Economically empowering the people of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville is the way forward to build capacity. This is from THE Party Leader and Opposition Leader, Don Polye, who was in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville recently.
Polye believes that Bougainvilleans must decide on their own, with their future referendum, which needs the full support of the National Government.
With the region having huge potential in agriculture and tourism, the National Government’s job is to empower them. Among them is the bio-fuel, which is also considered untapped.
“The region has a huge potential in agriculture and tourism. Our job is to empower them. Bio-fuel should also be untapped,” he said.
Polye says that these are major revenue generators for the Autonomous Bougainville Government to run its own affairs.
“They could become a major revenue generator for the government when fully commercialised,” he said.
Polye is confident these issues can be addressed holistically.
Meanwhile, Mr Polye was aggrieved to learn that the ruling government under the Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, had failed to fully honour the Bougainville Peace Agreement. He said that Bougainville’s case is sensitive and delicate and must be treated with respect and care.
“The current national leadership is absolutely wrong. The Prime Minister is careless and irresponsible. Slashing or failing to honour the peace agreement funds is illegal and unconstitutional.”
A comment from the Prime Minister’s department could not be obtained at the time of this article being published.
