Forty-nine chiefs sworn in as members of councils of elders

 By JOSEPH MOROKANA

FORTY-nine chiefs were sworn in as members of four new council of elders (COE) systems – a move by the Autonomous Bougainville Government to restore traditional rule in the autonomous region.

“A baby is born today – and in a way, it signifies the presence of a legal order after so many years of yearning for legal chiefly government,” Traditional Authority and LLG, Media and Communication Minister Rev Joseph Nopei told the people of inland Ramu COE in the Siwai district.

The chiefs will now be members representing their village assemblies in the third-tier government of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. The composition of each COE members is Baba 11, Ramu 13, Taonita Tinputz 13 and Taonita Teop 12. 

The chairmen of the COEs were elected on the day and took their oaths, while the chiefs were appointed on clanship merit earlier. 

The chairman of Baba COE is Sylvester Kedeu, Ramu COE is Isaiah Sihang, Taonita Teop COE is a female, Rita Pearson and Taonita Tinputz is Titus Lamen.

Nopei said the Bougainville government was supporting the COEs with K10,000 quarterly recurrent funds for running their operations and encouraged them to collect head taxes.

He told the people to be committed in making the chiefly system a success as it would stimulate and deliver vital development in their villages.

“Under the COE review by Bougainville government, these new COEs were approved by the cabinet to be models for the other 16 COEs in the island region. 

“The Tsitalato COE on Buka Island has been selected as the model for infrastructure development for the other council of elders,” Nopei said.

He said the COEs would operate under the ABG’s COE Act, which outlines the authority to collect head taxes, and settling civil disputes using the custom. 

Acting chief administrator operations Herbert Kimai assured the people that the ABG would provide the vital support in conducting awareness and training for the officers to boost the operation of the council of elders.

He said the work of the COE was important as it ran the affairs of the bulk of the population in Bougainville.

Taking into account the number of the COE members in the 16 districts, only 7% accounted for women MPs in a mainly matrilineal based region. 

Regarding the districts, 8% accounts for patrilineal based districts  which include Buin, Nissan and the outlying  Mortlock, Nuguria and Tasman.