Islands Business - Politics: GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP

Keeping leaders on the short and narrow

Lisa Williams-Lahari
Pacific voters know all too well that if the proof of a great leader lies in a great government; many of us would be starved of evidence.

Emmanuel Kouhota... watching the leaders.

While leadership and governance reforms in the Solomon Islands aim to kick some truth into that equation, the sighs of exasperation from his own senior officials were almost audible when Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare torpedoed diplomatic relations with Australia last month and expelled High Commissioner Patrick Cole from the country.

His reason? Cole was perceived to be ‘interfering in the politics’ of the nation for airing his views on the controversial commission of inquiry into the Black Tuesday riots which saw the burning down of part of the capital, Honiara.

Australia retaliated with the withdrawal of special visa exemptions for government high-fliers travelling to or via Australia.

Not surprisingly, observers are nervous over the impact of the expulsion on the critical RAMSI relationship which Australia and the Solomon Islands share, with pressure groups such as the national trade union, publicising their plea for Sogavare to reverse his decision.

Given his recent track records on thorny decisions, the unionists shouldn’t hold their breath.

The ranks around the Solomons’ leader already took a hit over his public tit-for-tat with his own outgoing Attorney General Primo Afeau; whose advice and subsequent court cases regarding Sogavare’s call and terms of reference for the costly commission of inquiry led to the non-renewal of his contract.

Then there is the fracas over Afeau’s replacement. A selection committee and local board would have the right to veto any political appointment and endorse a clear process. But Prime Minister Sogavare has already made it clear he wants Julian Moti, a lawyer who has roused the ire of local legal eagles. It was only a matter of time before information fell into the public domain that Moti, a non-Solomon Islander encroaching into talent-heavy local territory, was once brought before the Vanuatu courts on charges of having sex with a minor.

The charges were later dropped on a technicality, but their rather tabu nature comes at a sensitive time for a nation where those being paid from the public purse can be investigated for their personal indiscretions.

Rumblings over his leadership style continued with his links to long-time expatriate resident and political ally, Filipino-born Ramon Quitales. Quitales is said to have been a heavy financier of Sogavare’s Social Credit party.

The high-profile businessman whose name and influence are well known in Honiara lashed out at former politician Hilda Kari when she dared to raise questions on his proposed plan to set up a credit ‘bank’ with public funds.

None of the issues raised above will be resolved at any time soon—but it’s unlikely Sogavare is losing sleep over any of it.

His bullheaded stance on some issues and relative silence on others closer to bread and butter issues affecting his people is a public relations nightmare; with his press office going into overdrive to keep media statements flowing.

Some say the latest incident just reflects the usual sovereign bravado of Pacific Islands Forum leaders wanting to assert themselves either because of or in spite of the hand/s feeding them.

But others close to Sogavare say he could do with steering away from the I-statements and listening to his advisors a little more.

Not that they want to go the way of the Attorney-General and take their ignored expertise into the public realm; but with the storm of a possible no-confidence motion already looming, is Sogavare about to relax a little and slip back into the peacekeeping style which helped the nation through the Black Tuesday aftermath?

Now six months into his role as Prime Minister; commentary on his performance raises the question of just who Sogavare is taking advice from, if he’s not heeding those who are paid to do just that.

But six months is early days yet, and to his credit, more pro-reform legislative amendments aimed at lifting the Solomon Islands from the bottom rung on the economic, governance and fiscal reform performance ladder are being talked about.

Investment reforms are already making an impact in attracting overseas dollars into local business, with taxation and price control reviews part of a growing economic reforms basket.

On the governance front, leadership amendments are the latest tipped to join the reform list. The watchdog agency monitoring the Leadership Code Act of the country is a commission chaired by Emmanuel Kouhota.

The Act was introduced in 1999 and its secretariat set up a year later. But enforcement during the tension period was weak. With the help of advisers and pro-governance project funding via RAMSI, changes are being made to amend the Act and give it some teeth and boost the number of positions in the offices of the Leadership Code Commission.

Ensuring the commission is strong and able to work effectively in terms of upholding the Leadership Code is Kouhota’s key priority.

The code itself is an investigative journalist’s dream, compelling leaders to provide full disclosure of their financial affairs, including the finances of family members.

Gifts also fall under the disclosure section. The problem so far has been letting leaders know about this requirement, with the obvious need to train them in reporting on financial affairs and gifts.

Another problem has been the penalty. Most leaders would probably prefer to pay a 100 dollar fine (A$20) rather than face the mountain of paperwork involved in disclosure.

The larger part of the Leadership Code deals with heavier fines linked to misconduct in office, ranging from use of office assets for personal benefit, bribery and contracts, and neglect of duties. Enforcement and awareness raising aren’t the only challenges on the priority list.

A key change which Kouhota would like to introduce is a focus on the wide current definition of leaders, who under the Act are any employee on the public payroll. Kouhota wants to limit that definition to a more manageable scope—elected leaders and senior government officials, those with powers to exercise authority.

In the four years since he stepped in as chair of the commission, Kouhota has already noted a marked change in attitudes amongst the political leaders of the day. “When I first came in, the issue of leaders having obligations to report to anyone was unknown, and the requirement of financial disclosure was a novelty-now, more leaders know.”

Knowing there’s a watchdog out there with the power to prosecute you for not taking your leadership seriously is still not enough of a deterrent.

The commission has its hands full and is awaiting the appointment of a legal advisor, with five cases pending a court date at the time of this interview.

Kouhota says the work of his commission doesn’t just derive from the Leadership Code, but from the Solomon Islands Constitution, which covers corruption issues and the stickier one of ‘conduct unbecoming’—such as extra-marital affairs.

“In our constitution, the conduct of leaders is measured both in public and in private life. If it happens in the private domain but can be taken as demeaning their public position, we still go there and charge them,” he says.

Section 94 has been put to the test, with cases such as those affecting former MP Alfred Sasako dragging on past his defeat at the polls in the April 2006 election.

The commission investigated a misconduct complaint and fined him S$3000 (about A$600), which he plans to appeal.

While the leadership post itself may be transient, the commission is empowered to investigate any complaint as long as it took place during a leader’s period in post.

Complaints are plenty, but weeding out the frivolous ones based on personal vendettas and getting to the ones with substance, are something Kouhota welcomes.

“It’s quite difficult to get people thinking about corruption as something they should report to the authorities,” he says.

“They see it, they talk about it, and nothing changes.”

He says encouraging whistleblowers and complainants is a critical part of the leadership commission’s effectiveness.

“We can’t be everywhere, so we rely on people to do that reporting when they see corruption happening.

“We seem to have this culture of tolerance, where corruption is seen as the ‘victimless’ crime. People think ‘well it’s not hurting me personally’, and they just talk about it amongst themselves, nothing happens, and the corruption continues.”

Across town, Kouhota has an ally who is preparing to go on leave. Ombudsman John Pitabelama is eyeing the end of one contract and is mulling over whether to reapply for the post of Ombudsman of the Solomon Islands.

Like Kouhota, he is a watchdog—less of the moral kind and more of the transparency kind. The ombudsman’s team, also growing thanks to RAMSI support for better legal and governance systems, is concerned with rooting out ‘mal-administration’ from government departments.

While that language conjures up images of sick accounts clerks in search of a cure, the reality is that Pitabelama and his team are in search of more resources to help them with the workload they face.