Akoitai praises Sir Puka’s efforts

CENTRAL Bougainville MP Sam Akoitai has commended Prime Minister James Marape for appointing Abau MP Sir Puka Temu to handle the issues of Bougainville.
Akoitai said the Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA) was the biggest issue facing Parliament and it was fitting that Sir Puka was appointed the Minister for Bougainville Affairs to handle the issue.
“I commend Prime Minister James Marape for appointing a very senior leader in our country in Sir Puka to handle the issue of BPA,” Akoitai said.
“It is appropriate that someone of his stature is appointed to take charge of the issue.”
He also commended the previous government of former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill for making progress in addressing the peace agreement.
“I would like to make clear is that the national government must work within what is agreed in the Bougainville Peace Agreement.
“We must work within what is spelt out in the peace agreement so that we will achieve the goal and the objective that is being set out.
“If we do not work within the peace agreement, we might not be able to achieve the goals and the objectives that we intended to achieve at the end,” Akoitai said.
He said efforts to implement the peace agreement and the referendum had made great progress so far and the national government needed to ensure outstanding issues were addressed to achieve the agreement’s objectives.