By barnabas orere
THE Governor of Bougainville John Momis hardly needs an introduction, his name is synonymous with Papua New Guinea politics.
The last time I had an interview with the governor was in 1978, when he was Fr Momis, Minister for Decentralisation. Titles have changed but his views on decentralisation have not.
He is still the same John Momis who resigned from Parliament because his people declared unilateral independence from PNG on September 1, 1975. And true to his call, more than 30 years later, this son of Bougainville is still pursing the same goal — for his homeland to be free of control and determine its own destiny. After years of persistence and hard work, his vision now looms on the horizon — at last, light at the end of a very long tunnel.
John Momis entered the House of Assembly in 1972 as a young Catholic priest. In November that year, Chief Minister Michael Somare appointed him defacto chairman of the Constitutional Planning Committee, which toured the country for an intensive consultation to get the views of the people.
At independence, the constitution was adopted but the provision for provincial government was dropped; the Government reacted against some of the demands of the Bougainville people which made things worse.
Mr Momis and his people negotiated with the chief minister, who agreed to the setting up of the first ever provincial government in PNG on Bougainville. Then he re-contested and won the Bougainville Regional seat in 1977. Prime Minister Somare appointed him Minister for decentralisation.
During his term as Minister, all the provincial governments in PNG were established. He is sometimes known as the father of decentralisation and one of the fathers of the national constitution.
“To me, decentralisation is one of the best ways of empowering people, not just distributing money and services. Power is the source of services. If you distribute power equitably, then you are distributing the source of benefits,” said Mr Momis.
“Empowering people is about enabling them to manage their own affairs, and thus ultimately determine their own destiny. As the Regional MP for Bougainville, I took up the cause for the resource owners and the people in general in my maiden speech in the House of Assembly to set up a new mining policy which would take account of concerns of the landowners and the people as a whole; such issues as the need of equity-sharing, import substitution, environment protection, skills transfer and downstream processing.
“These issues were taken by me as early as 1972, but unfortunately the mining company did not want to listen. That year, the government set up its mining policy in accordance with my motion in parliament, and renegotiated the original mining agreement with Bougainville Copper mine which was done without a policy in place. The agreement had a proviso that it must be reviewed every seven years which was not honoured and we had the Bougainville problem.
“The mine was a technological feat but they ignored the people and ran it as an enclave. Bougainville crisis is a direct result of the policies of the government and the mine which marginalised and alienated the people. Powerless people resort to violence which is often suicidal.”
He quotes Confucius: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.
“I can distribute fish everyday, but if I really love that person, then I can teach him to fish, so he does not come back to me again for more fish. It breaks the dependency syndrome.”
Mr Momis said the bulk of our population in the provinces must be made self-reliant and not come to the centre all the time — and become beggars.
He said decentralisation was working in some provinces; depending on leadership at the national and provincial level. They were about transferring responsibilities, but it was not working because the National Government had not followed up with the commensurate powers and resources for the provinces to carry out the decentralised functions effectively.
“We will overcome them if educated people return home when there is not enough work at the centre. This will be good for the country; it will provide an impetus for the provincial centres to grow. We will see urban drift lessening, as people realise that the bright lights that lure them, have nothing to offer in the end.
“The reforms reversed the decentralisation process by taking back powers to the centre. It was an attempt by the government to exchange services for power. It is going to lead to a lot of frustration because we are creating an unmanageable situation; the national government cannot look after the provinces.”
Mr Momis continues: “Remember, we are a highly diversified society; we need to come up with a system that will enable the provinces to govern and provide services within the national framework. But you must allow the provincial government to exercise flexibility within the national framework. The Bougainville crisis is a direct consequence of neo-colonialist policies that marginalised and alienated the people, the resource owners who should be recognised as legitimate major shareholders of the Panguna mine.”
How does he see Bougainville today?
“I was saying, some provinces should be given certain measure of autonomy, according to their capacity. In Bougainville’s case, some wanted nothing but independence. The government, on the other hand wanted to protect national sovereignty and unity. So, we negotiated the Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA) which is a win-win deal for the National Government and the Bougainville people.”
How does Mr Momis see his past role and the political situation in Bougainville today?
“Apart from drawing up our constitution and making good preparation for the future, the priority is creating law and order, and social services,” he said.
“The infrastructure is not ready to take on the new responsibility as we are emerging from a 10-year war that took a lot of things. We have to help people create business ventures in order to generate tax revenue.
“At present we are dealing with a highly traumatised people. They say to me, ‘you told us to lay down arms, what alternative do you have?’ They become frustrated when there’s no money to keep things rolling.
“I am under a lot of pressure, people tell me to do practical things for them, to resuscitate business, to improve the performance of the administration; these are things I must deal with while I am committed to prepare the future of Bougainville. These practical things worry me a lot, so I ask for money from the Government, to keep the momentum going. Shortage of money is affecting the nation, yes, but in Bougainville, we have no money at all. We have a situation that is not found anywhere in PNG. Sometimes we get calls from the resistance forces who say ‘the government is not looking after us’.”
Mr Momis said people were hailing the BPA as a model. The difference between Bougainville and the situation in the Solomon Islands was that the regional intervention force was used to bring about peace.
In Bougainville, peace was attained without force, and that was a big plus for PNG. Credit goes to the Government of PNG, leaders of Bougainville and ex-combatants.
John Momis has turned down four offers for a knighthood; for his work on the constitution, decentralisation and mining policy of PNG. He preferred PNG having its own award system.
“I would have been the second knight in PNG after Sir Paul Lapun,” he said.
“Some years ago, at the insistence of the Chancellor of Unitech, the late Sir Alkan Tololo, I accepted a honourary doctorate.”
http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20031007/focus.htm
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