NEW DAWN ON BOUGAINVILLE

PNG govt attacked for failing on budget promises

By Anthony Kaybing

The 2010 national budget allocation for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville is still being questioned by the region’s leaders.

Tsitalato Council of Elders Chairman, Joseph Gatana, supported a call by Acting President Mathias Salas who said the allocation is insufficient.

Early this week, Mr Salas, who is also ABG Finance Minister, said he was disappointed that the PNG government has reduced the 2010 ABG budget allocation.

Mr Salas said the government failed to keep its promise to increase the region’s recurrent grant and failed to allocate K15 million provided for under the Bougainville Peace Agreement.

The reduction will result in no major projects being undertaken such as the sealing of the Buka Ring Road.

The region’s trunk road will also suffer because of the national government’s decision to cut the budget.

Supporting the Acting President, Mr Gatana urged the PNG government to adjust the budget to accommodate the region’s needs and requirements.

Mr Gatana said the present allocation will hamper progress towards a referendum and eventual independence.

He challenged the national government to live up to its agreed commitment with the ABG Government and the people of Bougainville.

Meanwhile, Mr. Gatana called on the ABG Government to tell the people of how it had used K4 million given by the national government for reconciliation.

Mr Gatana said there are many pending reconciliations and the government must tell people how much money there is and how much will be allocated for each.

He said the people of Bougainville have a right to know and to be informed about the used of this public money.

Gender equality awareness training has success

By Tapo Tovilu

The fight against domestic violence has taken a new direction with the training of youths and husbands on the importance of respecting women and treating women equally.

Training officer attached with the Leitana Nehan Women’s Development Agency, Francis Semoso, is leading the first awareness workshop on domestic violence for youths and husbands.

“Domestic violence in our country is a very serious issue and each year about 75% of cases are related to domestic violence,” Mr Semoso said.

The awareness training began in March and has successfully been carried out in Bana, Ieta, Wakunai and Solos.

Mr Semoso explained that the male ego, power and authority instil in him that he can do whatever he wants to with women. The training tries to change that mentality by making men aware that both men and women are equal.

“Since we started going out into the communities there has been success with men realising that women are to be treated equally,” Mr Semoso said.

He said it was the first program of its kind in Bougainville and he looks forward to increasing the team next year and involving more areas.

Tapo Tovilu is a journalism student at the Divine Word University

Atoll needs neglected by government

By Anthony Kaybing

Other atolls of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville are being neglected in relation to rising sea levels, according to the coordinator of Tulele Pesa, Ursula Rakova, because too much emphasis is being given to the Carterets Islands.

“Mortlock, Tassman and Fead Islands are also facing the same problems as the Carterets,” said Mrs Rakova.

She said financial assistance was a major hindrance in helping the atolls’ people.

“Even if the Autonomous Bougainville Government doesn’t provide support, I am asking the international community to help those affected,” she said.

She said her organization is doing all it can to help the people of the atolls, especially the Carterets, with relocation to mainland Bougainville.

As there is no specific funding for relocation, it has been a very slow process.

Mrs Rakova said that the British High Commission had donated K15,000, but that was used to conduct a research on Carterets Island.

Electricity project extends into the rural areas

By Sonia Kenu

Bougainville leaders have applauded a K1.8 million initiative by PNG Power for a rural electrification scheme in the province.

Chairman of Tsitalato Council of Elders, Joseph Gatana, expressed his gratitude and said people are very fortunate because the project didn’t cost them anything.

He said the people will respond by not asking for any compensation from PNG Power for this project.

Mr Gatana said the project will change people’s lifestyle and cut down the cost of kerosene and petrol.

Also it will help mothers especially in the informal business sector, like selling iceblocks. “They can make iceblocks right in their homes instead of buying them in Buka town to selling them back in the village,” Mr Gatana said.

He assured people that other places will also get power.

“Power will be provided not only to wealthy people with permanent houses but also to the average Bougainvillean,” he said.

People must be prepared to connect power to their homes as well as to pay for the power supply.

Plans are already in place to extend the project to mainland Bougainville, specifically Arawa and Buin towns.

Sonia Kenu is a journalism student at Divine Word University

Colourful celebration to mark children’s day

By Tapo Tovilu

Children from Hutjena Elementary, Hahela Elementary and Hangan Elementary schools celebrated children’s day in style recently.

Event coordinator, headmistress Wendi Rimani of Hutjena Elementary, said the gathering celebrated both children’s day and also promoted the rights of children.

“We had this gathering to unite the children we wanted to show them that they were very important to us parents and teachers”, Ms Rimani said.

The day started with ball games and ended with the sharing of gifts between students to mark the occasion.

Tapo Tovilu is a journalism student at Divine Word University

ABG has duty of care says Bishop Kronenburg

By Tapo Tovilu

An AusAID project worth K1.1 million will construct six new buildings for the Nazareth counselling and rehabilitation centre at Chabai.

The buildings include staff houses, an office, a kitchen and classrooms.

At a ceremony at Chabai, Bishop of the Catholic Church in Bougainville, Hank Kronenburg, and Bougainville AusAID representative, Edwina Betts, initiated the first stage of the project.

Bishop Kronenburg thanked the Sisters and facilitators of the centre for their tireless effort and thanked AusAID for its support and funding.

He also challenged the ABG, saying it had a duty to take care of its people, that the people were part of its responsibility, and that it should not rely too much on the churches.

Ms Betts said AusAID was pleased to fund the project, adding that the centre had a big role to play in the rebuilding process on Bougainville.

Founder Sister Loraine Garasu said the centre, which was established in 2001, started from a bunch of ideas and was built from virtually nothing.

“I had help from DKA, an Austrian aid mission, which gave me K1,000 and from that the centre was started,” Sister Loraine said.

She said the centre had been raising funds from its farms and little fundraising drives.

“It has been a struggle and a challenge bringing up this centre from nothing,” she said.

Sister Loraine said the centre not only has counselling for victims of violence but offers post trauma counselling, youth leadership training, housekeeping and book keeping training, agriculture and has recently introduced counselling for ex-combatants.

Sister Loraine said the centre is helping in the rebuilding and training of Bougainville youths, the future leaders.

Tapo Tovilu is a journalism student at Divine Word University

Facilitating a broad-based economy in B’ville

By Sonia Kenu

The deputy administrator of the Autonomous Bougainville Government Raymond Masono has said one of the big responsibilities of governments is to manage the economy in a way that ensures sustained economic growth.

“When the economy is mismanaged, the population suffers from high interest rates, high cost of goods and services, high unemployment and, in the case of PNG, increased criminal activities,” he said.

Governments should not only be concerned about the economy but should actually intervene through policies that reduce the effect of adverse impacts on the living standards of citizens.

A broad-based economy is one where no single industry dominates and every major economic sector is developed and contributing to revenue.

Mr Masono stressed that the ABG can implement strategies to develop agriculture, tourism and mining in order to facilitate broad-based economic development in Bougainville.

This might mean the redevelopment and reopening of the Panguna mine rather than the development of a completely new mining project which could take between 15 and 20 years, time which the ABG does not have.

Mr Masono concluded by emphasising that a broad-based economy will also require the development of an integrated transport network, an effective health system and an inclusive education system.

Sonia Kenu is a journalism student at Divine Word University

PNG govt must show commitment says Tanis

By Fidelis Lucio

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

Taiof celebrations assist church building fund

By Aloysius Laukai

The Catholic people of Taiof island have celebrated the feast day of their patron saint, St Albert the Great.

Other Catholics from Sohano, Saposa, Nova and Hahela joined the commemoration which started with a morning church service followed by cultural activities.

They used the celebrations to raise funds to complete their church building.

ABG member for Mahari, John Tabinaman, said they should continue their community work.

He said the people had shown they can work together and build big buildings such as the church despite their geographic location.

People from small Christian communities made donations to the Church Building Committee. Buka based businesses also donated to the Taiof church building project.

Tax revenues are inadequate for self-reliance

By Aloysius Laukai

ABG’s tax collector, Peter Siana, says Bougainville will depend on outside assistance for many years as its internal revenue is in sufficient to run government activities.

Speaking to an economic development seminar, Mr Siana said Bougainville desperately needed one big impact project to boost its capacity for fiscal self reliance.

He said current revenue raised through company taxes and GST is not enough.

He also revealed that many Bougainville companies are not paying their tax, including income tax.

Mr Siana said the people of Bougainville needed to be aware of their obligations and support their government.