3 Oct 2002

Solomon islands opposition leader says government lacks the will to govern effectively

12:19 pm on 3 October 2002

The Solomon Islands Opposition leader, Patteson Oti, says the Government lacks the political will to follow through with its stated aims.

Opposition MPs are scheduled tomorrow(thurs) to meet with an Australasian diplomatic delegation in Honiara to assess the government's efforts to restore law and order.

Mr Oti says he will make the point to the delegation that the Solomons public believe the international community has been too slow in coming to the aid of the Government.

But he says they blame the government for that because it lacks the will to carry out its own policies.

"That is absent. In the absence of that we cannot expect anything less than what the international behaviour mcurrently is. So I will repeat that you must tell the Australian and New Zealand delegation that you have come here to talk to the wrong people."

Meanwhile the Opposition's Foreign Affairs spokesman, Alfred Sasako, says the delegation needs to get out of Honiara if it is to assess the real state of lawlessness in the country.