MY request to meet with the Parliamentary Entitlements Commission (PEC) was preceded by a series of articles I have published on a number of issues relating to PEC determinations.
These articles include moves to remove the controversial MPs’ Tax-Free privilege, which The High Court initially ruled against. That decision however was overturned by the Court of Appeal, ruling that the PEC does have the authority to award such a privilege.
There was another article on proposed salary increases being awarded Members of Parliament come April 1 this year, consistent with the provision of the Constitution.
My article on the Discretionary Funds, which Parliamentarians are entitled to by virtue of Regulation 9 in the 2016 Parliamentary Entitlements Regulations (PER) tipped the scale.
Reg 9(3)(a) says: “Subject to the condition laid down in paragraph (b), members shall be paid a financial allocation – Members Discretionary Fund within their constituencies.
(3)(b)(i) states: “The maximum amount claimable by any one Member in any calendar year shall be five hundred thousand dollars as set out in Appendix (11) which shall be paid bi-annually (twice a year) to the Member.
(3)(b)(ii) says: “A Member is entitled to claim part of the financial allocation by applying in writing to the Clerk, setting out the charitable purposes, which must not include financing home loan (re)payments for any person and other information relevant to the allocation.”
The Chairman, Johnson Siapu, was obviously unhappy about these articles. In his view, the articles were unfair, prompting me to suggest that we meet.
We did.
Shortly after 11 last Thursday morning I fronted up outside the PEC’s Rifle Range Office in West Honiara. With Mr Siapu was the Commission Secretary, D Vagi.
As a former senior police, he displayed an aura of authority around him.
“I want us to discuss the issue of discretionary fund paid to Parliamentarians that we discussed yesterday,” Mr Siapu began.
“As far as the Commission is concerned, the issue is dead. We lost the case initially but we won it on appeal. I am warning you that should a further article appear, I will not hesitate to seek legal advice,” Mr Siapu said.
“I appreciate that. And that is why I am here. It is important we have an opportunity to clarify any misunderstanding on this or any other matter,” I said in my response.
“Mr Chairman, you are absolutely correct that the discretionary funds paid to Members of Parliament are a non-issue. It is legitimate and legal by virtue of Reg 9 of the 2016 Parliamentary Entitlements Regulations (PER),” I continued.
“But as you will appreciate the public has the right to know. The fact that the determination was never made public for their consumption perhaps contributed to why they are upset.
“The other factor is that the timing of the payment. Many parents are waiting on their MPs to help with the payment of school fees for their kids from the Constituency Scholarship Fund. When they found out that MPs started with their own payments, they were naturally angry,” I said.
One can understand why the PEC Chairman was a little uptight about the issue. He and members of the commission had gone through a lot when the High Court ruled against it.
“We had no choice but to appeal the decision,” he said.
Mr Siapu said that prior to the decision of the Court of Appeal being handed down on 14th October 2015, he knew all along that PEC had won the case. “Everything we did was based on evidence, the same evidence we provided to the High Court, which took a different view.”
On the question of whether the PEC acted alone in determining MPs’ entitlements, he said PEC’s decisions were always arrived at after the collective process of consultations has been exhausted.
“Our process and indeed our powers to determine MPs’ entitlements are provided for under Section 69B of the Constitution,” he said.
Section 69B (1) says: Power to determine the entitlements of the Parliamentarians and to amend them by yearly review shall vest in the Members of Parliament (Entitlements) Commission.
Section 69(2) says: in the exercise of their powers, the Members of Parliament (Entitlements) Commission shall–
(a) consider such representations as they may receive from persons or body of persons, within such time as may be notified by them
Tomorrow’s article shall feature important information that the PEC takes into account in determining entitlements of Members of Parliament.