MP joins presidential race

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
BOUGAINVILLE Regional MP Joseph Lera has resigned from the national parliament to contest the fourth Autonomous Bougainville elections, election commissioner George Manu says.
Lera was among 10 more candidates to be nominated for the elections which included former Kumul Consolidated Holdings Ltd chairman Paul Nerau, former ABG chief secretary Thomas Raivet and former Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) supreme commander Samuel Kauona.
The other candidates nominated are Michael Poposon, Andrew Miriki, Nehemiah Wesma, Bernard Tzilu, Samuel Maiha and Benjamin Muruna.
Manu said 22 candidates had been nominated by 4pm yesterday, including two women.
“They are former Bougainville referendum commission (BRC) commissioner Ruby Mirinka and former ABG Minister for Women Magdalene Toroansi,” he said.
Nominations are scheduled to close at 4pm today.
Lera confirmed that he had resigned to contest the elections.
“I have (been) nominated today at 1.14pm,” he said.
Earlier, he said he had to be the president of Bougainville to prepare the people during the post-referendum to get their full political and economic independence.
“ABG has the powers to run Bougainville and I feel that I have been blocked to implement my programmes for the last nine years since I became a national MP in 2012,” he said.
“For example, my proposal to set up a polytechnic college at Hutjena in North Bougainville that would have been run by the New Zealand-based Waikato University.
“It is taking nine years for the ABG to get it off the ground.
“ABG is yet to come up with a memorandum of understanding to sign with Waikato University for Waikato to run it.
“I started a fishing project and bought three fishing vessels with cool rooms to develop the rich marine resources in Bougainville waters.
“This fishing project was a gold mine and could have fetched millions of kina to set up the economic foundation for Bougainville’s independence.
“But the ABG cannot help register it.
“I also have proposals to set up a teachers training college, a university and to set up business for the grassroots to empower them develop their cocoa, vanilla and other small-medium enterprise (SME) activities.
“Unfortunately, the ABG has blocked them. You see, if it was in other provinces, all these projects could have got off the ground as I’m the governor and I make decisions.
“But, in Bougainville, it is the Bougainville Executive Council (BEC) who makes the decision and the president is the head of BEC.”