The Autonomous Bougainville Government Cabinet formally assumed their new ministerial portfolios today as part of the new restructure that sees the reorganization of the Bougainville Public Service.
ABG President Chief Dr John Momis urged the Ministers of his cabinet to collaboratively take control and issue directives that must be adhered to by the public service.
“If people do not want to adhere to the legitimated instructions by the ministers then I am prepared to accept their resignations,” the President warned.
“For too long we have been condoning underperformance and in some cases deliberate acts of insubordination from public servants who are consistently and systematically misbehaving within the Public Service,” President Momis said.
President Momis also encouraged his ministers to build a rapport with the departmental secretaries of their respective ministries to ensure cooperation and efficient service delivery.
The President said with Bougainville reduced to basic humanity during the Crises it is the responsibility of the leaders to work twice as hard to ensure the people of Bougainville receive good services from the government.
The President said the ABG and the Bougainville Administration must work together in a united fashion to project an image of a team that can confront issues and find solutions.
The Ministerial Portfolios of the ABG Cabinet in its present form stands as;
John L Momis Department of the President and Bougainville Executive Council
President
Patrick Nisira Department of Police and Corrections
Vice President
Rev. Joseph Nopei Department of Justice and the Principal Legal Adviser
Minister for Justice
Albert Punghau Department of Treasury and Finance
Minister for Treasury and Finance
Bougainville landowners say NGO should be ashamed
The nine landowner associations around the Panguna mine in Papua New Guinea’s Bougainville are mystified by claims local villagers oppose a return to mining.
The NGO, Jubilee Australia, spoke to 65 villagers and says many remain traumatised by the civil war, have not been properly consulted and do not back a return to large scale mining.
But the nine landowner groups say the research is wrong and Jubilee Australia should be ashamed.
Therese Jaintong is the chair of one of the groups, the Siokatei Association.
She says if they were critiquing why did they not check with the landowner groups, which have strong support around the mine site.
“That is our concern. If some people are speaking against us, we are hearing loud and clear, but the majority have spoken through the regional forums. We feel that we are doing everything right on the ground. We are not leaving any stone unturned. We are consulting with our people, widely.”
Therese Jaintong, the chair of the Siokatei Association on Bougainville
Panguna LO’s on Jubilee Report
Anthony Kaybing
290914
The nine Landowner Association of the Areas affected by the Panguna Mine have joined in the chorus to condemn the seemingly shallow report by Jubilee Australia.
The Jubilee Report claims that the voices of mine-affected communities ‘have been distant from recent public discussion’ about the possible reopening of the Panguna, closed since 1989 as a result of the Bougainville conflict.
The Report is critical of ABG consultation with landowners which Jubilee suggests have largely excluded communities around the mine.
The independent statement by the 9 chairpersons of the Landowner Associations supports a previous statement issued by Autonomous Bougainville Government President Chief Dr John Momis.
The signed statement by the 9 Associations said that the report “Voices of Bougainville: Nikana Kangsi, Nikana Dong Damana (Our Land, Our Future)” gives the implication that the ABG is forcing the Mining agenda without proper consultation with the landowners.
The report incorrectly refers to the Unite Panguna Mine Affected Landowners Association (UPMALA) which consists of nine landowner associations from the six mine lease areas which the chairpersons clarified saying UPMALA has ceased some 12 months ago and that there are 4 and not 6 mine lease areas.
The statement also question why the report was done secretly without proper consultation with the landowners association and the ABG to help gather accurate information to provide an object view of the research.
The 9 associations said the 65 subjects of the report whose views opposed the reopening of the mine are not anywhere near a majority and cannot be used to represent every single landowner in Panguna.
“This interviewees were not picked randomly so there is no possible way the report could be representative of everyone’s views,” they said.
Chair Persons are now calling on Jubilee Australia to apologize to the peoplf of the mine affected areas for presenting a wrong, misleading and divisive picture of what the landowners really think about mining.
The nine landowners are Bernadine Kiira, Chairlady of Lower Tailings Association, Theresa Jaintong, Chairlady of Siokatei Association, Jude Genu, Chairman of Uruawa/Rorovana Association, John Simiko, Chairman South West Coastal Corridor Association, Lawrence Daveona, Chairman Special Mine Lease Association, Lawrence Uakai, Chairman Bolave Fish Owners Association, Paul Tavuio, Chairman Mid Tailings Association, Michael Parui, Chairman Upper Tailings Associaion and Peter Miriona, Port Mine Access Road Association.
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