A FORMER employee and one time fleet trucking contractor to Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) has once again asked the O’Neill-Dion Government, the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) leaders and the Panguna landowner’s co-operation to re-open the default multi-million Kina copper mine.
Mr Kandaso Napi, Member of British Empire (MBE), urged all stakeholders, landowners and government to meet, discuss and explore all avenues available that would lead to reopening the Panguna copper mine as soon as possible for the benefit of Bougainvillian men, women and children. Mr Napi, who has a longstanding relationship with the people of Bougainville through his past association with BCL and the Panguna landowners, said he gets emotional when he comes across his former workmates, business colleagues and other Bougainvillians including landowners, who have been reduced to nothing as a result of civil war on the island.
He said he feels very sad and heartbroken to see Bougainvillians who were once successful entrepreneurs in their own rights now living off the streets of Port Moresby or the jungles of Bougainville.
Mr Napi told Post-Courier that Bougainville contributed immensely to the nation’s coffers through the copper mine well before other mineral and petroleum resources were discovered in other parts Papua New Guinea.
“It is therefore only fitting that the people of PNG, through the national government should show some form of appreciation by providing development packages and finding a way forward to bring back life to the abandoned mine so that it will play a part in resurrecting the island’s economy back to its glory days,” Mr Napi said.
He said the former Peoples National Congress (PNC) leader and prime minister the late Sir William Bill Skate was the first PNG leader to set foot on the war-torn island.
He said now the current Prime Minister and PNC leader, Peter O’Neill made a commitment to provide a K500 million development package to the Bougainville people, of which K100 million has already been released.
“The reopening of the mine would complement the PM’s commitment to bring normalcy back to the island,” he said.
Mr Napi went further by requesting the O’Neill-Dion government, on behalf of the long suffering people of Bougainville, to set up a ministerial committee to urgently work with all concerned parties including BCL in finding amicable solutions to reopening the giant copper mine.
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