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An opinion piece by an anonymous contributor
INTRODUCTION
For the first time in history, the Solomon Islands held a joint General Election. This was after the 11th Parliament agreed to defer the event because it also had to host the Pacific’s biggest sporting event, the Pacific Games. A vast majority of the voting population registered in the Aoke- Langalanga Constituency have casted their votes in favor of four times Member of Parliament, Matthew Wale, on the 17th of April when the Solomon Islands held a joint National General elections.
LIFE AFTER ELECTIONS
Now votes have been casted, the winning candidates have returned to Honiara to join one of 2 camps to form the next government.
Matthew Wale also returned to Honiara to lead his camp and continues to lobby others to join him in expectation of electing him to become the next Prime Minister of Solomon Islands to lead the 12th Parliament, an unlikely chance for the Solomon Islander part American.
Matthew Wale, despite being a vocal Member of Parliament, has a low chance of getting the Prime Minister seat due to his narcissistic nature, a trait that most often repels others away from him, even those within his camp. I will leave the rest of the political analysis for others to do. As for most on the constituency level, after all the hype leading up to the elections and everyone having gone back to their normal life, life for most Langalanga residents will remain the same. They will still go through the same struggles they have encountered in the past, perhaps worsen.
As the dawn breaks for a new day along the eastern end of the Langalanga lagoon, despite the liquor ban that has been enforced throughout the country, one can still hear music coming from the Bluetooth speakers along the coast of Lilisiana as die hard supporters of Matthew Wale were still celebrating Wale’s election win.
Life for the common Langalanga person in the village depends on the cash economy because there is a lack of land available for gardening. The Langalanga men are hailed for their tuna fishing skills and they are responsible for delivering the Auki and Honiara residents with deep sea Tuna.
FISHING
For residents around the Auki Harbor, tuna fishing is a great source of employment and provides families with a source of income. This starts from the 2 fishermen who usually leave the comfort of their homes a few hours after midnight to travel the Solomon Seas in search of the fishing grounds to return in time for the working class to leave office and visit the fish market, to the father or mother who waits at the shore to unload the catch into trays, to the youth who makes time to clean up the fish and to another parent who will look after the selling. As part of the supply chain, these individuals are getting paid for their part. For instance, the young youth responsible for cleaning the fish and taking out the guts can usually earn $40 whilst the parent responsible for unloading the fish at the sea shore is usually paid a sum of $50 or given a fish for free. For that parent, the $50 is enough for a packet of rice, a can of tuna and some donuts for breakfast. Hence, if the parent is given a fish as payment, it is always very likely she will kick start again her fish cake market just to keep her and her family going.
It is evident how the local tuna fishing industry is beneficial to the people of Langalanga. When the market is good, containers of donuts, buns and rice balls lining the village road side are often emptied by as early as 9am or 10am. The betel nut stalls are full and canteen shelves are stacked with goods because the fishermen received a higher pay according to their catch and their families are able to repay their credits at the local canteens, the betel nut vendors and these families can also be able to have a proper breakfast apart from their usual tea and rice breakfast menu.
In the recent past, under his leadership, Matthew Wale had managed to purchase some 15 hose-powered Parsun outboard motor engine together with a boat supposing to boost the fishing industry in Langalanga but due to the size of the boat and low power of the outboard motor engine, they were used by individuals as sea taxis transporting people within the harbor at a cost of $5 per head for fare. Apart from a few individuals who have managed to secure a boat and OBM from other sources, only a very few of those who voted for Wale managed to own a boat and OBM engine leaving the rest of the population to struggle for their daily living.
SHELL-MONEY
The people of Langalanga are also well-known for and perhaps the only group of people who are still producing shell money. Every now and then, those from Guadalcanal as well as the Areáre and Lau region order women from Langalanga to produce for them their shell money.
The shell money being the local traditional currency for most part of Malaita is also one of the main sources of income for the people of Langalanga. The shells are either collected from the nearby seas or bought from as far as Western Province. The production and supply of the shell money has its own financial chain. From those who are responsible for polishing the shell discs to those who knitted the shell money, each person gets paid for their role in the production. Under the leadership of late Francis Saemala, a cooperative business existed and was responsible for purchasing the finished products from the producers and reselling them to the local market. This enables the flow of production and supply of the traditional currency and gives the producers an opportunity and an avenue for them to benefit financially.
The decline in support of the production of the shell money and the fishing industry has contributed to the low cash flow within the Langalanga lagoon region leaving the residents to struggle everyday to survive.
THE DAILY STRUGGLE
An obvious sign of the struggle among the Langalanga region is clear with what the people referred to as ‘thirty’ or as what the locals said, ‘toty’. A 30 centimeter length of strings of shells is usually sold at Auki town for thirty dollars to pay for a kilo of rice and other basic needs.
It is hard to say if under his leadership, Wale’s committee has a housing scheme to support his housing for his constituents. Lilisiana is only a stone throw away from Auki town and where the main sea port is but for every traveler to Auki will notice that the entry into the Harbor is greeted with leaf-thatched housing of which most are hardly being repaired for a while. Wale failed to provide the necessary materials and support for the already struggling families to build a proper shelter.
Hence, for the Lilisiana residents, during the bad weather, two of the permanent buildings in the village, the Catholic and the South Seas Evangelical Church (SSEC) buildings were often used as care centers for some families who couldn’t afford to repair their leaf- thatched houses.
THE WALE YOU (MIGHT) KNOW
Matthew Wale is hailed by many Solomon Islanders for his active stance on a broad range of issues and as the Leader of Opposition.
One that stood out most is the political and psychological games continuously played by him every now and then.
After serving his first 2 years in Government Matthew Wale, in comparison with his predecessors has been in the Office of the Official Opposition and will make history for being the first Aoke- Langalanga MP to serve most of his term as MP in the Government Opposition since independence, a record that for someone with a big ego like Mr. Wale is still a hard pill to swallow.
Matthew Wale made victory with a landslide win of more than 4000 votes casted and out numbering his former CDO David Filia.
Matthew Wale is widely known for his outspokenness on a wide range of issues and who is always vocal during parliament debates. Since entering the political arena, Wale has spent most of his terms in the Government Official Opposition leaving him ideally fit for the seat because of his outspoken nature.
A recent personal survey showed that the majority of voters in Aoke-Langalanga constituency preferred a Parliament representative who can contribute actively in parliament debates and who is vocal just like their past representatives the likes of Bartholomew Ulufa’alu, and Francis Saemala.
They however failed to see the difference between debating on the Parliament floor and leading by example in the constituency.
A recent documentary by the Human Impact Foundation was viewed by delegates at the recent COP 26. It shows Lilisiana, where a good number of Hon. Wale’s voters are currently battling with the effects of the rising sea level.
The few who decided to get out of the struggle have successfully managed to own a business in town and/ or find work to earn their living whilst the rest are left to either sell cooked food at the markets or do fishing as means for their daily survival.
Every so often after the votes are cast and life goes on for the villagers, very few loyal supporters’ promises are delivered with an outboard motor engine and boat, and/ or cheap roofing irons.
The others are left to continue complaining about their MP day in day out until the next election when their complaints are buried under the mat and their loyalty comes back again.
THE WALE YOU DID NOT KNOW
No one would ask why the people keep voting for someone despite being outspoken to the public but who failed to address the plight of his people.
Based on the low standard of living in Lilisiana, as people are struggling for their survival each day, to them, what matters most is to get by each day. The little $100 notes given to each individual are already enough for a struggling family’s day needs and that’s enough to get support.
Matthew Wale is very vocal and outspoken in parliament debates and other issues that deem to disrepute the ruling government and / or its leaders.
Hence, he failed to address the issues of his own Constituency. The common blame game between him and his constituency officials will continue to keep the constituents and their community at a state of real struggle.
It is obvious his interest is not in the development and betterment or the welfare of his people but to fulfill his crave for power, in this case, Prime Ministership and he has and will continue to do everything and anything to get that position.
His ego and pride has not allowed him to see the difficulty in having confidence even amongst his own grouping and followers. His best friend would not even want him to be PM. Matthew Wale has successfully got the attention and favor of many Solomon Islanders for his proactive and outspokenness on issues of interest to the people. As a public speaker, Matthew Wale is a very smart actor who has the ability to deceive his audience.
He knows the people are closely attached to religion, thus he uses scripture in his speeches regardless of whether he meant it or not, but he knows the people would love to hear it and relate to it. He knows very well when to exclaim and he can cleverly pretend to be sad or crying. Anyone who understands body language will know those are crocodile tears.
At one point he accompanied the then Prime Minister Sikua to see the effects of the high tides on the Lilisiana cemetery and the people had witnessed him literally crying like a child over the sight, another of his tactics to pretend to be a person with a heart for the people. Sad but true, he failed to return to address the issue.
He loves to say what the people want to hear whether it is the truth or not. Usually, after he got the attention of the masses, Matthew Wale’s next strategy is to assassinate and defame the reputation of his rivalries. This strategy gives him more power to garner more support from the people.
Sad to say, not every member of the public irrespective of their education or social status always gives themselves time to assess the information they receive because what they were told is what they want to hear, be it the truth or not and Matthew Wale is good at that. Having gained support from the masses, his next strategy is to use them to drive his agenda, be it through the media, protests and other means.
Like pawns in a chess game, without realizing, the fight is not theirs, the real agenda is not what it appears to be but to relieve Wale’s crave for Prime Minister.
The scary part is if he gets the top position, he will do as he does his Constituency, neglect them and keep them in a state of neediness to keep them coming back to him, voting him and the cycle goes on. Be it known that if anyone apart from Matthew Wale is the PM, we will continue to witness the occasional instability in the Government caused by the so-called outspoken Wale. It is time for all of us to wake up and see who the real culprit is.
Matthew Wale would not want to see even members of his own grouping become PM.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Langalanga must move away from the belief that being outspoken and vocal in Parliament or the media does not necessarily make one a true leader. Aoke langalanga must realize that a true leader is one that speaks the truth and one that sees the plight of their people and addresses them. Aoke-langalanga must wake up and realize that speaking out in Parliament is just a small part of the puzzle but being able to bring change within the constituency means the most.
Finally, as Solomon Islanders we need to unite together to move this country forward. Occasional instability only keeps the country at a stagnant position. Let us all wake up. Your fellow brother is the one you are fighting against but he is not the enemy. The enemy is the one causing disunity. The enemy is a wolf in a sheep’s skin.
