After funding was allocated for landing craft, difficulties in building Temotu Youth Centre remain

By Simon Tavake

The Te Motu Provincial Youth Council has expressed concern that the outgoing Te Motu Provincial Government has misappropriated $3 million in funding that was intended for the construction of the province’s first Youth and Children’s Resource Centre.

Council President Jack Medirka told SIBC News that, from what they understand, the grant is currently being used to purchase a new landing craft for the province.

He claimed that the grant was not used for its intended purpose.

“It is our understanding that the funds will be used for the Youth and Children’s Resource Centre.”

“Soon after the bidding process was concluded, we discovered that the previous provincial government had used the grant to pay for the landing craft without the knowledge of the Provincial Youth Council and its stakeholders committee,” he added.

Instead, the then administration informed the committee that they had signed an agreement with the provincial ministry to use the grant.

Of the total grant, $2 million was transferred to a shipping company as a down payment, and the remaining $1 million was used by 12 MPAs for allowances, travel, accommodation, and obtaining individual passports.

“We have been following up on this matter, making reports and providing them to the responsible authorities for further investigation.”

“If we find that these funds are not used for their intended purpose, we will treat them as ‘misappropriated funds’ by responsible governments and will continue to investigate further.”

“They only told us that they would repay the funds once the ships arrived and started operating,” the council chairman said.

The Temotu Provincial Youth Council believes that such actions by those in power are a complete disregard for the youth.

Since its establishment in 2010, the Youth Council has lacked a proper channel to carry out its projects.

The grant was initiated back in 2011 when the council and its stakeholders held a stakeholders meeting with the aim of building a youth centre that would be able to manage its affairs autonomously.

The agreement was finally signed in Rata in 2021 between the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs and the Temotu Provincial Government.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Permanent Secretary Dr Alependawa said the agreement demonstrated the national government’s commitment to addressing youth development and empowerment in the country.

He explained that the aid is in line with the social policy shift of the former DPP government to support the implementation of women, youth and children policies targeting socio-economic activities in urban and rural communities; and to strengthen and increase support for women and youth empowerment programmes.

The then Te Motu Provincial Governor, Clay Forau Soalaoi, assured the ministry that his government was committed to completing the project by the end of 2021 to provide the required space and resources to enable the youth of Te Motu to contribute to social and national development.

Temotu Provincial Youth Council treasurer Tropa Tika said the money was deposited into the Temotu provincial account after the handover and signing of the agreement in 2021.

He said the move was intended to provide grants to facilitate the development of the project.

“This is a sad moment for us, for the parliament and for the young people of Temotu Province. This was not a government-sponsored project; rather, it was our voices and struggles that prompted the government to fund this project.”

“The Temotu Youth Council has no office despite representing the youths of the province. This shows that our youths have no place in government.”

“This shows that our government has totally neglected our young people. That is why they do not want us to set up an office,” Mr Tika said.

One of the active advocates in the fight to establish a youth centre for the province was Mr Stanley Tehiahua, the then Provincial Youth Minister and now the Te Motu Provincial Governor.

He told SIBC News that his supervisor will look into the matter and resolve it.

“I have always assured my government that we will find alternatives and solutions to any issues left behind by the outgoing government and one of those is the youth centres.”

“My government, the Temotu Unity and Advancement of Reforms Government (TGURA), firmly believes that we will seek solutions and alternatives to reimburse the $3 million cost of the youth centre and ensure that the project is completed during our tenure,” Prime Minister Tehiyawa said.

The TUGURA administration also assured that they will assist the Provincial Youth Commission in further investigation into the matter.

Mr Medilka, the council president, said he was told by Temotu provincial planning experts that the outgoing government had already spent the money allocated.

In 2022, the national government, through the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, signed an agreement with the Temotu Provincial Government to purchase a $5 million vessel for the province.

The shipping project was implemented in response to a request from the provincial government through the Prime Minister during his visit to the province in 2020. Prime Minister Sogavare responded to the call and pledged to meet the request.

However, in 2023, the Temotu Provincial Government signed another support agreement worth US$2.5 million with the Ministry of Rural Development for the purchase of the vessel.

The ministry said the ship cost more than $7 million and TPG had already made a partial payment of $5.4 million.

The additional $2.5 million in aid will help the province fully procure the vessel and bring it back to the country from Indonesia.

As for the Temotu Youth Council, they have nothing left to gain but to become victims of bad decisions made by the previous government.

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