Focus on mine reopening, independence

THIS year’s two primary tasks for the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) are advancing Bougainville’s Independence mission and reopening the Panguna Mine.
ABG President Ishmael Toroama said 98 per cent of Bougainvillean’s desire for an independent sovereign State of Bougainville was firmly established by the results of the 2019 Bougainville Referendum.
Toroama added that while the Referendum results spelt out the desire for Bougainville sovereignty, the government and the people must work together to empower Bougainville’s socioeconomic capacity to support its future as an independent nation.
“The Panguna Mine is a multi-billion-kina resource that has remained dormant for almost 40 years now,” Toroama said.
“It’s mineral resources have the potential to transform the lives of Bougainvilleans through high-impact infrastructure development projects and improve and increase the human resource capacity of our people,” Toroama said.
“The fate of the Panguna Mine became entwined with Bougainville’s quest for independence when the Bougainville revolution began in 1988. Our Late Revolutionary Leader Francis Ona incentivised the mine as the key to funding Bougainville’s Independence when we took up arms against our oppressors,” he said.
Toroama said that if the Panguna Mine could fund Papua New Guinea’s independence, it should rightfully fund Bougainville’s Independence and development.
The post-referendum consultations between the PNG Government and the ABG is still progressing.
With the PNG Government failing to ratify the referendum results last year, this process will likely be taking place this year.
Toroama explained that while his government focused on reopening the mine, this did not mean it would ignore the development of other industries in the economic sector such as tourism, agriculture and even manufacturing.