{"id":1187,"date":"2015-08-26T04:45:03","date_gmt":"2015-08-26T04:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scriptorum.imagicity.com\/?p=1187"},"modified":"2015-08-26T04:45:03","modified_gmt":"2015-08-26T04:45:03","slug":"humble-beginnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/village-explainer.kabisan.com\/index.php\/2015\/08\/26\/humble-beginnings\/","title":{"rendered":"Humble Beginnings"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an exclusive interview, Manasseh Sogavare describes his long personal journey to the top<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Asked how he started his<\/strong> career, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare laughs wryly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI entered public service as a toilet cleaner and tea boy,\u201d he chuckles. It was, he says, \u201ca tough, rough beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I learned from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Mr Sogavare\u2019s example is any guide, there are few shortcuts in life. \u201cWhat I got is through hard work, and basically I worked my way…. I worked my way up through public service…<\/p>\n

in all my life in public service, I worked in the Inland Revenue division.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started as toilet cleaner in the Inland Revenue Division and localised the Commissioner of Inland Revenue post in twelve years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got all the degrees along the way, and all the promotions.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiles in recollection. \u201cThe people that I\u2019d salute along the way: \u2018Good morning, sir!\u2019 … the people with white socks\u2014these were colonial days\u2014I\u2019d welcome them into the building and direct them to their desk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree remained when I became Commissioner of Inland Revenue, and the role changed to \u2018Good morning SIR!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He snapped a smart salute, mimicking how they would receive him, and then allowed himself an amiable laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good feeling, after twelve years, that these people that I served coffee and tea… and cleaned their toilets… every morning called me \u2018sir\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018All the promotions\u2019 that Manasseh Sogavare has received in his career is a long list indeed. Enviably long.<\/p>\n

In addition to working as Commissioner of Inland Revenue, the Solomon Islands parliamentary website states that he has held the position of First Class Magistrate, Chairman of the national provident fund, Director of the central bank and Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Finance.<\/p>\n

But good fortune was accompanied by some harsh lessons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got sacked,\u201d he says bluntly, speaking of his two-year tenure as (not so) Permanent Secretary to the Minister of Finance, \u201cagain, for taking tough decisions for what I believe is right. I was removed because I had different views from the Prime Minister then…. [It was] over forestry issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing green from the administration, I wrote a nasty letter direct to the Prime Minister. And you don\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not twice anyway.<\/p>\n

He recalled saying to himself, \u201cI need to face this man… see eye to eye, at the same level. So I entered politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every success, it seems, has been sparked by a setback. Describing the time leading up to his first election as Prime Minister, he began with a familiar refrain: \u201cI was sacked too. Again, for taking tough decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Governing in the Solomon Islands in an unenviable task at any time, but looking back the crisis of state facing Mr Sogavare in his first days as Prime Minister\u2014indeed, in many since\u2014it\u2019s a wonder he still has a taste for the job.<\/p>\n

His recounting of the circumstances is a master class in understatement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were guns all over the place, and nobody would like to move on the vote of no confidence at that time, so I completed the half of the term, and got re-elected as Prime Minister.\u201d<\/p>\n

The turbulence of his various tenures seems to have washed past him, like water off a wave, but he allows himself a half-sigh when he\u2019s asked about recent rumblings in favour of Malaitan independence.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnity will remain a challenge. But what will happen tomorrow… well, that\u2019s for tomorrow.\u201d He chuckles momentarily, then is suddenly earnest. \u201cBut we\u2019ve been through this three times now. And if I haven\u2019t learned anything from 2006, then… I have myself to blame.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an exclusive interview, Manasseh Sogavare describes his long personal journey to the top Asked how he started his career, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare laughs wryly. \u201cI entered public service as a toilet cleaner and tea boy,\u201d he chuckles. It was, he says, \u201ca tough, rough beginning.\u201d \u201cAnd I learned from that.\u201d If […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8,10,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-journamalism","category-reporterage","category-soft-core","category-wonk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/village-explainer.kabisan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/village-explainer.kabisan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/village-explainer.kabisan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/village-explainer.kabisan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/village-explainer.kabisan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/village-explainer.kabisan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/village-explainer.kabisan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/village-explainer.kabisan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/village-explainer.kabisan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/village-explainer.kabisan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}