BUKA, 03 APRIL 2019 (RNZ PACIFIC) – Officials from the Papua New Guinea and Bougainville governments have been nutting out the meaning of independence and greater autonomy.
In October Bougainvilleans will vote on whether to become fully independent from Port Moresby.
Bougainville President John Momis said the joint task force on referendum matters has been holding productive meetings in the past week.
He says a critical role for this group is to define just what the two options for the vote – greater autonomy or independence – mean.
“We have these two options given to the people of Bougainville, so that they have an idea of precisely what kinds of powers and functions the people of Bougainville would get under greater autonomy and under independence, so that they would make a democratic choice.”
Momis has also confirmed that the first tranche of promised funding from the PNG government for the referendum process has been paid.
Meanwhile, a former president of Bougainville has been dumped from a key post because he tried to bypass the Autonomous Bougainville Government.
James Tanis, who had been secretary of Bougainville’s Department of Peace Agreement Implementation, last year went directly to the Papua New Guinea Government, seeking payment for service providers he had employed but who had not been paid.
Bougainville President John Momis said an inquiry found Tanis was out of line and he has been stood down.
But he said Tanis, who was president from 2008 until 2010, will remain engaged in referendum related matters as the October vote on independence from PNG nears.
“Especially the post-referendum issues which we are now currently involved in discussing with the national government. So, James Tanis has a lot of experience, he’s quite good, except that he couldn’t handle the departmental managerial responsibilities,” he said.
