, greedy MPs within the Government of National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) who have benefited greatly from this arrangement.

Reliable sources from the private sector confirm that these ministers and MPs receive substantial kickbacks and favours from these Asian businessmen, compromising their loyalty to the nation.

It is this network of corruption that Harry Kuma threatened when he moved to enforce the law at the wharves.

His subsequent removal and the manufactured “investigation” are a direct result of pressure from these vested interests.

The call is now for these compromised ministers and MPs to stand with the government and the people of Solomon Islands.

Their duty is to uphold the policies of the GNUT that are designed to protect national revenue and sovereignty, not to conspire against them for the benefit of a few wealthy foreigners and themselves.

The future of the country depends on leaders who prioritise national interest over personal greed.

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