BRYAN KRAMER | PNG Blogs
EARLIER this month, the Post Courier newspaper published an article by journalist Gorethy Kenneth headlined ‘O'Neill: Govt has no interest in Panguna’.
The report stated that "prime minister Peter O’Neill has reiterated that the government has no interest to own the Panguna copper mine on Bougainville."
It went on to quote O'Neill as stating:
“There have been suggestions that the government is keen to buy 53.38% [being] Rio Tinto’s shares in the Australian firm Bougainville Copper Limited.
"The national government is committed to improving the delivery of basic services to the people of Bougainville as a top most priority of our government.
"Recent decisions, including rebuilding the main roads including Kokopau to Arawa and to Buin and the awarding of contracts are clear examples of this commitment.
"As I stated in Arawa and in Panguna, the national government is not interested in talking about anything else including the opening of the Panguna mine.
"In all of our meetings with the [Autonomous Bougainville Government] these issues have been openly discussed between the leaders and my position has not changed.
"There has been some discussion between the ABG, the national government and Rio Tinto about the possible divestment of Rio Tinto’s interest in Bougainville.
"But again, this is a decision on which the landowners and the people of Bougainville will have to guide the national government.
"We have no interest in owning the mine or reopening the mine. We will remain focused on delivering the better education and healthcare, rebuilding infrastructure and improving the economic opportunities of people on Bougainville."
Following that statement, Peter O'Neill announced a cabinet reshuffle the very next day appointing himself Minister for Bougainville Affairs.
This is an unusual political move considering it is convention that a member of parliament from Bougainville would be in charge of the ministry responsible for the affairs of Bougainville.
The last time Peter O'Neill high-jacked a ministry was to bulldoze his own cabinet submission to approve the controversial K3 billion UBS deal to acquire a 10.1% stake in Oil Search.
It resulted in the sacking of former Treasurer (now Opposition Leader) Don Polye after he refused to sign the instruments because he felt it was a reckless decision.
O'Neill reacted by sacking Polye and taking over the ministry to sign off on the deal. With the significant drop in both oil prices and Oil Search's value since, it seems Polye was right all along.
Following this media coverage, the Post Courier published another report on the same issue headlined ‘Respect their Decision’.
Again the article reported the prime minister claiming he was not interested in reopening the mine.
"I want the peace agreement to be completed by working with the leaders of ABG and the people of Bougainville,” he said.
So in the space of two days Bougainville became a hot issue for Peter O'Neill. He seemed to be releasing press statements repeating himself on the same issue and the question is why?
He made the point that "BCL (Bougainville Copper Limited) still has cash and assets remaining and that his government's decision is final and will not let the people down.”
What decision was he talking about? Perhaps a decision on how he wants to acquire BCL's cash and assets.
It is important to note that Peter O'Neill is the worst prime minister in PNG's short history for issuing misleading statements not to mention being in the centre of numerous corruption scandals and controversial deals including K3 billion UBS Loan, the Paraka scandal, LR Generators and the expropriation of Ok Tedi mine, just to name a few.
With the government strapped for the cash, it seems Peter O'Neill has now taken a keen interest in Bougainville and more specifically the Panguna mine.
Although he is now trying to talk it down it, it is evident it has become so important to him that he has taken over the ministry.
So should we and the Bougainville people believe him when he says his government has no interest in Panguna?
What Peter O'Neill failed to disclose to the public was that on 8 December last year, he, Ben Micah and a number of key ministers met with the president of Autonomous Region of Bougainville, John Momis, in Kokopo to discuss his government’s proposal to "urgently" purchase 53% of Rio Tinto's shares in BCL.
The focus of the purchase - "commercial opportunities."
Two days later, on 10 December 2015, President Momis wrote to Peter O'Neill rejecting his proposal, making the point it was not in the interests of the people of Bougainville.
So who's commercial opportunities and interests was Peter O'Neill referring to in that meeting and will he use his new ministerial appointment to take over BCL to go after its cash and assets?