Autonomous Bougainville Government President James Tanis has expressed disappointment at the last minute postponement of a Joint Supervisory Board meeting scheduled for last weekend.
The Board is a high powered committee made up of senior ministers of the PNG government and the ABG and their technical advisors.
Mr Tanis said the PNG government must begin to show commitment towards preparing the agreed referendum on Bougainville‘s independence by keeping to its schedules and implementing agreed resolutions on the drawdown of powers.
He added that the last minute cancellation of the meeting showed that the PNG government was unprepared for the meeting which could mean it had not implemented certain decisions that had previously been collectively made.
Mr Tanis understands that both governments were giving budget preparations priority.
“The national budget is important to us in the ABG,” Mr. Tanis said.
“However not everyone was involved in the budget preparations and the Board meeting, if it had been held, would have given us a better understanding of whether or not the resolutions were being followed up and implemented as agreed,” he said.
Mr Tanis has left Buka to spend a week in Australia at the invitation of Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Stephen Smith. While there he will discuss matters of mutual interest with Mr Smith, other senior federal ministers and with various Australian state premiers.
Fidelis
Lucio is a journalism student at Divine Word University
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