office of the president

http://bougainville.typepad.com/newdawn/

Minister Responsible for Inter-Government Affairs, Autonomy, Implementation and Monitoring

Facsimile: 973-9408 P.O Box 322
Telephone: 973-9415 Buka
Email: [email protected] Region of Bougainville


MEDIA RELEASE BY HON. CHIEF JOHN MOMIS, GCL, MHR, PRESIDENT OF THE AUTONOMOUS BOUGAINVILLE GOVERNMENT – BOUGAINVILLE HIGH IMPACT PROJECTS REMAIN TOP PRIORITY

President of the Autonomous Bougainville Government, the Hon. Chief John Momis, GCL, MHR welcomed the statement by the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, CMG, MP that the national government remains committed to improving living standards and business environment on Bougainville through the funding of various impact projects in the AROB.
President Momis noted and confirmed that this commitment was strictly in accordance with the agreement reached and resolved at the Holiday Inn JSB in February, 2011 in Port Moresby at which time agreement was reached on a funding tranche of K.500million from the national government to Bougainville.
The President noted that the Autonomous Bougainville Government expected the national government to fully respect and live up to its obligation in this regard. He was happy to hear that the Prime Minister was confirming his government’s intentions to honour the agreement.
Apart from this, President Momis noted that there were some incorrect statements in the Media Statement issued from the Prime Minister and in the spirit of transparency and accuracy he wished to correct them.
Firstly, the JSB reached agreement on the tranche of funding of K500m in February, 2011. The first K100m was not received by the ABG until November, 2012, not in 2011 as erroneously stated in the Media Release. This amount, in accordance with the Bougainville Constitution, was duly appropriated by the Bougainville House of Representatives in December, 2012. Expenditure of the funds therefore could not be rolled out until early 2013.
It must be noted that the Bougainville House of Representative is an independent parliament authorized under the Constitution of Papua New Guinea and its actions are constitutionally and legally binding and cannot be determined or undermined by any external bodies. In this respect, it is a sovereign parliament and it would appear from the unilateral actions of the National Government that it is seeking to undermine the authority of the Bougainville House of Representatives.
On the matter of a Trust Account the information in the Media Statement is confusing and misleading. The ABG has no knowledge of a Trust Account being established by the national government for whatever purposes relative to the HIP, neither for the K.85million released in November 2012 or for the proposed K.100million for 2013. There is an ABG Trust Account for the HIP established by the ABG, located and managed from Buka and payment for all project costs duly appropriated in the ABG Budget for 2012/2013 for the HIP projects are met from this account. There are 95 projects approved by the Bougainville Executive Council in their 2012/2013 budget appropriation. The account is gradually being drawn down as more and more projects are funded and the current balance is nowhere near the original K.85million which was the opening balance. The Bougainville Administration has not yet been able to fully acquit these expenditures because the projects for which the funds are being applied are not yet completed. The ABG is aware it has to acquit these funds in terms of its financial obligations to the National Government and will do so.
In the Media Statement, it is noted that a reference was made that “there are serious governance issues on Bougainville which we should all be concerned about”. President Momis in addressing this unfounded concern wished to make it clear that while Bougainville has capacity issues it does not have governance issues. The ABG has taken great steps to adopt and to follow rigid governance guidelines as it is very much aware that good governance is one of the criteria that it must fulfil in its lead up to the conduct of the Referendum. The same could not be said for some National Government institutions and practices.
The K.100million for 2013 has not yet been received in Bougainville, despite the fact that agreement was reached at the Kokopo JSB (October 2012) that they would be applied to several of the projects included in the Media Statement.
In this regard, President Momis noted his concern that the national government agencies were committing and proceeding with projects without consultation with the ABG.
As an example, the President noted that just this week there were announcements regarding various projects which are being tendered and evaluated by the CSTB on behalf of the National Department of Works; this is a good example of the conflict that we are experiencing with the DOW. It is important that we should avoid confusion and duplication. There appears to be an urgent need to establish a framework for consultation between the ABG, and national government agencies for the development of infrastructure in the Region. In this context, the ABG has requested that the DoW Tenders be withdrawn while the parties consult. A communication by letter has been sent by the Acting Chief Administrator to the Department of Works to this effect.

For the record, the ABG resides little confidence in the integrity and efficiency of the National Department of Works as they have been known to squander funds earmarked for projects in Bougainville in a less than transparent manner. One such example is the award of a K20 Million contract for the Kokopau/Siara road which was contracted last year to a firm which has no capacity and which has not yet turned one shovel of earth to commence this project. This is shameful and requires a full explanation by the national government.

The President has once again expressed his ardent desire for closer consultations between the national government and the ABG so as to avoid duplication, conflicts in tendering, evaluation and award of contracts. Countless examples of this practice can be cited. Above all, it is important that the ABG should determine its priorities.

President Momis wished to thank the national government and Prime Minister O’Neill, firstly for the benefits that will be derived from the UN funding for Bougainville. With respect to access to the Peace Building Fund (PBF) announced last week by the UN Representative in PNG. It must also be noted that the ABG received these funds on merit and with little assistance from the national government. In this case, the formalisation of this particular request had to be channelled through the Office of the Chief Secretary but the request was approved on the merits of the case presented to the UN by the ABG. The President has already, through appropriate channels, expressed his government’s intention to work with the Office of the Chief Secretary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN in achieving positive results.

President Momis has also taken note of some concerns expressed by the Deputy Auditor General regarding breaches in audit management letters by the ABG as raised at the Bougainville Seminar last week. The President reaffirms the position of the ABG for honest, transparent and accountable government.

The matters which were flagged by the Deputy Auditor General were matters which predate 2010. But even in respect of the complaints and observations made by the Auditor General the ABG has taken definitive steps to clear up such matters and a full report has been provided to the Public Accounts Committee of the Bougainville House of Representatives. It is acknowledged there were breaches of the financial regulations and procedures during the early days of the establishment of the ABG in that a new government was being created and there were matters which required urgent attention, including payments of unretired debts leftover by government agencies during the suspension of the North Solomons Provincial Government and the subsequent introduction of the Bougainville Interim Provincial Government. So there is a history to the audit report which must be understood.

Bougainville is now embarking on its own Public Finance and Management Act, its own Tenders and Procurement Act which will be introduced in the 1st January 2014. These measures will provide stringent guidelines in relation to government enterprises and activities.

Lastly, President Momis wished to request that the Prime Minister not be misled by certain members representing Bougainville in the National Parliament. Their intentions are not always honourable or in the best interest of Bougainville and it are sad that they would seek to undermine Bougainville for their own selfish reasons. The Autonomous Bougainville Government is the constitutionally mandated government of the AROB
.
President Momis ended by noting that the ABG is committed to working in partnership with the national government to achieve the broad objectives of the Bougainville Peace Agreement and to achieve autonomy for Bougainville.

Hon. Chief John Momis, GCL, MHR
PRESIDENT
(4/09/2013)