Churches in Bougainville will help fund the upcoming independence referendum in the autonomous Papua New Guinea region.
A tentative date of June 15th 2019 has been set for a referendum on possible independence in the Autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville. Photo: RNZI / Johnny Blades
Last month, the president of the Autonomous Bougainville Government, John Momis, admitted his administration lacked funding for the plebiscite.
This was echoed by the Bougainville Referendum Commission tasked with implementing the vote, due later this year.
PNG's central government still owes hundreds of millions of dollars in funding committed to Bougainville under the 2001 Peace Agreement.
The Bougainville Council of Churches said it would open a bank account to collect donations for the commission to fund referendum preparation.
New Dawn FM reported the council's chair and the head of Bougainville's Catholic church, Bishop Bernard Unabali, saying the account will be open in early March.
Bishop Unabali said churches are obliged to support their government for this important event in Bougainville's history.
