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Friday 18 April 2014

Bougainville Manifesto (13) An Island Economic Road


Leonard Fong Roka

Whilst Bougainville needs protectionism for its politics, economy and cultures in order for the island and its people to gain the maximum benefit of their resources and existence in the face of globalization and so on, the rebel leader of the Bougainville Crisis since 1988-2005, late Francis Ona, had stated this agenda by saying in the Darren Bender & Mike Chamberlain 1999 film documentary, Coconut Revolution, that: ‘My fighting on Bougainville [is] based on these factors: (1) that is, we are fighting for man and his culture, and (2) land and environment; and (3) one is, independence.’
 
Francis Ona, had along the way, the fact that the Bougainville land and its people were staggering to their fate under the three tools PNG and BCL had to kill them and these were, exploitation so great in Panguna mine; indoctrination so forceful through the PNG education system and patterns of democracy and the foreseeable fate through genocide where Bougainville identity and dignity would be nothing.

And thus he had in mind that the only way to saving the Bougainville people was through independence where Bougainvilleans could at least have a say in the development or decision making of their island that was geographically, ethnically and culturally not relatives of Papuans and New Guineans.  

Bougainville is the largest and the resource rich island of the Solomon archipelago but that resource had been stolen to develop foreigners that are PNG, shareholders of BCL and Riotinto (Australia) and the many non-Bougainvillean business tycoons who had rushed onto Bougainville during the colonial era running coconut and cocoa plantation industries and others that grew their finance getting contracts with BCL.

All these massive exploitation of Bougainville wealth happened under the sun as the indigenous people sang the PNG national anthem and preached PNG perspectives of democracy that absolutely had no relevance on Bougainville and the rest of the Solomon archipelago thus leading into the civil war since 1988 to 1997; and its aftermath still being felt in the post conflict Bougainville.

The Bougainville Constitution as sections that need upholding when planning and executing the Bougainville economy and economic recovery.

Looking at the whole island, the Bougainville Constitution prepared itself to accommodate all things/matters arising in Section 44 (Land Matters) and Section 47 (Fisheries). Here all the resources Bougainville has are catered for when investing to creating the best of policies in mining, agriculture, or fishing and so on; upholding these sections by the government, businesses and the people, a positive economic leap is practical.

But in the post conflict Bougainville as the island marches towards referendum for independence between 2015 and 2020, ordinary Bougainvilleans, their leaders in the ABG and observers are bombarding the island authorities with two questions of economic revival or economic strength to carry Bougainville forward: (1) where does the island economy starts off?, and (2) how does the island economy kicks off its economic engine? These have the answers in the Bougainville Constitution.

The base of the Bougainville economic drive should start from Bougainville Constitution’s Section 22 (General Social and Economic Objectives). Bougainville must have social and economic objectives for its people and the island. With this in focus, Bougainville must be aware of Section 27 (The Environment and Conservation); that is sustainability of any form of development is paramount in a small island state in the midst of the Pacific.

With this fundamental requirements activated, Bougainville must connect the above provisions or directives to Section 23 (The Land and Natural Resources) since the right path to built a nation out of scratch is from the resource it has available; and not from exploitative foreign direct investment upon a shattered domestic foundation.  Then, Bougainville can kick-start its economy from Section 24 (Development) (1) In order to facilitate development, private initiative and self-reliance shall be encouraged. But the right decision makers in parliament are a vital resource to uphold the Bougainville’s constitutional ambitions.

With all the economic frameworks in place, however, Bougainville had had a leadership that feared the economic status quo so far; they feared being associated with a cash strap Bougainville and wanted an economic miracle. Since attaining a functional and legitimate government in 2005 setbacks that disregarded the Bougainville Constitution was visible.

The first president, late Joseph Kabui, attempted to sell 70 percent of Bougainville wealth to Australian Canada-based businessman Lindsay Semple for K20 million; the next president, James Tanis, stood undecided in the centre of the economic continuum of forward or reverse scenario; and the current, Dr. John Momis looks at China and BCL but the people’s ‘tide of stubbornness’ had being sweeping his government everywhere.  

But in the situation of an island economy like Bougainville where the citizenry is not that all literate the focus should be the agricultural sector for takeoff.

And W.W. Rostow’s 1960 work, The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto, outlined the basic steps into building a nation’s economy to maturity from zero. Rostow’s steps from stage one, were: (1) The Traditional Society, (2) The Preconditions for Takeoff, (3) The Takeoff, (4) The Drive to Maturity, and (5) The Age of High Mass-Consumption. Bypassing the steps fails a state unless the political masters are creative; and Bougainville, is problematic looking at Rostow’s guidance.

Rostow’s order of progress is centered on agriculture; and Bougainville has agriculture and fisheries for Stage 1 that needs fixing up in accordance to the tiny but growing intellectual and technological capacities of the citizens; plus borrowed technologies, related to downstream processing so often advocated by NGOs to move onto Stage 2, and there is no setback and snailing down of progress when Bougainville is in the age of foreign donor funding.

But Bougainville government and people must be focused when utilizing resources on the United Nation’s Agenda 21 that according to Richard J. Estes 1993 work , Towards Sustainable Development: From Theory to Praxis (page 8), calls on,

…the husbanding of the planet’s wasting resources. Along with the roster of problems familiar to environmentalists—the ozone layer, global warming, deforestation, desertification, soil erosion, biodiversity—Agenda 21 addresses action to be taken against poverty, infant mortality, malnutrition, epidemic disease, illiteracy and other affiliations that waste that other resource of the planet: its human population. 

Bougainville is a tiny island and running along with Agenda 21 is a way to success for the government and its people.

Bougainville natural resources are to hitherto being exploited by non-Bougainvilleans since discovery in 1767 (sighted by British sailors) and 1768 (sighted and landed on by French sailors). Thus in the new drive for change, it is the Bougainvilleans that must used their resources for their betterment. And the primary task for a responsible government is to create and implement economic and social laws that create for Bougainvilleans a conducive environment for business and economic advancement that reflects Section 24 of the Bougainville Constitution.

 Then Bougainville plans per region (North, Central and South) which goods and services each have to be specialized in depending on the climate and topography of the regions, especially with agriculture and downstream processing; and light manufacturing.

Harnessing a strong agriculture, fisheries and tourism base is what Bougainville should be investing on when it has low fiscal and monetary power. And this should on the road where focus is on both wealth and social cohesion for the people as not to fail as it was in Nauru where wealth was supreme over social cohesion.

Bougainville must start simple as the saying ‘Think Big But Start Small’ dictates; and roll out low cost entrepreneurial drives for the people; Bougainville should own and operate business in the island and export to strengthen its foreign currency pools.

And these are few ideas by Tim Ashton (personal communication, July 12, 2012) on few income earning resources and how they should be run:

  • Work on developing agriculture;
    • Cocoa: Take over the marketing of your own beans as they have done in Vanuatu
    • Fresh coconuts to Australia: Currently they are imported from Thailand
    • Develop industry around laminated bamboo products
  • Fishing;
    • Fresh reef fish for the Australian market
    • Fresh frozen Yellowfin Tuna bring $5000+ in Tokyo properly killed and prepared
      • To do this you need ice machines so your fishermen can chill the catch and transfer it to strategically located freezers
  • Tourism
    • Japan: Buin is where their wartime hero, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto died. Build a shrine
    • Torokina War relics  
    • The Japanese are the most prolific birdwatchers in the world. Guided tours..
    • Butterfly farms
    • Orchid nurseries
    • Adventure tourism
      • Trips up Bagana
      • Green island; Feid island, the most beautiful in the Pacific
    • Build guest houses like the Arawa women’s centre. Feed them fresh reef fish. Be respectful and above all, do not be greedy and the money will flow

These are a few industries forgotten by politicians on Bougainville. Bougainville should look into banana, taro, fruits and other staple garden stuff and secure markets. Bougainville should look into fresh river farming for food like prawns and eels and others that have market out there; they should look into animal husbandry for animal like chicken, duck, pigs (less land area for domestication).

Rice, that is one of foods that sucks most incomes for Pacific countries, has the growing plains in most south Bougainville; alongside sugar cane for sugar. The Wakunai-Torokina area produces some of the best vegetables like peanuts, cabbage and potato and that needs attention by Bougainville for Bougainvilleans to invest into. Coffee also grows well across Bougainville.

With all these, Bougainville now needs local Bougainvillean companies to take control of the export powers and function. For the start a state enterprise or Bougainvillean business joint ventures for control of these natural resources with ABG backing is vital; removal of foreign companies like the Singaporean Agmark Industries, Asian businesses  and others that the myopic ABG loves so much. 

And the Bougainville directive is: If cocoa grows in Bougainville, then Bougainville must produce chocolate powder; if coffee grows on Bougainville, then Bougainville must produce coffee powder; if a coconut palm sways on Bougainville, then Bougainville must produce oil cosmetics; if the sea girds Bougainville, then Bougainville must produce salt for his table; and if the Bougainville child is born on land, then that child owns the land and everything that grows on it belongs to him but he must care for them and trade them to get what his land will not give him.

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