B’ville have outstanding issues to be solved: Lera

FORMER Bougainville Affairs Minister Joel Lera says there are outstanding political and human development issues which have to be addressed before the 2019 Autonomous Region of Bougainville referendum.
“Under the peace agreement, both governments (AROB and national government) will decide. But they have to decide on these issues before deciding,” he said.
He said one issue was connected to the political aspect of it – the referendum, autonomy and independence.
Another is the incentive fund grants – whether the Bougainville government is getting enough in the spirit of the peace agreement. Other issues include revenue, education, poverty and illiteracy.
“These are the issues to determine the timing of the referendum. That’s why we have to   organise the Bougainville Affairs Ministry better to address these issues and use the bottom-up planning so people can achieve the political referendum,” Lera said.
Lera said when he took over the ministry seven months ago, he found out that the National Coordination Office of Bougainville Affairs was ineffective.
“I found out that there were issues that were not helping the two governments in helping the ministry to carry out its mandate,” he said.