O’Neill says Akoitai was a hardworking, dedicated servant

THE late Central Bougainville MP Sam Akoitai has been described as a dedicated servant of the people of Bougainville.
People’s National Congress Party (PNC) leader Peter O’Neill said Akoitai was a founding member of the party with former prime minister, the late Sir William Skate.
Akoitai was first elected to Parliament in 1997.
O’Neill described Akoitai, who passed away last Friday, as a “hardworking and exceptionally dedicated servant”.
“His contributions towards a peaceful and stable Bougainville are well documented and acknowledged,” he said.
“He is remembered as a long-serving member of parliament and for his contribution towards the development of our country, especially in the mining and petroleum sector where he championed the rights of landowners and a fair distribution of benefits to people.
Bougainville President Ishamael Toroama said Akoitai was committed to peace-building on Bougainville.
“He played an enormous role in the return of peace and normalcy after the Bougainville crisis (and) instrumental in the signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement in 2001,” he said.
“I pay tribute to a great Bougainvillean leader who committed his life to serving the people of Bougainville which he did so until he passed from this life.”
North Bougainville MP William Nakin said Akoitai “always led like a true leader and died doing just that, something he loved even at the hardest times during the Bougainville crisis”.