Former sacked PS calls Bellonese administrators "leaches"



A pool of water in a recently dug up mining site by APID in West Rennell

The former provincial secretary of Rennell and Bellona Province, Willie Peseika has labelled the pre-dominantly Bellonese administration of the province as “leaches”.

Peseika made the sarcastic description, implying that Bellonese are sucking money out of the Province, in the Rennell and Bellona Province members’ only social media forum, where he had used the alias Agiki P Baiabe.

Rennell and Bellonna Islands are two ethnic Polynesian islands of the Solomon Islands, located in the Southern part of the country. The bigger island is Rennell and the smaller one is Bellona. Rennell has natural resources such as forest, bauxite mineral and the biggest free-water-lake in the whole of the Pacific Islands region. Bellona has phosphate mineral.

The two islands were given provincial status in June 1993 after years of negotiations between the political and traditional leaders of the islands and national leaders of the country – thanks to the leadership of former Member of Parliament for Rennell and Bellona Constituency, Joses Tuhanuku, in late 1980s to 2001 and former Premier of Central Province in the 1980s and later Rennell and Bellona Province in late 1990s to early 2000s, late Father Francis Taupongi. Both former modern day and traditional leaders are from Bellona.

But since the inception of the province, a minority group of individuals from Rennell Island, led by Peseika, has been consistently fuming that the senior administrative positions of the province had been often taken up by people from Bellona Island.

Such anti-Bellonese sentiment was recently articulated by Peseika, who was infuriated by a debate about his past role over allegations of corruption against him during his tenure as a former provincial secretary of Rennell and Bellona Province in 2013 - 2014.

He accused Bellonese in the forum of witch-hunting and failing to accept his explanation that the $4m hotel bill and other under table dealings allegedly involving him and his former boss and Premier Lence Tango, with Asian logging and mining companies, are none issue

Peseika’s anti-Bellonese statement is a new low in his history of consistently expressing a hatred of Bellonese, who were and are working in the current provincial administration headquarters of the Province at Tigoa, West Rennell Island.

Last month, he also accused Bellonese in the forum of looking down on Rennellese during a debate about allegations that a criminal plan by Asians with logging and mining interests in Rennell Island to burn down a rival company’s logging operation was foiled by bad weather.

It was alleged that a group of Rennellese and Malaitans were hired and sent by Asians to carry out the criminal plan failed to execute it due to bad weather. The speed boat out-boat-motor, which the group had allegedly used to travel from Honiara to West Rennell, was diverted to seek shelter in the neighbouring island of Bellona, due to rough seas.

But when the alleged criminal plan was revealed by a Bellonese in the forum, Greezer Pongi, Peseika came out swinging ridiculing Pongi for spreading false news and engaging in a conspiracy to discredit and smear Rennellese.

Peseika’s anti-Bellonese history could be traced to the fact that during his time as an untrained primary and later community high school teacher in Rennell Island during the 1990s until 2013, he has never been promoted to a leadership position.

It was only during the election of former Premier, Lence Tango, in 2013 that he was hand-picked to become the provincial secretary – the highest administrative position in the province.

But due to the downfall of his former boss, Tango, the national government sacked Peseika on the basis of professional incompetence, abuse of position to progress the investment interests of Asian investors and allegations of corrupt practices.

Since his sacking in late 2014, Peseika claimed that his removal was related to his decision to sue the national government over his claim that the process of granting the prospect and mining licences to Asia Pacific Investment Development (APID) was very corrupt.

APID is a logging company, initially registered in the country in 2005 and owned by Indonesian directors. But since 2010, APID enticed a Rennellese, Solomon Maui, to be its chief negotiator and middleman. Through alleged fraudulent and corrupt dealings with successive governments and provincial executives, it secured a prospect and mining licences within less than six months.

But despite the existence of the allegations, especially the trail of fake document used by APID to secure its mining permit, the former provincial government of Rennell and Bellona during Peseika’s tenure as Provincial Secretary, failed to challenge it in a court of law as a province. Instead, his former boss, Tango, and him, backed a rival company, Bingtang.

According to Peseika, it was on that basis that he had decided to take up a case in the High Court against the national government to nullify the granting of the prospect and mining licences to APID.

Peseika has also blamed the failure of past provincial executive governments of Rennell and Bellona and also the national government for ignoring corruption in the process.

He blamed former and current administrators of the province for the mess in West Rennell, especially the social instability that caused by Asian logging and mining companies, who are competing for the support of villagers and landowners in West Rennell.

Recently, the Public service Commission has reappointed former Deputy Provincial Secretary, Ruben Ngiumoana, to be the Provincial Secretary, replacing former acting Secretary, Adrian Tuhanuku, who is now becoming the Deputy Provincial Secretary.

Both Ngiumoana and Tuhanuku are Bellonese, along with Barry Saukiu, Provincial Police Commander and Dr William Taika Hatingongo, Director of Health, which infuriated Peseika. The Director of Education is from Rennell and the Treasure is from Lord Howe.

Peseika accused the above post holders of personal, professional and petty issues, mocking their appointments as based on unscrupulous process. But he failed to substantiate his claims.

He also dislike Bellonese going over and taking up menial jobs in the logging and mining industry in West Rennell, but has no problem with the huge influx of Asians and Melanesians to Rennell Island.

Despite Peseika’s overtone divisive accusation, he had forgotten that the people of Rennell and Bellona are an ethnic minority Polynesian community in the predominantly Melanesian nation of Solomon Islands.

The total population of Rennell and Bellona Islands is over 4,000 in a Melanesian nation with a population of 560,000.

Historically, Tuhanuku and late Taupongi initiated the idea of Rennell and Bellona Islands breaking away from Central Province and through hard work and hard bargain negotiations, they managed to convince successive governments to finally grant the provincial status of Rennell and Bellona.

The people of the two islands share a similar history through marriages, tribal, cultural, linguistic, family relationships and traditional ties.

 Note: Peseika, tau gogo koau maga piki ina pegea mai Mughaba ia Seth, tetatou former MP, kokoe ma Tohuika, te Chairman ote West Rennell Landowners Association, he’e maogi. Na hegeuga ki koutou maga tu’u taki atu kinai mu’aga koutou na pegea waka ina gahumanu mana community.