Finance Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo says people who leaked his letter of nominee for the Solomon Airlines Board to the media have breached the country's State Owned Enterprises (SOE) Act.
This follows the leakage of an official letter, written by Finance Minister to the Solomon Airlines Chairman Bill Tyson, to the Solomon Star on Wednesday last week by a concerned citizen by the name of Andrew Fioga.The letter dated September 13, 2011, revealed Mr Lilo's preferred candidates for the for the vacant Solomon Airlines directors' posts as Richard Prebble, Baoro Koraua and Wilson Ne'e.
Mr Lilo says he was only acting according to Regulations of the SOE Act which stipulates that the Finance Minister provide his nominees for such vacant posts to the Chairman when vacancy does exist.
The Finance Minister says the leaking of information about his nominees to the media is a breach of the SOE Act. Mr Lilo says that it is unfortunate that it appears that the source "came from none other but the Solomon Airlines Board."
"And when the leakage of the minister's recommendations under regulations 5(2) got leaked out to the media, it's a very serious one, and it cannot come out from anyone except from the Board. It has to come out from the Board. So I would say that the leakage has come out from the Board and I would leave it at that point."
The Finance Minister also maintains his position that he will not step down until it has been proven that he has done something wrong.
"A person by the name of Andrew Fioga went to the print media and also on the television to ask me to step down. I say this to him I will not step down because you have not told me what I have done wrong."