Dansi Oerupeu

The way forward for Bougainville is in its people and how resourceful they are in bringing Bougainville out of dependency to realizing its dream to be holistically independent. It is not in the mineral wealth that ABG claims so much to be the ‘way out’ for Bougainville. So much propaganda and lies have been fed to the people about the economic prosperity the mine will bring, however this does not relate well with the majority who are living with the physical and psychological trauma of the bloody ten year war, combined with a decimated environment that is continually affecting the livelihood of those living in it.

Jaba River is nothing but a testament of BCL’s destructive and poisonous waste disposal activity

The branding of economic prosperity by ABG and its AusAid consultants is very shallow. Bougainville does not a money consuming establishment like the west minister system, if ABG is serious about empowering its economy; it should look at ways it can create market for its commodities. Cocoa is a major earner for Bougainville, too many times mining advocates indicate that cocoa, let alone agriculture is ‘not enough’, even when people are directly benefiting from cocoa farming. Hence, this begs the question; ‘for who is it not enough?’

Bougainville has a domestic economy that is unregulated. There are no proper regulatory mechanisms in place to steer the economy that is domestically competitive. That is why the price of goods and services are relatively high in Bougainville. Bougainvilleans are highly industrious so to speak, although there is no mechanism in place to regulate the economy, the local people are the ones driving Bougainville’s domestic economy. Why not the ABG look into how it can source revenue through these means, capitalising on the fact that cocoa can be the number one earner for the autonomous government. At the moment, East New Britain is making so much money from Bougainvillean cocoa.  

Economic prosperity can only be realized if the human resource is capacitated with the adequate skills and knowledge to bring about the change they want. It is not about the spinoffs, compensation, benefits and employment to be brought about by the proposed mine reopening.President Momis seem to be so desperate in rushing the reopening of the mine; something Francis Ona and the BRA eloquently indicated should never return.

It should also be taken into account that Bougainville is not in a state of poverty as it may be viewed by the outside world, and if there is; then why are there no beggars, or people dying of hunger in the streets Buka or Arawa or let alone famine in Bougainville?

Happy and healthy Bougainvillean children

Only the ruined remnants of what used to be a booming mining town of Arawa, coupled with no proper town infrastructure planning makes Arawa looks like a shanty town. However this does not truly translate to the kind of life most Bougainvilleans live, as most people are semi subsistent, and do not entirely depend on money, land is the most important asset because it provides basically everything people need.

Remnants of a former mining town on a Sunday afternoon, Arawa

Should there be a way out for Bougainville, the ABG need not to look anywhere else when the most important resource is in the people it governs. Education may be an overrated term used, but is an underrated priority at the moment. The ABG government must have lost its marbles looking into the sky without realizing it needs wings to fly. Again, its people are the determinants of Bougainville’s prosperity. The issue of mining should be left to the people of Bougainville to decide, not a corporation. When the human resource is at the capacity where they can be able to manage mining then the case of a potential reopening can be the people’s decision to make. Otherwise, Panguna should remain closed for good. ABG should be facilitative to the people’s needs and work with them to achieving Bougainville’s dream of a free and independent state of Bougainville.