Tonsu Constituency establishes First Great Council of Chiefs
His Excellency, Honourable Ishmael Toroama, joined the Vice President, Honourable Ezekiel Massat, and other members of the House of Representatives today in commemorating the establishment of the First Great Council of Chiefs with the Chiefs and people of Tonsu, in Petats Island.
The occasion marked the beginning of an initiative that will see a traditional governing body working together with the Autonomous Bougainville Government in decision-making at different levels.
In his address, His Excellency mentioned that traditional leaders are significant as they will act as another foundation to hold the people of Bougainville together.
“Our (chiefs) work is different, responsibility is different, but it manages the livelihood in the villages, it manages the land and the future generation that are still yet to come.”
He thanked the Vice President, who is also the interim Chairman of the Council and the chief of Tonsu, for coming up with such an initiative that represents community governance.
“This is the foundational pillar of any governance that can be built.”
As a recognized group, they will now be able to participate in the decision-making and assist the ABG at their level; they might be smaller than political leaders, but they make impactful decisions at the community level.
“I want to thank you for establishing this initiative; my interest is to see how you establish it, what the responsibility of the Great Council of Chiefs would be up to the level of the right hand, which our government (ABG) has with me as the President. And I want to see the decision you can make at your level so that we can work together, so we don’t fight over the responsibilities; each person is aware of their responsibility,” President Toroama said.
The establishment of the Tonsu Great Council of Chiefs was followed by the nomination of co-chairpersons from the two clans, Naboin and Nakaripa, witnessed and voted for by the chiefs of the different wards.
The initiative is a notable achievement for the people of Tonsu and is anticipated to be used by other Constituencies in Bougainville as a blueprint to create theirs.
In Bougainville, the traditional leadership is based on matrilineal clans with Paramount Chiefs as the head, who govern with traditional rules and customs to keep social order and make important decisions in the communities.
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