Two months earlier (January 2017), leaked text messages between Prime Minister Sogavare and an official of Bintan were exposed by the Solomon Star.The text messages went viral on social media..The texts dated 15th and 16th November 2016 show the Prime Minister reassuring a Bintan official that cabinet was preparing to remove all tax exports on bauxite and back-dating it.The reassurance was made in response to a first text by the Bintan official who asked if there was any good news from cabinet on the matter.The Prime Minister added that:“The minister (of Finance and Treasury) and all of us (Caucus) are still tied up in dealing with the current political situation coursed (caused) by the President of the UDP and had Caucus whole day.“We are still solid as a group. I want to assure you that the matter will definitely come to cabinet this week.”The response from the Bintan official was swift.“Dear Prime Minister. Thank you for your information. I hope the current political situation can be solved by your leadership. Good luck and God bless.”Four weeks later on the 13th of December 2016, the Minister of Finance and Treasury issued a gazette validating duty exemption for bauxite exports and this was backdated to 1st August 2016.
bintan are about as sus as you get, all these licenses getting issued while the government is in caretaker mode, given the current gov is maybe on the way out.
How can you expect to go forward as a country when you keep this type of company.
