Manele Slams Lilo Over APID Lease

Prime Minister accuses former PM Lilo of mishandling bauxite mining deal on Rennell Island, claiming it was signed under questionable circumstances.

Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele seized the opportunity during the Sine Die motion to attack Gordon Darcy Lilo, who recently moved a motion of no confidence against him in Parliament. In bringing the Sine Die motion, Manele raised critical issues from Lilo’s time in office as Prime Minister, particularly concerning the controversial mining lease granted to Asia Pacific Investment Development (APID) for bauxite extraction on Rennell Island.

In his address, Manele detailed the circumstances surrounding the APID mining lease, which was granted in 2014 during Lilo’s tenure as Prime Minister. Manele explained that the lease allowed APID to mine bauxite on Rennell Island, but the agreement was signed after Parliament had dissolved. It was backdated to September 5, 2014, three days before the dissolution of the 9th Parliament, raising concerns about the legitimacy and transparency of the process.

“The mining lease was signed when the government was in caretaker mode, and this raises serious questions about the validity of the deal,” Manele said. “It was backdated three days before Parliament was dissolved, which calls into question the transparency and legitimacy of the agreement.”

The 25-year mining lease granted to APID sparked significant controversy due to the timing of its signing. According to Manele, it was signed under Lilo’s government when the country was in a caretaker phase, meaning there was no fully functioning government to oversee such a substantial agreement. Manele referred to the signing of the agreement as “fishy,” emphasizing that the deal’s unusual timing and backdating were troubling.

“Something doesn’t add up,” Manele said. “The agreement was signed in 2014, in the last days of the Lilo-led government. The mining lease was granted during a time when the government was in caretaker mode, which raises serious doubts about its legitimacy.”

Manele also addressed the long-term consequences of the lease on the people of Rennell Island. He explained that, had the lease not been canceled, the local communities would have received no compensation or benefits from their natural resources for the full 25 years of the lease. “This would have been the legacy left behind by the Lilo-led government,” Manele remarked. “Had the mining lease not been canceled, the people of Rennell would have been left with nothing for the next 25 years.”

Manele shared that the Member of Parliament for Small Malaita, who was Prime Minister from 2017 to April 2019 under the Solomon Islands Democratic Coalition for Change Government, had received numerous complaints from community leaders in Rennell Bellona. The leaders expressed their disappointment with APID’s operations and urged the government to take strong action against the company, citing a lack of benefits for the local communities and the environmental damage caused by the mining activities. He implied Hou did not do anything to address the issues raised by the community leaders when he was Prime Minister.

“The government had to step in, and it was only thanks to the decisive action of the current Mines Minister in canceling the lease that the people of Rennell were spared,” Manele said. “Had the lease not been canceled, the Solomon Islands would have been deprived of the opportunity to benefit from this resource for the next 25 years.” APID’s mining lease was cancelled in mid-October, 2020 by the Democratic Coalition for Government Advancement (DCGA).

Manele’s remarks come after Lilo recently moved a motion of no-confidence against him, with the Prime Minister using the occasion to remind Parliament of the flaws in the previous administration’s handling of national resources. He criticized the Lilo-led government for its management of the APID lease and for failing to ensure the local communities benefitted from their resources.