The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade (MFAET) has noted with regret a social media post and subsequent news article in the Solomon Star Newspaper of alleged non-performance by a locally engaged staff at the Solomon Islands Consulate in Brisbane, Australia.
The Passport applicant Solomon Islander Glen Lema, claimed local Consulate staff did not notify him about rescheduling his passport renewal appointment. His post on Social Media drew widespread criticism, mostly character assassination of the locally engaged team.
MFAET acknowledged the statements raised by Lema and apologised for not communicating directly with Mr Lema about rescheduling his passport renewal appointment.
In the process of passport renewal, the Consulate Office could only process applications when the Mobile Enrollment Unit or the Passport Process Mobile unit is in Australia. Currently, we only have a single team that is sent to Honiara with all biodata for processing of passports. Processing of passports is all done in Honiara.
The passport equipment is still in Honiara and is expected to arrive at the end of July or early August in Brisbane, Australia.
As a corrective measure, the Ministry, through its Consulate, will look to make a formal announcement whenever the Passport equipment is in Brisbane and when it is not available in the Consulate. This will allow us to serve all our people better abroad.
The Ministry, however, registers its disappointment with personalised attacks on social media at its locally engaged staff in Brisbane.
We remain appreciative of her services and will keep working to offer better services to our people. Once again, we apologise for any miscommunication and shortcomings in dealing with Mr Lema’s case effectively and efficiently.
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