BY JOHN HOUANIHAU

Minister of Finance and Treasury Manasseh Sogavare has described this year’s Motion of No Confidence against Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele as a wake-up call for members of the GNUT government.

He stated that if the motion of no confidence had been passed, it would have had serious implications for peace, stability, national unity, and security.

Sogavare emphasized that Parliament would have been irresponsible to pass the motion, disregarding unfulfilled promises of support.

“I’m saying this because, while the motion is worded to target the Prime Minister directly, it is the only constitutional method under parliamentary democracy to remove the sitting government from office. This makes any motion of no confidence very serious and places huge responsibilities on its sponsors to handle the matter with utmost care,” Sogavare said.

He further explained that the serious implications of such motions have not always been emphasized in every motion of no confidence brought before Parliament since independence.

“It has continued this way for 19 years post-independence and remains so today. Instead, what has often been the cause of instability is personal dislikes of individuals,” Sogavare said.

He acknowledged that while the recent motion is now “water under the bridge,” it should not be dismissed as merely a failed attempt to topple the government.

“This does not mean that we can just pat ourselves on the back and return to business as usual. It is a serious, serious wake-up call,” he stressed.

Sogavare reminded members of the government bench that being in government is a privilege that must continuously be earned by meeting the expectations of Parliament and the people.

“If there is any lesson to take from the attempted motion of no confidence, it is this: the government has made big, significant policy statements, and we must be fully committed to delivering on them. Nothing less will suffice,” he concluded.