| Former PNG PM Sir Rabbie explains why he joins BCL Updated May 19, 2011 17:10:01 A former PNG prime minister, Sir Rabbie Namaliu says he accepted a directorship on the board of Bougainville Copper Limited because it's important that the company has a local voice on its highest decision-making body.
Sir Rabbie was appointed a director earlier this year as it became clear that talks for the reopening of the troubled mine are set to begin.
He was PNG's prime minister during the first 4 years of the decade-long civil war on Bougainville.
In 1997, Sir Rabbie played a mediating role between then Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan and the head of the PNG Defence Force, Jerry Singirok, after Sir Julius sent mercenaries to Bougainville in what became known as the sandline affair.
He spoke to us about his decision to join the BCL Board.
Presenter: Jemima Garrett, Radio Australia's Pacific Economic and Business reporter
Speaker: Sir Rabbie Namaliu, Bougainville Copper Limited board member and former PNG PM NAMALIU: It took me a long time to accept it basically because of my own involvement in the crisis, and I didn't feel comfortable enough for a while to accept the appointment when it was first offered. But having obviously thought through it for a while and consulted a number of people, I felt at this important stage of Bougainville's development when they need all the help that they can get to restore services in the province, to rehabilitate the autonomous region rather, that it was important that there was a Papua New Guinean voice on the board, and I was approached for that role. So in the end I accepted it on that basis.
GARRETT: The peace process on Bougainville is ten years old and we're now into the second term of the autonomous government of Bougainville. Just how much of an economic bounce back has there been there?
NAMALIU: I think Bougainville considering the circumstances that they've had to deal with over the past 20 years is now at a point where it's bouncing back. It's restoring its agricultural sector, it's attracting private investment in, they're now talking about introducing oil palm for instance, cocoa rehabilitation has now been going on for a while and copra, the two mainstays of the economy over there, apart from the mine itself. So increasingly more and more people on Bougainville are now getting themselves involved in agricultural production especially. But not just that, alluvial gold mining has picked up, that's something that didn't exist to the extent that it does now, and it's giving people in Bougainville an opportunity to be involved in a sector or a mining activity which not too many of them were involved in previously, so that's giving them a boost in terms of incomes, but also in terms of building up another aspect of the economy, which was not that developed before. Plus you have new crops being introduced like rice, and that seems to be growing as well as other innovations that didn't exist, but have now been developed out of necessity by people in Bougainville, and that's a good thing. I think it augers well for the future of Bougainville, but obviously Bougainville needs a lot of help and they're getting some of that from the Australian government obviously, from Japan, from the European Union and the national government is trying its best, but I think the national government needs to do more to assist the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, particularly in view of the fact that there is a referendum coming up in the next ten-15 years which will be crucial to determining whether it remains part of Papua New Guinea or not.
GARRETT: Bougainville President John Momis says the vast majority of Bougainvilleans want the Panguna mine to reopen. What's your assessment of the situation?
NAMALIU: Yeah well I think what he's saying obviously reflects the growing consensus that's developing in Bougainville, especially amongst landowner groups that Panguna should be reopened. But obviously it is important that this issue is addressed b y the autonomous government and the landowners and the people of Bougainville in a way that the reopening of the mine can only happen when they're ready for it. It cannot be forced from outside, not even by the national government, and that's the good thing that's happening on the ground now that it is coming from Bougainville, from the autonomous government, as well as from the landowners and the people of Bougainville themselves. And obviously there's a growing anticipation to ensuring that before it is reopened that the arrangements for future reopening of the mine are reviewed with a view to ensuring that it meets their aspirations.
GARRETT: Why has there been such a dramatic change of heart on the reopening of the mine?
NAMALIU: I think they have obviously come to the view that getting Panguna going again will provide a major catalyst to the rebuilding of Bougainville. You need a major shot in the arm like the reopening to really provide a catalyst to do that. And that seems to one of the underlying reasons for it.
GARRETT: There still are strong opponents of reopening of the mine. Do they pose a threat to the project?
NAMALIU: I think that it's really something that has to be dealt with on the ground by the autonomous government as well as the landowners, and it appears to me that from outside that the objective really is to make sure that everyone that should be involved in the process is involved, including those that may still be opposed to reopening, so that once a final decision is made to move forward at least you've got all the major stakeholders agreeing that that's the way to go.
GARRETT: Many of the opponents of reopening of the mine are hardliners. Is it possible to contain people like that even if the majority do agree with the reopening of the mine?
NAMALIU: Well I think the statements that have been coming out recently, even from hardliners, seem to suggest that they want to reconcile, they want to be involved, but they want to make sure that this is done in a way that involves the autonomous government, that they have to have enough trust and faith in them to sit down and discuss and be involved in discussions that will hopefully eventually lead them to being part of this whole process. Quelle: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/201105/s3221615.htm |
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