New Aid Coordination Policy to coordinate international aid in Bougainville
The Autonomous Bougainville Government will soon introduce a policy to coordinate development aid in Bougainville by its international development partners.
Currently, important development partners such as Australia, New Zealand as well as other development partner countries and non-governmental organizations (NGO) enjoy autonomy on how they provide aid in Bougainville.
In most cases, the priorities of the donor countries and the NGO’s are independent of the priorities of the ABG and National Government functions that operate in Bougainville.
Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama said that collaboration between Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) is crucial for promoting development.
“A coordinated approach to providing aid by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and our development partner countries is crucial for maximizing efficiency and impact,” President Toroama said.
He added that when these organizations collaborate with the government, it reduces duplication of efforts and wastage.
“In defining our destiny, we must understand that Bougainville is geographically located in a position that attracts massive foreign aid motivated by geo-strategic reasons in the Pacific region,” President Toroama said.
“We find ourselves in a period of our history where we are transitioning between a post-conflict region and political independence as a sovereign nation,” President Toroama said.
“The foreign aid we receive from donor states, most of whom are within the Asia Pacific Region, is based on their need to maintain regional stability and address geo-strategic concerns,” President Toroama said.
“We cannot be subtly coerced into meekly accepting aid that does not reflect our felt needs and aspirations. By doing so we will fall into the neo-colonial trap that disallows us from participating in development,” President Toroama added.
President Toroama said that the new aid coordination policy would not regulate aid completely but better coordinate its implementation in Bougainville to ensure service delivery was effective and met the needs of the people.
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