FOR MANY, the recent saga at the Solomon Islands Ports Authority (SIPA), the nation’s premier State-Owned Enterprise (SOE), is over. In a way, it is.
The man who created such devastation had finally obeyed the marching orders, initially given by his employer, the SIPA Board, subsequently endorsed by the High Court.
Now the real clean-up work has barely begun.
And based on what had surfaced thus far, it will take months to get to the bottom of what disgraced CEO, Colin Yow and his cronies had done to SIPA, financially.
The rebuilding will take months to even put the pillars in the right place.
Digging up the damage to get to ground zero has been placed in the hands of a Commission of Inquiry led by none other than Tony Hughes, the man who guided the nation’s financial system through regulations via the Solomon Islands Central Bank (CBSI).
Then there is the police investigation which members of the Criminal Investigation Branch have been conducting since Mr Yow had defiantly ignored orders to leave SIPA premises at Point Cruz.
Those close to the investigation say Mr Yow had several computers installed in the apartment he was using as his residence up to April this year.
Each computer was said to have been set up for each of the private companies which he allegedly set up in Singapore to handle SIPA payments for services.
Among them is the company to handle the payments for the 1,500 tonnes of rice imported from Vietnam through Singapore.
Then there is the other shell company that he had allegedly set up to receive payments for the new lighting system, ordered through an Australian living in a Melbourne suburb, Victoria, but paid for in Singapore.
Fortunately, the CBSI woke up just in time to stop the payment being wired to Singapore.
Internally, the SIPA administration under the interim oversight of NPF trouble shooter Mike Wate, the process of identifying the extent of the damage began last week.
Staff have been directed to begin a stocktake of the Vietnamese rice still in containers.
Three containers were opened at the beginning of last week – a 40ft and two 20ft.
Much of the rice has gone bad, unfit for human consumption.
Yesterday, a further eight containers were opened.
All but two bags escaped being classified as bad, unfit for human consumption.
A further 29 containers are still in the SIPA warehouse at the International wharf.
It is understood a total of some 50 containers are yet to be opened.
And staff have been instructed to complete the stocktake by this weekend.
What a waste!
Not that the contents would be any different in terms of the condition, but these are being counted to establish the true cost that SIPA had incurred in acquiring the rice for USD1,110,000 (SBD8,880,000).
These containers would be opened as staff have been instructed to start disposing of the rice.
Staff reportedly were told they were free to take them home if they so wish.
Some are urging authorities to allow the Ministry of Health and Medical Services to move in to ensure none ended up on the dinner plate.
The rice saga is merely a tip of the iceberg in terms of what Mr Yow appeared to have set his eyes on the moment he stepped off the plane in Honiara.
There was the noodle imports, the down payment on the seaplane, USD200,000 (about SBD1,520,000) I was told and so on.
The down payment could have been more.
The public has been kept in the dark because officials prefer to operate in the dark rather than being transparent and accountable.
Which raises an even bigger question – why did not the SIPA directors advise Mr Yow against his blatant disregard for statutory requirements in terms of SOE Administration when it comes to expenditure of public funds?
One can only hope the COI ensures accountability is not ignored.
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