Sir Rabbie joins BCL

SIR Rabbie Namaliu, who was prime minister at the height of the Bougainville crisis in 1988, has been appointed a director on the board of Bougainville Copper Ltd.
The appointment was announced last Wednesday by BCL chairman Peter Taylor, who, days earlier, had met with Bougainville President John Momis to discuss the possibility of opening the Panguna copper mine.
Sir Rabbie will become a member of Bougainville Copper’s audit committee, which under the Australian Securities Exchange rules, has responsibility for governance and the rights of shareholders.
It will be among his duties as a non-executive director,
As prime minister in 1988-92, he was often criticised for the deaths of hundreds of civilians in Bougainville.
Taylor said the company was delighted by Sir Rabbie’s acceptance of the invitation to join the board.
“The former prime minister is a distinguished statesman and a committed Papua New Guinean, with ministerial experience in foreign affairs and trade, treasury, primary pndustry, petroleum and energy and other areas of government responsibility.
“He holds directorships of several other Papua New Guinea companies, and is a member of the PNG Institute of Directors.
“We welcome the addition of his experience and judgement to the decision-making processes of BCL, at a time of great challenge and opportunity,” he said.
Taylor said it was expected that Sir Rabbie’s appointment would be endorsed by shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting next month.
Subject to election by shareholders at the AGM, directors normally serve for a term of three years, after which they can offer themselves for re-election.
Sir Rabbie’s is a non-executive director of Marengo Mining Ltd, a non-executive director of Kina Securities Ltd and chairman of the publicly listed investment company Kina Asset Management Ltd..
Last February he was appointed chairman of Kramer Ausenco, a new joint venture of PNG engineering company Kramer (PNG) Ltd  and Ausenco of Australia.