Toroama laments missed chances for joint meeting

AUTONOMOUS Bougainville Government (ABG) president Ishmael Toroama says he is disappointed that the Joint Supervisory Body (JSB) meeting did not convene last week despite Prime Minister James Marape’s reassurance of his support to the Bougainville peace process and the post- referendum consultations.
Toroama said the Bougainville delegation that travelled to Port Moresby for the JSB last week was made up of members of his cabinet and the Bougainville administration.
“We were also accompanied by several ABG MPs and various stakeholders who are members of the Bougainville post-referendum consultation team,” he said.
“The convening of the JSB meeting would have progressed the issues that the Prime Minister and I deliberated on during the pre-JSB meeting earlier this month where we also agreed for the meeting to be held last week.”
He said the ABG brought its consultation team to begin the negotiations on the post-referendum consultations that would precede ratification by the national parliament.
“This would have been the first time the two consultation teams from Bougainville and the National consultation teams met to begin the preliminaries on the consultation process framework.”
The key agendas that were supposed to be discussed at the JSB are:

• Post-referendum joint inter-government consultations process framework;
• Outstanding financial issues;
• Transfer BCL shares to ABG;
• Drawdown of powers and functions;
• Outstanding national elections debts (2012 and 2017);
• By-election for Bougainville regional seat; and,
• Invitation to foreign missions to set up development offices on Bougainville.

“I am disappointed that the JSB was not convened however, I am pleased that the joint technical team co-chaired by the two chief secretaries of the two governments was convened.”