31 Jan 2008

Solomons govt calls on former ministers to surrender access to govt houses and cars

7:57 pm on 31 January 2008

The Solomon Islands government says the failure of former ministers to vacate housing they are no longer entitled to means its forced to pay expensive hotel bills for ministers who have no accomodation.

The Minister for Infrastructure, Stanley Sofu says six former ministers refuse to leave their government accomodation.

Mr Sofu says that although some of the non-government MPs are still entitled to housing, they should vacate those houses allocated for ministers under the Prime Minister's housing pool.

He says former ministers are also yet to relinquish fourteen government vehicles.

"Currently, the former ministers, they are still occupying those houses. This is not good. The acting solicitor general and myself, we went further to sign an affadavit for a High Court order for the former ministers to surrender their vehicles and even leave the pool of housings of the prime Minister."

Stanley Sofu