Dec 8 2014

PNG News: The challenges of fighting corruption in Papua New Guinea

The challenges of fighting corruption in Papua New Guinea

This is a truncated version of Sam Koim’s presentation made at The Australian National University on 27 November 2014. The full podcast version of his speech can be found here. Sam Koim’s visit was sponsored by the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia program and the Development Policy Centre, ANU. NOTE: Bougainville News Australian editor Colin Cowell attended

Sam Koim is Chairman of the multi-agency, anti-corruption body Taskforce Sweep and Principal Legal Officer at the Department of Justice and Attorney General, Papua New Guinea.

I would like to share with you some of my experiences in fighting corruption in Papua New Guinea. My story is not unique. Stories like mine are unfortunately replicated across far too many countries around the world. I have dedicated the last few years to combatting corruption in PNG. My journey, though dangerous at times, and uncomfortable and unpleasant for my family, has been personally rewarding in ways that I could never have imagined.

The challenges of fighting corruption in PNG

The challenges of combating corruption in a resource rich, communal, yet diverse cultural setting such as PNG, are multifaceted. Here I outline some key factors that make the fight against corruption in PNG challenging.

The first challenge is cultural. In PNG the big man syndrome – the perception that leaders in responsible government positions are beyond reproach because of their elevated status in society – shapes relationships. There is also a lack of national consciousness. Many people think in groups, such as tribes, instead of as a country. Because of our communal living, an attack on an individual is seen as an attack on the group. Sometimes corruption rewards the group, hence the group is ready to defend the corrupter.

Others believe that corruption is a behavioural pattern that always appears as a consequence of institutional failure. Yes, that is true. But I see corruption as a behavioural pattern built over time because of a lack of foundational, values-based education. Corruption is a human condition, and we have to study how to train up a child in an appropriate way to respect himself and respect others and their property. People must be taught to do the right thing.

PNG suffers from poor demand for accountability. Owing to the fact that the majority of Papua New Guineans are illiterate, there is little awareness of the public’s right to demand better goods and services. The public also does not have the information available to hold the government accountable. We need a Right to Public Information Act that would allow citizens to have access to public information.

There are also a number of legal issues that undermine the fight against corruption. The judiciary provides oversight to the enforcement of the law. Those who genuinely feel that their rights are denied or the process was improperly invoked can seek a judicial review of that decision: that is allowed under the system of justice we have. However, it amounts to an unnecessary interference in law enforcement when lawyers engage in legal ingenuity to fish for grounds to get their clients off the hook at all costs, regardless of the true facts. To compound the problem, the judicial process is long-winded and if the court has been misled, cases can be trapped in the convoluted judicial process, frustrating law enforcement.

PNG also suffers from a number of legislative gaps. There are obvious examples where public officials openly display the proceeds of corruption. We need an unexplained wealth legislative framework to conduct a means test on those public officials.

The fight against corruption is further undermined by structural weaknesses in state institutions. Political patronage is one of the factors that has, over time, weakened state institutions to such an extent that the line between the bureaucracy and politicians is blurred.

The PNG Auditor-General continues to produce report after report detailing the abject failure of the PNG public service to prevent misuse of public funds. The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee has noted in multiple reports that most of the public service now spend so much time and energy actively engaged in fraud and corruption that they have little time or incentive to actually deliver services at all. Quite literally, in some departments almost every officer is engaged full-time in attempting to extract public funds out of government accounts.

In PNG, there is a new trend whereby institutions of government, independent institutions, are influenced to abuse their own roles just to preserve a few individuals. That erodes public confidence in state institutions. People then resort to informal means of addressing their issues.

The structural changes required to address this situation requires a total re-think of the way that public funds are disbursed and services are delivered in PNG. Without a proper diagnosis of the causes of institutional failures, a new set of structural reforms that will subject the bureaucracy to more political control – including proposed reforms to allow MPs to appoint their own departmental heads – could be disastrous. Institutions of government need to be appropriately empowered with the necessary resources and skilled manpower to fight corruption.

Fighting corruption is difficult because of the complex nature of corruption itself. Higher levels of corruption, such as grand corruption, are complex in nature and need specialised skills to uncover. Sometimes the fight against corruption is a double-edged sword. When you uncover certain trends and deal with them, they can develop into more complex forms to tighten their grip.

Indeed, corruption flourishes in secrecy. Those who are aware of corrupt activities going on in their organisation rarely report for fear of reprisal. PNG needs, but is yet to have, whistleblower protection legislation in place. PNG also lacks a vibrant media with investigative reporting to utilise the freedom that is guaranteed under the Constitution. The growth of social media has now opened new opportunities for exposing corruption.

Corruption is also transnational making it difficult to address. Cross-border corruption and money laundering are becoming common, yet are rarely curtailed because of jurisdictional and sovereignty issues.

A recent report by the One Campaign suggests that the developing countries of the world lose a trillion dollars every year to illicit financial flows. All of which end up in banks and as assets in stable economies in the developed countries of the OECD. Yet in 2013, countries in the OECD only contributed US$134.8 billion in overseas development aid to developing countries.

We need support and courage

High-level corruption mostly involves politicians, hence fighting corruption requires genuine and consistent political support at the highest level in order to succeed. Fighting corruption is a politically-charged battle, which is won through genuine political will. In order to have trust in the political will, the provider of that “will” must run a clean government.

The fight against corruption cannot be successful without support from non-state actors. We need an independent and vibrant civil society, media and union organisations who provide unbiased criticism to corrupt activities. We need a group of civic-minded citizens who must rise-up and care enough to do something about the prevalence of corruption.

The fight against corruption must never be thought of as one-way traffic. Corruption does fight back. In ideal societies, you would expect that individuals who are the subject of corruption scandals will own-up and submit themselves to the established processes. But in PNG, we are facing ingrained resistance to accountability, whuch is adding another layer to the challenge.

As a result, fighting corruption in an environment like PNG needs not just consummate professionalism, but courage. There are two elements of that courage. First, we need courage to pay the price. Many people fear retribution, be it the fear of losing their job, perks and privileges or being alone or losing their lives. In a small country where the job market is limited, the government is the major employer and contractor. Those who control the systems may be part of a group: you try to attack a group and you become their enemy. Second, we need to be clean: the corrupt cannot fight corruption. They will dig your grave and hunt you to your tomb. If you have no skeletons in your own closet, you will not fear anybody.

From my experience, when you raise the anti-corruption temperature in a country like PNG it starts to make people uncomfortable. If the temperature is too hot and you get a bit too close to the sun, you get burnt. PNG needs more men and women of courage to stand up for their country, even at a personal cost. Honesty can be costly, but you have to stay the course.

God bless.

Sam Koim is Chairman of the multi-agency, anti-corruption body Taskforce Sweep and Principal Legal Officer at the Department of Justice and Attorney General, Papua New Guinea.

Dec 8 2014

Bougainville Government News: Budget obligations to Bougainville not met by PNG Government

2015 National Budget and Commitments to Bougainville

OBLIGATION’S NOT BEING FULFILLED BY NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

President Momis said today that he was very unhappy that the National Government had not fulfilled its obligations to Bougainville in the 2015 Budget. While recognising and appreciating a significant increase in the unconditional operating grant the President noted that the development budget contributions were at least K30 million less than was expected. Other factors including the slow payment of taxes by the IRC and the failure to increase the Restoration and Development Grant (rDG) will impact on Bougainville’s development.

Disappointing Reduction – Special Intervention Fund Grant reduced by K30 million

“At the Joint Supervisory Board meeting in early July 2014 the National Government and the ABG agreed to go to mediation over the disputed calculation for the Restoration and Development Grant. Our respective figures for the arrears of RDG and the annual RDG payment are a long way apart. However, at the JSB the National Government offered to pay K30 million of RDG arrears in the 2015 Budget. They have done this, but at the expense of cutting the K100 million Special Intervention Fund (SIF) grant from K100 million to K70 million, ‘said President Momis.

In February 2011 the then Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare and then Treasurer Peter O’Neill agreed with Bougainville to pay K500 million SIF over five years at K100 million per year. “This promise has been broken in the 2015 Budget. This will put the ABG in a very difficult position in 2015. The ABG has agreed with the National Government a number of large and significant projects using the SIF grant. All of these have started and most have forward obligations in to 2015. With the K30 million reduction in forecast funding the ABG will not be able to maintain the current project profile. Continue new phases of projects such as the Buka Ring Road, water and sanitation improvements in Arawa and Buka and the sealing of the Arawa to Kokopau Road and the Arawa to Buin Road will be impossible,” the President.

2013 SIF K50 million not paid

President Momis also said that the ABG also urgently requires the National Government to pay the second K50 million instalment of the 2013 SIF grant. “Contracts have been signed and project started on the basis that the National Government would meet this 2014 Budget commitment. These projects are all agreed with the National Government. There are no surprises in the cash flow requirements which have been with National Planning for months”

Disputed Restoration and Development Grant not increased – Mediation must start

While the two governments disagree on the RDG calculation the President said that the National Government should have increased the RDG in 2015 from K15 million, the figure for the last six years, to a much higher figure. “Even on the National Government’s own calculations, which the ABG disputed, the RDG should have been K43 million. This is a constitutionally unconditional guaranteed grant arising from the Bougainville Peace Agreement, said the President. “This leaves the ABG with little choice but to initiate the mediation which both governments agreed on. I cannot sit by and let the arrears mount at an alarming rate when Bougainville needs this funding for ts development.”

IRC payments

Under the Peace Agreement the Internal Revenue Commission is required to pay to the ABG all Group Tax collected for employees in Bougainville and 30 percent of GST collected in Bougainville. The ABG has received nothing from the IRC since July. The President has written to the Director General of the IRC Ms Betty Palaso asking for an explanation and for the urgent remittance to the ABG of payments that are due.

It is frustrating and troubling when these road blocks kept being thrown up. These are not new budget claims or new programmes. They were agreed in 2001. I have asked the Bougainville Treasury and Finance Minister to meet with his National Government counterparts to seek explanations for these events” said the President.

“As I have said on many occasions and will continue to say, the Bougainville Government is asking for nothing more nor nothing less than its entitlements jointly agreed by all parties to the Bougainville Peace Agreement in 2001. It takes the two governments working together to bring peace and stability to Bougainville and to maintain it.

Update

ABG finalizes budget planning

The Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) will convene in Arawa on Wednesday and Thursday this week to work on the ABG 2015 Budget.According to ABG Acting Chief Secretary Chris Siriosi, the Bougainville Budget Forum will involve primarily the leaders of Bougainville including the ABG cabinet, members of the Bougainville House of Representatives, Council of Elders…, District and Departmental executives.

“The budget forum this week is basically to allocate the budget to the priority plans that the ABG in consultation with the different levels of leadership had identified and compiled in the first budget forum held mid this year in Arawa,” Mr Siriosi said.

He added that the National Government and Bougainville’s various development partners have announced their budget ceiling for Bougainville which now leaves the Bougainville leaders and bureaucrats to determine allocation of the Autonomous Region’s 2015 budget.
He announced that from the 29th to 31st December, the Bougainville House of Representatives would be in parliament session to debate and decide on the ABG 2015 Budget.

“The passing of the ABG 2015 Budget will be the culmination of the work that starts tomorrow and ends on Thursday,” Mr Siriosi said.

Update 2

PNG’s 2015 budget – first impressions

Papua New Guinea must get public finances back on track if the country is to avoid macroeconomic instability and wasted resource revenues.

By the government’s own admission, Papua New Guinea sits at a crucial point: its public finances must get back on track if the country is to avoid macroeconomic instability and wasted resource revenues.

In July, the government released an unhappy report about the state of public finances. Poor or heavily politicised budgeting was expected to result in a budget deficit considerably larger than planned. The report said that on top of overoptimistic revenue projections, the better part of 1 billion Kina was at risk, expressing fears about LNG revenues being directed away from the budget, uncertainty concerning scheduled equity sales and questionable state-owned enterprise revenue projections.

Since then, the government has been working behind the scenes to pull things back into line. In an apparent effort to buy itself some time, the government quietly avoided publishing their regular Budget Strategy Paper in September, an obligation set out in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Now the projected 2014 budget deficit has reportedly moved to a much more respectable level of about 5.9% of GDP (K2.5 billon), more or less in line with projections laid out in the 2013 and 2014 budgets. Some serious work was needed to rectify the problems in the original 2014 budget. By this measure at least, the 2015 budget could be called a success.

But acute financial stresses are being felt.

But acute financial stresses are being felt. A recently leaked government circular illustrates the pressures arising from such a prolonged period of deficit spending. The document announced that the Secretary to Treasury was to ‘cease all warrant releases (except for personal emoluments), effective immediately’. The government is effectively asking departments not to commit to anything and give back unspent cash, well over a month before the end of the year. Behind the scenes, officials are looking for short-term solutions to cash flow challenges.

Longer-term solutions must rely on sustained political commitment to fiscal consolidation.

2014 Budget: Eleventh hour revenues and a spending jigsaw

Despite concerns expressed in June, 2014 revenues have managed to meet their original estimate in the 2014 budget, dragged over the line by an eleventh hour increase in some revenue sources. This looks to have been the result of hard work mixed with a dose of luck.

The Treasury’s concerns about a risky K600 million-asset sale were justified. It didn’t happen in 2014, nor has it been penciled for 2015. Given the risks involved, it’s hard to imagine why such as large revenue figure was earmarked for 2014–except to provide greater latitude for spending.

Less worrisome was the fear that all LNG dividends would be diverted from the budget. It appears that dividends are reaching the budget. Revenue in 2014 will be supported by LNG dividends worth over PGK 400 million. However, it is not clear, whether resource revenues are being diverted away from the budget., The lack of transparency around the UBS agreement still continues to cause a lot of uncertainty. To give faith in the good management of resource revenues require a much greater degree of transparency and dialogue.

Personal and company tax revenues were both doing well by mid-year –in part due to compliance efforts– but not well enough to counter shortfalls elsewhere. The Treasury was also concerned about the reliability of State Owned Enterprise revenues. Over the last few months the situation has changed for the better. Improved tax and SOE revenues reportedly added PGK 320 million more than anticipated, and have helped fill the hole.

Government spending is also expected to come in at a similar amount to original budget estimates. To achieve this, the government has done some serious rearranging to accommodate new items: PGK 204.3 million in increased interest costs, PGK 250 million for the South Pacific Games, PGK 60 million for Lae City Roads, PGK 75 million for National Capital District Roads and PGK 40 million for PNG power. This reportedly has been paid for by a savings drive. We know from the 2014 Supplementary Appropriation Bill that money was moved from various departments, capital and trust accounts, giving the government another PGK 1 billion to play with. Whether this is a savings drive or collecting money that has been unspent is unclear, but it has allowed the government to deal with overspend without deepening the deficit.

2015 Budget: looking ahead

In the budget books, Treasury has laid down the challenge ahead, noting that the budget situation is central to macroeconomic stability:

Recognizing that continues large deficits are not sustainable, the government has adopted to ease growth in expenditure to more sustainable levels…This will involve controlling expenditure and be assisted by increased revenues flows…reducing the deficits to sustainable levels will also enable the government to better respond to future external shocks

In 2015, the government plans to reduce the deficit to 4.4% of GDP. This is a larger deficit than previously planned, but it would put the PNG government on track towards a balanced budget over coming years. This will bring the debt to GDP ratio down to below 30% as required in fiscal plans. This is vital to avoid exacerbating borrowing problems and driving borrowing rates upwards.

Since the deficit has been left for longer that initially envisaged, greater cuts to spending are now needed to bring things back into line. The government is planning huge cuts in spending in 2016 and 2017. Planning two consecutive years of sizeable cuts and relying on notoriously volatile resource revenues is optimistic, to say the least. To implement this, the government must build political consensus around these plans. It will be hard to convince political actors to buy in to the ‘end of the expenditure boom’ as elections loom.

Pencilling in equity sales as revenues, as happened in 2014, was a mistake. In 2015, a huge PGK 2.5 billion from the sale of landowner equity in LNG is delegated to pay down debt. The government plans on financing the deficit through this sale to landowners. This will not be easy. Neither should it be rushed due to financial pressures. Yet if it is not possible to make this transaction, interest rates must increase and borrowing will become even harder, perhaps causing even more cash-flow problems. It is not clear how much the government can realistically pin its hopes on external borrowing. But they certainly cannot rely on the central bank printing press without storing risks for the economy.

Plans to cut the budget deficit hinge on decisions around the Sovereign Wealth Fund and the flows of resource revenues. The budget offers a good start with a brief update on the sovereign wealth fund, however, the veil of silence must be lifted to allow these issues openly to be discussed. In the four years running from 2016 until end of 2019 only about 4% of the resource revenues will be saved. The rest will be used to support the government budget and help the government to reel in the deficit.

The amount earmarked for saving may be too small, not only because little is saved for future generations but also because it doesn’t leave an adequate buffer for price fluctuations. The risk of wastage or misappropriation should be hedged against as well. In this budget, LNG revenues seem to have allowed an expansion in district programmes –likely controlled by MPs. This risks wasting resource revenues. More concrete plans for protecting resource revenues and earmarking specific amounts for investment are will be necessary if long-term stability is to be achieved. But the government has stifled these discussions through its silence.

PNG has made great strides in bringing the headline figures back into line. Cash-flow and financing challenges are likely to continue, however. More credible plans and safeguards are needed to protect natural resource revenues from financing waste. Presenting agreeable numbers is not enough; there must be sufficient political buy-in to deliver these plans.

Dec 8 2014

Bougainville Good News Story: What Rorovana has done is a good example of community engagement and equal participation.

The road that locals have maintained. Picture: The locals who took part in the maintenance initiative.

By Ishmael Palipal

THE Rorovana community in Torau has teamed up with its leaders to maintain their only access road from Arawa to the two villages.

According to their supervisor Raphael Moses, the road maintenance initiative started the previous week and is expected to be completed this week.

The work, organised by the council of elders (COE), was to involve the community and the youths to create a means of income for the unemployed.

This means that the funds allocated for the maintenance work by Central Bougainville MP Jimmy Miringtoro – about K200,000 – will be used to pay the locals who volunteered to do the work.

Mr Moses said at this time of the year, seas are rough and the locals, most of whom depend on the catch and sale of fish to earn an income, must resort to other means. He said the road maintenance initiative is one such avenue.

The council and leaders have decided that the money set aside for the road maintenance can be utilised by using the community to do the maintenance, which involves work such as bush and grass cutting, clearing, digging proper drainage system, patching and levelling portholes and muddy areas along the road.

“We see that most times when we hire contractors, they only work for the money and they do not do the roads properly; that’s why we decided to involve the community so that when they are working, they can at the same time take ownership of what they are doing and do it properly since it is the gate way to other services,” said Mr Moses.

“Also we engaged the unfortunate ones such as youths to earn an income.” Another local, Nathan Birio, said road infrastructure is an important service because through that other services will reach the people.

He said the government should look into this more closely and what the people of Rorovana have done is a good example of community engagement and equal participation. About 180 people volunteered to work on the road, including men, women and youths.

The volunteers were happy to give their service through the road maintenance initiative and urged the government to adopt such community-engagement initiatives throughout Bougainville so that the people can take ownership of government facilities and services in their areas. They said the communities will also stand to benefit from such partnerships

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Dec 7 2014

Bougainville Law and Order News: Police could pull out of Buin town due to no support from the local communities.

Story by Aloysius Laukai :Pictured is Snr Sergeant JOHN POPUI with his Buin Police Parading at the recent Tuiruma Festival

Buin Police could pull out of Buin town if a meeting by Buin Police personnel decide on their future today

This was the message from the Commander of Bougainville Police based in BUIN, Senior Sergeant JOHN POPUI. He told New Dawn FM in Buin that Police have been living in Buin under extreme pressure due to no support from the local communities.

Senior Sergeant JOHN POPUI made these remarks after one of his Police Officers was attacked by a group of men from a nearby village. The Police Officer got his left hand, leg and head sliced by a knife wielding man. The Police Officer, named was off duty and was attacked outside the Police Station and was rushed to the Buin Health Centre after the incident. Senior Sergeant JOHN POPUI said that he personally followed the attackers to stop them but they also threatened him.

He told New Dawn FM that the incident had nothing to do with yesterday’s launching of the Radio Ples Lain in Buin but those involved had gathered to witness the launching in Buin Town. Commander Popui also said that the incident also disturbed the broadcast of Radio Ples Lain in Buin and had to leave Buin in the early hours of this morning for Buka.

He said they were supposed to Broadcast for the second day today Sunday. The Police Commander said that the use of knives in town only happens in Buin town and not the other centres like Arawa and Buka.

He said this was not the first time his Police Officers were attacked by villagers and does not want to tolerate these actions anymore as his officers are also human beings who have families. Senior Sergeant POPUI said the communities in Buin must rise and condemn such actions that is threatening the rule of law and peace in the Buin District.

He said if Police abandon Buin town, the conduct of the coming ABG general election in South Bougainville could also be affected.

Meanwhile, New Dawn FM understands that the Police manpower decreased when the New Zealand sponsored Community Auxiliary Police project was transferred to the Autonomous Bougainville Government and funding discontinued.

Recently the Assistant Police Commissioner, Superintendent, PAUL KAMUAI called on the ABG to honour its commitment and pay the Community Auxiliary Police Officers who are doing policing in the communities. Ends

Dec 7 2014

Bougainville News:Bougainville will move its clocks forward by one hour on 28th December, 2014.

The Autonomous Region of Bougainville will move its clocks forward by one hour on 28th December, 2014.

A new time zone, to be known as Bougainville Standard Time has been adopted by the Bougainville House of Representatives at its September sitting. The new time zone is 11 hours ahead of Co-ordinated Universal Time, which means that Bougainville will be one hour ahead of the rest of Papua New Guinea.

The Honourable Wilfred Komba, Minister for Commerce and Tourism, told the House of Representatives in September that it has been felt that the Bougainville region was disadvantaged by being part of the National Time Zone. “As a result Sunrise and Sunset times in Bougainville are earlier than most people would like”. He said.

The change will happen at 2 am on 28th December, when all clocks in the Bougainville region will move forward to 3 am.

Minister Komba said that this date has been chosen because the period between Christmas Day and New Year is generally a quite one for most people.

From that date onwards, when it is noon in Bougainville, it will be 11:00 am in the rest of Papua New Guinea.

Bougainville will be in the same time zone as Solomon Islands said the Minister.

Visitors coming to the Autonomous Region of Bougainville by Air and Sea are required to forward their watches by 1 hour, to meet the Bougainville Time.

Meanwhile, New Dawn FM will broadcast up until 2AM to make sure it announces the change which is another history in a making for Bougainville.

The Minister will be invited to the studio to make that announcement at 2AM on Sunday 28th December, 2014.

Dec 4 2014

Bougainville “good news” Story: 2014 has been a very progressive year for Central Bougainville

The current government’s free education policy has seen increase in the number enrolments at schools around Central Bougainville. Numbers of schools are also on the increase and this means that more money must continue to put into education every year. Bougainville has missed out on education during the crisis and we have to bridge the gap created when children could not go to school during the troubled period.

What we need is a broader based economy instead of just relying on extractive industries that may run out one day. One of the biggest assets Bougainville has is its people who are creative and innovative. This is why there must be emphasis in putting a lot of money into education.

Picture above : A new classroom building funded by member for Central Bougainville, Jimmy Miringtoro at Raiovi Primary School Wakunai District, Our thanks to Chris Baria for assistance with this article

Good things ahead-On the Sunny Side

This year 2014 has been a very progressive year for Central Bougainville. The region started the year on a positive note with the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O’Neill visiting all three regions of Bougainville including Central. During his visit he made a commitment to the people of Bougainville to fund high impact projects, several of which are in Central Bougainville.

These are the water and sanitation restoration for Arawa Town, the Aropa Airport re-opening and the other major project is of course the sealing of Bougainville Coastal Trunk from Buka to Buin.

This is a clear indication of commitment that the National Government with the support our four Bougainville MPs has a strong desire to see the Autonomous Region of Bougainville prosper in the coming years.

We have come a long way since the peace agreement was signed and there is a lot to be done as yet for Bougainville to achieve what was agreed to in the peace process. In Central Bougainville we have devoted a lot of time and money in improving education by providing more classrooms to accommodate ever increasing number enrolments in schools in the bid to bridge the gap left by the Bougainville crisis.

Education is one of the priority sectors that the government is putting money into along with Health, Infrastructure Development, Law and Order and Business Development. Health centers and aid-posts are also receiving funds from my electoral office. The police in Arawa have benefited from a vehicle allocation from the office of Member for Central as part of his community efforts to enhance the law and order sector. Funding has also been made available to the local Business Association as a form of assistance to grow small businesses in Central Bougainville.

Rural Communications Project and Integrated Government Information System (IGIS)

The government has already rolled out a rural communications project. You many have noticed new towers set up in areas that were not formerly serviced by mobile phone network. By the end of 2015 the government hopes that Bougainville will have more than 50% mobile network coverage that will include data, Internet and telephony. By 2016 Bougainville should have 100% mobile network coverage including remote and rural locations, which are not service by roads.

The main aim of the Rural Communications Project is to provide access to telecommunications and other ICT services including TV, internet, FM Radio and Data storage and transmission to rural and remote locations that lack these services.

The government has also established the “integrated government information system” or IGIS for short. This is the forerunner of e-government for Papua New Guinea. Under this ICT infrastructure all government departments and divisions will be interlinked through a computer network, which also has a data bank. This will prevent duplication and enable data and information sharing with ease.

Information can be stored at central location where those who need it and/or if they require it. The Rural Communication Project roll out will establish communication network that will become integrated into IGIS and link up all local level governments with the main government network and data center. This will mean that leaders will have to be more transparent in their work because the people will be able to monitor their performance online through IGIS.

Supporting sustainable development

Papua New Guinea is heavily reliant on logging, minerals, oil and gas for its revenue generation. These industries while they may bring economic boom to a country do have large problems associated with them and for one thing they are non-renewable, and finite and therefore unsustainable. Central Bougainville has had its taste of mining activity during the 70s and 80s.

Kindles a revolutionary literacy tool in Bougainville schools

In another first for Central Bougainville and in fact Papua New Guinea,James Tanis (former Bougainville President) has established Book-Gain-Ville E reader Revolution in a number of schools in Central Bougainville including Nariana, St. Judes Pok Pok Island, Dareenai Kavearonau and Piruana .

It was launched as an initiative to improve literacy throughout Bougainville.

Each Kindle can hold up to 1,400 books and by the end of 2014 there will over 50 kindles in 11 Bougainville schools. To date there has been no government support but hopefully in 2015 with the support of Government and NGO’s more schools can get these E reader libraries

See Website for more details or make a donation http://www.bookgainville.com/

Government Development Priorities

As part of its continuing commitment the National Government development policy covers five development sectors, which are in, line with its Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP). These are also applicable to Bougainville. These sectors are Health, Education, Infrastructure, Law and Order and Small Business. In line with this plan Bougainville MPs have funded a number of health facilities. In Central this includes Manetai and Wakunai Health Centres and a number of village level aid posts in the rural communities.

In the health sector, the office of MP for in Central has also funded ambulances to all major health centres in Central Bougainville. More money has been spent on building classrooms and other school infrastructure to cater for the increase in the number of enrolments over the years.

With regard to infrastructure, considerable amount of money is being used on feeder road maintenance including, for the first time a new road into remote and densely populated area in Paruparu previously inaccessible by road. A considerable level of funds has also allocated to restoration of Aropa Airport, which is about to be opened soon. PNG Power also received funding to provide power to Arawa town, Kieta port and to the new Kieta Distict entre in Toniva. Up to K1million has been committed to the Central Bougainville Business Association to assist small business in the region.

Looking ahead

Children are our future

Lot of work has been done to provide much needed infrastructure such as roads, schools, and of course the soon be reopened Aropa Airport. Services such as health and education continue to more draw more funds from the government through my electoral office and the treasury.

A lot more needs to be done to improve current services and to build more roads and schools. The government is ready to help out in anyway it can. However, there are certain areas where the community can contribute to the development process. For example, in order for feeder roads to last longer, drains need to kept clear of debris and grass has to be cut along the roadside. A little preventive maintenance can make a lot of difference.

Same goes for schools. Parents and community must devote sometime to do maintenance work, cleaning and grass-cutting in the school areas. The community must help to look after what the government has provided for them. The government cannot be expected to do everything. In order for us to move ahead it requires joint effort by all.

Dec 4 2014

Bougainville Mining News: Momis continues “ethic” attack on Australian research

“Jubilee Australia claims to be a body undertaking ‘scientific research’. Any scientific research body must adhere to strict ethical standards when planning, carrying out, and reporting on its research.

“Jubilee and its partners were researching sensitive issues in Bougainville’s complex post-conflict situation. The research, and Jubilee’s report, involve serious risks, not just for those being interviewed, but for the wider Bougainville community. By taking sides on complex, divisive issues, Jubilee has added to sources of division and conflict

President Momis raising new issues about Jubilee : Pictured above with PNG PM Peter O’Neil on a visit to Panguna earlier this year

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MOMIS QUERIES JUBILEE AUSTRALIA’S RESEARCH ETHICS

The President of the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) has raised new questions about research about Bougainville undertaken by Australian NGO, Jubilee Australia. Jubilee’s report was released in Australia in September.

On the basis of interviews with just 65 people selected because they opposed resuming mining at Panguna, Jubilee claimed that the Panguna mine affected communities as a whole were also opposed to mining. But as President Momis has pointed out, there are between 10,000 and 15,000 people in those communities, a majority supporting resumption of mining.

BOUGAINVILLE MINING LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS DEVELOPMENT

Presentation to the people of Bougainville

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BOUGAINVILLE Policy Act and Regulations Presentation to landowners

In a series of three letters to Jubilee in September, October and November, President Momis has criticised the report. He questioned research methodology used, false claims made on the basis of interviews with a tiny selected group of opponents of mining, many serious factual errors in the report, and the track record of opposition to BCL and Rio Tinto on the part of Jubilee Australia’s research partners, Kristian Lasslett and the Bismarck Ramu Group.

The President was especially critical of Jubilee’s failure to at any time communicate with the ABG or Panguna landowner associations about the research – failing even to seek ABG views on a draft of the report before it was published. He agreed with an Australian academic who criticised Jubilee as involved in advocacy, not research.

Today President Momis raised new issues about Jubilee and its research. He said:

It has undermined the carefully considered efforts of the democratically established ABG to build consensus amongst divided Bougainvilleans on the difficult issues involved in choices on mining.

“If Jubilee had been adhering to proper ethical research standards, they would not have intervened in this complex situation, and taken sides. They would not have rejected having any form of communication with the ABG and landowner associations.

“Jubilee Australia’s website claims that their research program is overseen by a Research Centre Advisory Committee comprising ‘leading Australian academics’, which they say strengthens Jubilee’s ‘capacity for rigorous, academic based research’. Such a Committee should surely play the most important role of setting and overseeing Jubilee’s research ethics.

“But it now emerges that a member of that six member Advisory Committee who had extensive knowledge of PNG was never informed by Jubilee about the research. This fact may help explain Jubilee’s use of badly flawed research methodology. It raises serious questions about how Jubilee ensures that its research adheres to the highest standards of research ethics expected of a ‘scientific research’ body.

“I have today written to Jubilee’s Board, asking when they will respond to the issues raised in my two most recent letters to them about their report (dated 26 October and 2 November). But in addition I have raised serious questions about how Jubilee ensures that proper standards of research ethics are met, so that its otherwise well-intentioned work does not descend into advocacy of particular unsubstantiated viewpoints.

“I have further asked how Jubilee can be held accountable in terms of their ethical standards. Jubilee is an Australian NGO working on international development issues. Most such NGOs are members of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), which administers a complaints process that can handle queries about NGO research ethics.

“But from the list of members appearing on the ACFID website, it appears that Jubilee is not a member of ACFID. If so, the ABG cannot seek to hold Jubilee accountable through ACFID. I am questioning Jubilee’s board as to whether it is open to being held accountable by independent bodies.

“I have further asked Jubilee to advise whether any non-citizens who have been in PNG at any time to undertake this research have held the research visas required under PNG law.

President Momis concluded:

“The ABG welcomes thorough research, and well-informed criticism. But it expects outside research bodies, in particular, to observe the highest standards and principles. In this case, there are grave doubts about many aspects of what Jubilee has done.

“Further, Jubilee has shown little willingness to be in communication with the democratic government of Bougainville. Their one communication with us in the more than two years they have been doing their Bougainville ‘research’ was a letter in late October stating that my criticisms of their report were ‘without basis’. I now call on Jubilee’s Board to engage with the ABG in relation to the serious questions that we are asking, both in today’s letter, and my letters of October and November.”

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Dec 1 2014

Bougainville News: Bougainvillean businesses feel the sting of an Asian takeover

” Soon we will see more Bougainvillean businesses leaving the scene because they cannot stand the might of all these Asian operations.”

LUKE Maneu of Siwai in south Bougainville

Our thanks to LEONARD FONG ROKA for this report

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LUKE Maneu of successfully operated a retail outlet in Buka Town from 2009 until 2011, when the Asian influx and affected his operations leading him to venture into other businesses including operating a PMV service and a guesthouse.

“Bougainville is such a small place that needs us, the indigenous people, to be in charge of development in terms of business and other economic activities,” Luke told me.

“The ABG and our MPs in the national government should be the ones pushing the laws and systems to create an environment conducive for the localisation of all cottage industries.

“With the Asian entry into Buka Town,” he added, “my business was harmed along with other businesses owned by fellow Bougainvilleans. Customers left us for the cheaper Asian goods.

“Our shops are said to be expensive because we do not have an entrepreneurial or business culture.

“Thus we are learners who need time and government input to make things right for our services to the Bougainvillean public,” Luke said.

“‘I am moving into other areas to save myself from succumbing to the Asian takeover. I am safe for the time being.”

To Bougainvillean businesses time is not with us. Soon we will see more Bougainvillean businesses leaving the scene because they cannot stand the might of all these Asian operations.’

After talking with Luke, I visited a few other Bougainvillean business houses – Wedelyne, JN Trading, TM Trading, Haput Clothing, Maia Clothing and Evokong. They all shared the same fear.

Asian operations are competing aggressively and taking over business activities they have been involved in.

“We heard that the ABG was inviting Asians to work in multi-million kina impact projects like the Torokina oil palm,” Chris Haput of Haput Clothing told me.

“But we were amazed to see them setting up tiny retail booths everywhere.

“From one or two booths they spread all over Buka Town, grabbing and renting large buildings from Buka people.”

Haput Clothing operates next to one of the many Asian BCM Trading retail outlets legally owned by a Siwai lady, Mary Lyn, who is a second wife of a Chinese named Lyn.

“Mary Lyn is our neighbour and best friend,” said Nathan Haliken of JN Trading. “She knows Asians wants to make money in Bougainville and, despite being the legal director, she has not much power over the BCM trading retail outlets spreading around Buka Town.”

Evokong and Maia Clothing, both originally from Kieta, have a business presence in Buka and Arawa and admitted their operations in Buka Town had shrunk in terms of daily takings in the face of cheaper goods offered by the Asian business operations.

Wedelyne, a local Buka business, were emulating Luke Maneu’s survival strategy and had ventured into PMV and taxi services and a retail outlet.

Many Bougainvillean businesses, whether owned by Buka islanders or Bougainville mainlanders, feel operating in Buka is not worth it and are starting to move to the mainland.

Here, Asians were invited but, if seen to be going off-track, they were kicked out.

At Toniva near Kieta, Asian businesses have already faced a first wave of attacks by locals and reports suggest there may be worse to follow.

Last weekend Asians in Buka Town, warned that certain businesses were targeted for attack by disgruntling locals, organised for police surveillance at BCM Trading.

The story around town is that the Buka Police has been penetrated by Asian tycoons.

Anti-Asian feeling is growing amongst Bougainvillean business houses and ordinary people in Buka. Time will tell us the next move.

Dec 1 2014

Bougainville Investment Opportunities : Investment development must provide for local aspirations and interests

“Cocoa grown in Bougainville is know to be of very high quality and there is local knowledge gained from years of growing but little capital to invest for processing the raw materials which are generally shipped overseas.”

Investment Opportunities

The Bougainville Responsible Investment Framework is a new approach to economic development that provides for the values and aspirations of the people of Bougainville whilst protecting the interests of future investors. The framework addresses the concerns of the past, strengthens existing processes, and was developed by Bougainvilleans for Bougainville. Through the consultation period it was clear that:

Bougainvilleans want investment but they want to be actively involved;
They want good partners to work with and learn from;
They want those partners interests provided for and looked after; and
They want investment development to provide for local aspirations and interests.

Below are some examples of investment areas. This is not an exhaustive list but rather a demonstration of existing sectors in Bougainville that would benefit from investment and development.

About the Bureau and Contact Click here for website

The Bougainville Inward Investment Bureau (BIIB) is a statutory body established by the Bougainville Inward Investment Act to screen, processes, assess, and make decisions or recommendations on investment proposals coming into Bougainville based on the principles of Responsible Investment.

Functions of the Bureau include:

Providing advice on the ABG’s policy and procedures;
Dealing with enquiries by investors;
Processing applications by inward investors;
Assessing investment applications;
Making recommendations to the Board about the applications;
Supporting the Board when it makes recommendations to the BEC;
Providing advice via the Board to the Minister of Commerce and the BEC about the ABG’s investment policies and processes;
Maintaining close working linkages with other ABG Divisions;
Maintaining a close working linkage with the Investment Promotion Authority;
Monitoring and evaluating investors operating in Bougainville;
Promoting Bougainville as an investment destination; and
Community awareness.

Tourism

Bougainville is known for adventurous, off the beaten track travel. It is also extraordinarily beautiful, as shown in the movie Mr Pip which was recently filmed there. Bougainville has rich biodiversity and traditional cultures dating back more than 30,000 years. The region also has a fascinating recent history involving World War II and the Bougainville Crisis. Bougainville is a unique travel destination, please look at the new Bougainville Tourism website for more information.

Cruise ships are now visiting Bougainville

Travellers worldwide are looking away from package holidays and choosing instead to explore previously untouched regions. Bougainville is safe and the tourist industry is expected to grow. There are local providers of tourism activities such as trekking, nature walks and village visits, although tourist infrastructure is minimal. Both would benefit from investment along with new investment opportunities such as big game fishing, diving ventures and history tours.

Local Tourism Operator

Fisheries

Bougainville has a clean and bounteous aquatic environment. Fishing within three nautical miles of shore is reserved for local villages, although there could be development opportunities through local partnerships. Tuna are plentiful although fishing rights are regulated by the National Fishing Authority, PNG. Bougainville does not have commercial fishing fleets nor any onshore processing of fish caught in Bougainville waters. Opportunities exist in improving port and wharf infrastructure, fishing ventures, and onshore processing.

Bougainville has invested in commercially growing seaweed. The seaweed being grown in is Eucheuma cottonii, common name for Kappaphycus alvarezii, a carrageenan producing seaweed. Carragennan is an ingredient in many foods and gel-like products, and even has applications in biochemistry. It is used mostly as a thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier, as well as a fresh, whole food source.

Mining

Mining was once the backbone of the economy. The Panguna mine in Central Bougainville used to be the largest open pit copper mine in the Southern Hemisphere. A moratorium has been in place for mining since the Bougainville Crisis but there are positive moves in this sector with negotiations taking place to re-open the mine and the ABG is developing its own Mining Act. There are other mining opportunities within Bougainville; limestone was previously mined and exported pre-Crisis and the market still exists and artisanal alluvial gold mining is a significant local industry.

Agriculture

This sector of the economy is dominated by two export markets – cocoa beans and copra (the dried kernel of a coconut from which coconut oil is made) – although most crops will grow in Bougainville. Coconuts and cocoa are grown extensively in small scale, locally owned plantations. Large plantations were very productive pre-crisis but these are mostly abandoned and run-down now. Opportunity exists to revive the large Plantations. Cocoa grown in Bougainville is know to be of very high quality and there is local knowledge gained from years of growing but little capital to invest for processing the raw materials which are generally shipped overseas. There are many potential opportunities to add value to coconut and develop products such as virgin coconut oil, coconut sugar and biofuel.

Livestock Development

There are numerous opportunities to start or grow existing food production in Bougainville. The Division of Primary Industries has identified cattle, pig, poultry, ducks, on-land fish farming, goats and rabbits as having potential for protein production. The main sources of protein in Bougainville, however, are fish and chicken. Most of Bougainville’s chicken, eggs and baby chicks for future production are imported. There are opportunities here to meet local demand with locally produced chicken and eggs.

Manufacturing

Currently, there is no medium to large scale manufacturing taking place in Bougainville. There is small scale manufacturing of handicraft and furniture, as well as coconut oil. Larger scale production of coconut oil is on the horizon with a production plant near completion, and there is a near complete biodiesel plant in Arawa. As of January 2014 the first of 10 new warehouses is opening in Toniva, near Kieta. Toniva Industrial, Chinese owned, is building the warehouses to then lease out for manufacturing and industrial use. Opportunities will increase in this sector as infrastructure and power generation continue to improve. There are two hydro power generation facilities being built on Bougainville Island.

Transport, Infrastructure and Technology

Bougainville is still rebuilding from the Crisis, there are significant opportunities to assist with infrastructure development and introduction of technology to make life easier here. Of particular relevance are affordable permanent homes, roading, air and sea ports, and power generation.

Nov 28 2014

Bougainville’s White Ribbon campaign to “Stop Violence Against Women”

BY JENNIFER NKUI

Women in Bougainville came together today to commemorate ‘White Ribbon Day’ and also to make their stance against ‘Violence against Women and Girls’.
The day’s programme started this morning at around 8:30am with a white ribbon breakfast at the Kuri Village Resort in Buka Town and a march from the resort through the streets of Buka Town to the Bel Isi Park where the official programme to commemorate the day was held.

The march against violence against women was led by the three women members of the ABG House of Representatives, the ABG health minister Rose Pihei, member representing the women of North Bougainville Elizabeth Burain and member representing the women of Central Bougainville Joan Jerome. Present also for the day’s celebrations were Emily, Charley and Jeffery from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hona Holan from the Bougainville Women’s Federation, Agnes Titus form UN Women, 22 male inmates from Bekut Correctional Institute, Bougainville Police Service personnel’s, staff from the law and justice sector and the general public.
As the first speaker of the day, Agnes Titus explained that the gathering together of both men and women today is purposely to act and campaign against the big common issue of violence against women and children. After recalling all the Bougainville women who have died as a result of violence, Mrs. Titus stressed that violence against girls and women is common in the region because women are not being respected by their male counterparts.
She added that currently in Bougainville, we have only three women members in the ABG House of Representatives but as women, we want more women in parliament because with more women in parliament, they can be able to look more at issues affecting women and also make laws to protect women as there is injustice going on everywhere.
When concluding her speech, Mrs. Titus stressed that Bougainville men should come forward and wear the white ribbon and make their commitment to be advocates against ‘Violence against Women and Girls’ in Bougainville.