Sogavare welcomes West Rennell probe, says High Court action must lead APID royalty recovery
Honiara, Solomon Islands – Leader of the Official Opposition, Hon. Manasseh Sogavare, MP, has welcomed the commencement of investigations into the controversial 33 bauxite shipments from West Rennell but says clear prominence must be given to the existing High Court proceedings because the matter is, at its core, a debt due to the Government.
“The people of Solomon Islands deserve clear answers on this issue, and we welcome efforts now underway to establish the facts,” he said.
The Opposition Leader noted that then Minister for Mines, Hon. Derick Manuari, announced the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into the 33 shipments in May last year.
Hon. Sogavare said the continuation of this work was important to ensure the matter is properly examined through a transparent and evidence-based process and that is the country must not lose sight of the central issue: unpaid royalties owed to the State must be recovered through the strongest and most direct legal avenue available.
“This matter must be approached first and foremost as a debt recovery issue. The Government is owed money, and the High Court proceedings already on foot must remain the principal vehicle for recovering that debt,” Hon. Sogavare said.
He said any investigation now underway may still be useful for establishing facts, tracing assets, examining official decisions, and identifying whether further action is required. However, he said such a process should support the Court proceedings and not distract from, duplicate, or complicate them.
The Opposition Leader said this is why Attorney-General Gabriel Suri must recuse himself from APID-specific matters connected to the investigation and the recovery process.
Hon. Sogavare said Mr Suri’s recusal is necessary not only because of his prior involvement with APID-related matters, but because he opposed the restoration of APID to the Company Haus register, which was sought in order to allow the High Court claim for unpaid royalties to continue.
“The Attorney-General cannot credibly be at the centre of an APID recovery process when he previously objected to the restoration of APID to the register, a step that was necessary to keep the Government’s own royalty recovery case alive,” he said.
He said that where the High Court had to restore APID so the matter could proceed, it would be wrong for the same official who opposed that restoration to remain directly involved in managing the broader APID response on behalf of the State.
“That is precisely why recusal is required. This is not about stopping the investigation. It is about protecting the integrity of the Government’s debt recovery effort and ensuring public confidence in the process,” Hon. Sogavare said.
Hon. Sogavare said the Opposition supports a process that is transparent, evidence-based, and free from avoidable conflict. He said conflict-free officers or genuinely independent persons should be allowed to oversee any supporting investigation so that the High Court proceedings can continue without unnecessary controversy.
Hon. Sogavare said the investigation should therefore be treated as a supporting mechanism, while the principal focus remains on recovering the debt through the Court.
“The best way to serve the public interest is to keep the Court case front and centre, recover what is owed to the people, and ensure that any investigation is conducted in a way that strengthens rather than weakens that effort,” he said.
He said the people of Solomon Islands are entitled not only to answers, but to results.
“What the country needs now is a clean, credible and conflict-free process, with the High Court recovery proceedings given the prominence they deserve,” Hon. Sogavare said.
He also reiterated his earlier call for Attorney General Gabriel Suri to recuse himself from matters directly relating to the investigation to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.
“It is important that the investigation establishes the facts and allows the evidence to speak for itself. Various allegations and claims have been made over the years, and in some instances individuals and governments have been judged before all relevant facts were established.
“We trust this process will provide the clarity needed to determine the facts, establish responsibility where necessary, and bring closure to this long-standing issue.
“Once the investigation is completed, we believe the findings should be made public so that the people of Solomon Islands can have confidence in the outcome and understand the facts established through the process.”
PRESS RELEASE
