News and Public Notices

Mr Speaker, I rise today in this March House to address its Honourable Members on several matters of importance to our people, our government and our journey to ultimate freedom and independence.

Mr Speaker, from the outset I would like to announce to this Honourable House that our Chief Secretary, Mr Shadrach Himata has resigned as Chief Secretary to the Autonomous Bougainville Government and Head of the Bougainville Public Service. Mr Himata was referred to the Bougainville Senior Appointments Committee last year for misconduct in office. Two weeks ago, the Bougainville Senior Appointments Committee deliberated the petition against Mr Himata and decided that a Boar of Inquiry would have to be convened to ascertain the allegations against him.

Mr Speaker, consistent with the provision of the Bougainville Senior Appointments Act of 2014, the committee suspended Mr Himata as Chief Secretary and notified him of its decision to convene a Board of Inquiry. Upon receipt of his suspension notice, Mr Himata handed me his resignation which I accepted. As Chairman of the Bougainville Senior Appointments Committee, I cannot speculate on the allegations against Mr Himata. The process to ascertain the facts behind the allegations against him was prematurely ended when Mr Himata resigned. Despite the circumstances surrounding his exit, I thank Mr Himata for his contribution to the government and people of Bougainville.

Mr Speaker, I would like to announce to this Honourable House that the Bougainville Executive Council has appointed the Secretary for Law and Justice and Principal Legal Advisor, Kearneth Nanei as Acting Chief Secretary and Head of the Bougainville Public Service.

Mr Nanei has been directed to introduce an immediate intervention for institutional reforms in the Bougainville Public Service. Mr Nanei is charged with focusing primarily on the economic sector departments with the Department of Primary Industries, the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Mining and the Department of Finance and Treasury. The government and the administration must begin to focus on viable economic strategies and projects especially industries that our people are involved in. There are three main areas that I want Bougainville to start earning revenue from by this year. These are:

1. A stringent Taxation regime (the Bougainville Tax Office needs to be revitalized and if need be the current structure needs to be overhauled)

2. Agriculture (Cocoa and Vanilla)

3. Small Scale Mining (the government must impose direct control on this multimillion-kina industry)

Mr Speaker, Members of this Honourable House, I have a principle that I have always lived by. I focus on controlling and achieving what is within my means instead of wasting precious time and effort on futile activities that are impractical and cannot be achieved. The same could be said about our efforts to build a viable economy. We have the potential to generate considerable revenue from economic activities that our people are already in. With the proper guidance and policies, we can generate a revenue stream ten times more than the current K50 million internal revenue that we earn annually.

Mr Speaker, I have directed the Acting Chief Secretary to revitalize the public service through an all-government approach. This approach must be holistic in the sense that there is positive growth in our human resource capacity and progress in the manner in which they serve our people. On Friday, February 16, 2024, at the Bougainville Public Service Dedication at Gagan Parish, I reminded our public servants of their functions to induce the following:

• Economic empowerment by providing investment and business opportunities that will contribute to national growth. Harnessing our natural resources to develop major investments in the mining, agriculture, and manufacturing industries.
• Education empowerment by providing a modern high standard of education at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels that is compulsory and free for all our people.
• Health empowerment by providing good quality health services that are affordable and accessible to our people.
• Infrastructure development such as roads, schools, airports, and wharves with modernized towns and urban areas throughout Bougainville.

Mr Speaker, it is also vitally important, that we must empower our people to actively participate in the political and development process in Bougainville. Our people must be enabled to participate and take ownership of every development sector in Bougainville. It is the responsibility of the Government and the Administration to encourage and inspire our people to participate in development, our democracy demands it.

Mr Speaker, the Bougainville Executive Council has given its full blessing to the Acting Chief Secretary to impose immediate structural and administrative changes within the Bougainville Public Service. The role of the Bougainville Public Service is to comply with the directives of the government. Any defiant public servant who is seen as a stumbling block to our progress will be removed. We do not have any time to waste, if you do not stand with us, you are certainly against us.

Mr Speaker, at this juncture I want to thank the Minister for Finance, the Honourable Robin Wilson and the Acting Secretary for Finance and Treasury Mr Joshua Tauko. Their combined efforts have brought about a semblance of order within the Department. I am glad to know that they will be pursuing the fraudulent case involving K2 million that was drawn for various peace activities by departmental staff. The Acting Chief Secretary will be providing support to the department in investigating and prosecuting those responsible.

Mr Speaker, on the floor of this Honourable House I want to clearly state that the Autonomous Bougainville Government does not recognize the appointment of Assistant Commissioner Anthony Wagambie Junior as Deputy Chief of the Bougainville Police by the Commissioner of Police, David Manning. I have nothing but respect for Mr Wagambie whom I see as an exemplary officer in the Papua New Guinea Royal Constabulary. While it can be argued that from a legal standpoint, the appointment of officers below the rank of the Chief of Bougainville Police is the prerogative of the Commissioner of Police, in principle this is incorrect.

We signed the Bougainville Peace Agreement with the National Government not only to end a 10-year civil war. The Peace Agreements exist to protect the civil liberties of our people and empower the autonomous arrangements for Bougainville. The spirit of the Bougainville Peace Agreement calls upon the joint implementation of the agreement by the Autonomous Bougainville Government and the National Government. While the appointment of the rank and file of the Bougainville Police Service remains the responsibility of the Commissioner of Police, in keeping with the spirit of the Peace Agreement the ABG should have been consulted on the appointment of Mr Wagambie or any senior appointment to the BPS for that matter.

Mr Speaker, the Bougainville Peace Agreement is not merely a legal document that can be interpreted at will. It is an agreement that provides a path toward defining our ultimate political future as an independent sovereign nation. You cannot interpret the BPA as a stand-alone legal document without understanding the struggles of our people, our fight for freedom that cost us the lives of more than twenty thousand Bougainvilleans and the historical context behind our push for secession. As leaders of Bougainville, our loyalty must always lie with our people and Bougainville’s Independence Mission. When you are called to choose a side, we must always choose Bougainville.

Mr Speaker, our vision for Bougainville is about independence. This means we must build a future where our people can thrive, where they can enjoy the fruits of their labour, and where they can live in peace and harmony. It is about creating a sustainable economy, that is resilient, and that is capable of driving our development forward. Together we will build a new independent Bougainville that reflects the felt needs and aspirations of our people.

God Bless you all and God Bless Bougainville.

Mr Speaker, I commend this statement to this house.

Hon. Ishmael Toroama, MHR 
President 

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