National anti-corruption strategy (NACS) bill heads for the sin bin

THE National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) Bill – Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s second attempt at tackling corruption head on by way of legislation – is looking down the barrel of defeat.

Sources have revealed that Government MPs including Ministers are conspiring to vote against the Bill should it reach that stage.

“For now, it may not even get there,” the sources said.

“Prime Minister Sogavare is assessing support for the Bill in terms of numbers.

It is almost certain he would be forced to withdraw it,” they said.

The move comes as the Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet holds a series of workshops, which begins in Honiara this week.

The one-day workshops to be held every second day of the week are intended to educate senior public servants, private sector heavies and members of the public alike about NACS.

NACS is the product of five months’ cut-and-paste work by legal consultants and officials, drawing from similar approaches established in other countries under a United Nations’ framework.

It is a watered-down version of an actual Anti-Corruption Bill, which Mr Sogavare was planning to table in Parliament two weeks ago.

Lack of quorum forced him to withdraw the Bill.

NACS is a round-about-way of dealing with corruption, using amendments to subsidiary legislations in accommodating what constitutes corruption.

Many say the approach is a good one except that it lacks a “mother” Anti-Corruption legislation, which provides the critical links to provisions on corruption in subsidiary legislations.

They say they do not believe Mr Sogavare has what it takes to cause a vote on the NACS Bill because “he loves his job too much”.

“The most probable route he would take is to withdraw the Bill. Voting on it on the floor of Parliament has the potential for causing double defeat – for himself as Prime Minister and the government he leads,” they said.

Meanwhile former deputy prime minister and MP for East Honiara, Douglas Ete, along with Honourable Bodo Dettke MP, have reportedly resigned their membership of the Kadere Party, a coalition member in the DCC government.

Party sources said the two MPs have now joined the Independent Group in Parliament, led by Hon Derek Sikua MP.

“Their resignations of two weeks ago have left the Kadere Party with 11 MPs. It has bolstered the Independent Group membership to 5,” one source said.