Semoso wants to see the Panguna mine to re-open soon!
On Wednesday, Fidelis Semoso, the Papua New Guinea Minister for Bougainville Affairs met with Panguna Landowners (PLA) and Landowners from other Bougainville Copper lease areas in Port Moresby. He reiterated his stand on wanting to see an impact project get off the ground for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, a project that will ?create employment for our youth, rebuild our schools and health services but most importantly boost the economy of the region?. In this respect he made his previous stand clear that he will want to see the Panguna mine re-open at the earliest opportunity. This means that he wants to see the Bougainville Copper Agreement (BCA) review fast tracked. To this end he is committed to assisting the Panguna landowners to get them organized.
In this regard the Minister has directed to Lawrence Daveona to arrange for PLA representatives from each of the six mine lease areas to come to Buka for two days of consultation with him to tell him what they want.
He told the landowners who were present to the meeting that he does not waste time saying that Panguna landowner's issue has been there before the crisis and is still there and no one has really attended to them. With the BCA review Panguna landowners are the major stake holders. He maintains that the problem is not ?our Bougainville people? but ?us the elected leaders of Bougainville?, whether it is ABG or the National Government or both.
Semoso commented further that during his travels through out the island he has found out that the general feeling is that Panguna mine must be re-open, there is no other way for Bougainville to move forward. The Minister concluded his remarks to those of the landowners representing the mine leases by challenging them to give him tangible project submissions to push through the Government system for funding. To this effect the landowners assured him that he will be getting these soon.
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