Priest: Autonomy later

 A PRIEST in East New Britain has supported the call by other locals for leaders to sort out ethnic issues before pushing for the province’s autonomy.

Father Benedict Tati, of Central Inland, Pomio, said he supported Apisai Jubilee’s suggestion earlier this month in The National that leaders should sort out issues before looking at autonomy.

“What do the people say and think about autonomy for ENB? Let us not think that Tolais would have the same say as the Pomios and the Bainings,” he said.

Tati said ENB still needed greater  awareness on autonomy to collect views.

He said there were still a great number of people suffering because of the lack of basic services.

While many would blame lack of funds, human resources, the government and their remote settings, the problem was personal autonomy, he said.

“I believe that the reason why services have not been rolled out to some parts of ENB is largely due to personal autonomy,” Tati said. 

“Let us be autonomous in the way we think and in the way we use our intellectual powers to reason and freely make decisions for the betterment of our people now.”

He said it was important to see this power or human autonomy at work now or the push for autonomy would widen the gaps between the developing and the underdeveloped areas.

Tati said the Pomio and Baining areas had never really shared any equal benefit in infrastructural development since independence.