Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ARoB)

Only in its second year, the show has attracted international visitors, who arrived in the country yesterday. In this group of tourists, two are from Germany, two from the U.S and four are Australians.

Member for South Bougainville, Timothy Masiu welcomed the tourists upon arrival in Siwai yesterday.

The eight international tourists landed at the recently refurbished Buin (Turiboiru) Airstrip on a chartered Tropic Air plane from Buka. 

National Senior Men’s Team Coach Marcos Gusmao and National Under-19 Coach Anthony Pakakota visited Bougainville at the invitation of the President of the Bougainville Football Federation, Justin Helele recently.

The duo were on their first scouting trip to Bougainville and they were very happy to see the many raw talents that showed potential to join the PNG squad in the future. Both coaches were able to watch the Under 19 soccer match between team Arawa and Buka this week including two other matches organized for the duo to watch and possibly select some players.

The conflict proved to be one – if not the darkest periods – of modern Papua New Guinea’s history with the destruction of billions of kina worth of property, the loss of over 20,000 lives and the largest single call out of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force.

Whilst talks on reopening the mine are pending, the Autonomous Bougainville Government, under the leadership of President Ishmael Toroama, has embarked on ensuring the landowners of the Panguna area come to a mutual agreement on the issue and are properly reconciled.

Due to their susceptibility to natural hazards, remoteness and limited preparedness capacities, the Lanku and Totaku wards are being supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) through resilience-building interventions.

This included disaster management trainings, disaster awareness and drills, as well as technical and material assistance to develop and implement disaster risk management plans.

BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) Group Chief Executive Officer, Robin Fleming during a recent visit to AROB said Wakunai, Arawa and Buin are among 21 areas in PNG where BSP is the only bank operating.

He said BSP is committed to providing improved banking services, including the expansion of the Arawa branch to cater for the growing customer base. 

Despite the wet weather, Bougainvilleans in Morobe turned up to have a say on the region’s leadership.

This year’s general elections for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville is quite significant as it is the first election after the referendum in November 2019.

The leaders voted in will continue negotiations with the National Government to determine AROB’s political future.

The event started off with the Presiding Officer, Joel Noga, explaining the process as well as the system of voting, which is the limited preferential voting (LPV) system.

The Bougainville Executive Council made the decision this week, following public outcry from local communities across Bougainville for a total liquor ban during the aftermath of the referendum.

The acting Chief Secretary to the Autonomous Bougainville Government, Thomas Raivet, issued a circular to all Bougainville Public Servants notifying of this extension.

The Bougainville Police Service has been directed to maintain surveillance on all affected liquor shops including any ‘black market’ outlets across Bougainville.

This was during a Training of Trainers on “Human Rights in a Referendum” conducted in Buka from 13 to 17 May 2019.

The training was conducted by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in collaboration with the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) Department of Community Development, Bougainville Referendum Commission and other ABG Institutions.

This comment was made by the Catholic HIV Coordinator, Sr Stella Morokana, during a HIV/AIDS awareness in the Peit Constituency of Buka Island last Tuesday (August 21).

Sr Morokana said there was a huge increase in the number of people infected with the deadly virus since 2012.

“The HIV figures from the Catholic AIDS Office show an increase from just 23 in 2012 and to 77 in 2018. This is a sharp climb - a bad trend especially for a region coming out of a conflict.

The boat will make access easier for transporting goods and produce like cocoa and copra between Torokina, South Bougainville and Buka town.

The people of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB), even after 20 years after one of the bloodiest civil wars known in the history of Papua New Guinea, are still picking up rather slowly on the normalcy known throughout the country – like the tradition of celebrating Christmas.