Catholic priest contests Central Bougainville seat

A CATHOLIC priest has raised his hands to serve the people of Central Bougainville.
Fr Simon Dumarina will be contesting for the Central Bougainville open seat under the Social Democratic Party led by Powes Parkop.
Dumarina said with the tough times the Autonomous Region of Bougainville has gone through that he feels that it is time that someone with a godly and Christian background represent the people in Parliament and has offered himself as a candidate.
“The future is now and we need to make it happen,” he said.
“Many have come and gone, but like the story in the Bible, the good Samaritan did not leave the stranger on the side of the road, he helped him.
“And that story has inspired me to take up the challenge and contest in this year’s election.”
He said it was true that the church did not allow priests to take up public offices or contest in elections but he was not stepping down from his duties.
“As a priest, I believe I can be a Good Samaritan to my people,” he said
“If they believe in me and give me the mandate to represent them, the first thing I will do is reconcile the people and bring them together.
“I believe if there is unity we will work together to transform Central Bougainville.”
Dumarina said he will be focusing on local businesses and agriculture.
“I will give prominence to developing our human resource,” he said
“I will stand for good leadership, governance and honesty.”