Transcript
JIMMY MIRINGTORO: There was a discussion with the President and the Prime Minister a few weeks ago. Now what happened I think is there was a general consensus that was reached - the distribution of shares has all been agreed by both parties. Now after that meeting the President was going against the decision that I think they had agreed to make, because the Prime Minister publicly announced the distribution of shares at 17.4 percent going to Panguna landowners and also 36 percent goes to ABG. What I can see is this. I think what the Prime Minister had done, he had done very fairly. He had given 36 percent, a big slice of cake, to ABG and the 17.4 percent, which was supposed to be for Papua New Guinea Government, the Prime Minister had given, in goodwill, to the people of Panguna.
DON WISEMAN: The 36 percent that came to the ABG, that was nothing to do with Peter O'Neill. I mean that was a decision made by Rio [Rio Tinto], wasn't it?
JM: Well it was made by Rio, or whoever, but 36 percent is already a controlling share.
DW: No, you don't have a controlling share unless you have got 50.1 percent.
JM: Well I am talking from the point that ABG was given 36 percent and that is already a big chunk of a share, compared to what has been given to the Panguna landowners. Now I believe this 17.4 percent is just a start, the way I see it. There will be negotiations that will be taking place between the ABG [Autonomous Bougainville Government] and the landowners and I believe they will find an amicable solution to settle the issue as to what Momias is saying.
DW: All right. What is your feeling? Do you think this mine should open again?
JM: All along I have been saying the people of Bougainville should look into the agriculture sector more strongly, than mine. Because the talk on mine - when it will open, it will take a long time. So to start up the economic base the people of Bougainville have to work on agriculture.
DW; An additional factor it would seem to me if a mining multi national like Rio Tinto walks away from a mine that was a dead cert, it is not the sort of move that is going to attract other miners is it?
JM: Well for Bougainville there are a lot of outstanding issues. We still blame Rio for all these problems that arise from the Bougainville crisis. Now when we start to talk about opening mine, you know it creates a lot of problems, especially with landowners and also the factions that are around there and also generally the public, especially the Bougainvilleans. So at the moment the Prime Minister he is not saying we have to open the mine now. What the Prime Minister is saying now is 'this is the gift, 17.4 percent to the landowners. Whatever you want to do, but later on if you want to open up the mine, we can talk it over, but now now' and he is not pushing that agenda.
DW: Part of the reason of course that John Momis is so concerned about getting this mine up and running is that he wants an instant or very quick flow of income, and that is not going to happen with agriculture - it is going to take a bit longer. In the meantime your government, he says, hasn't been paying the grants it should be paying. What is your response to that?
JM: Sir. I think there are certain things that ABG has to meet, especially in these public funds that were given to the ABG. Now we have to understand that these funds are not just give-away funds. They are development monies, and under the constitution they are conditional grants. Now I think there was a first tranche of money that was given to the ABG - the first 100 million - but I think in O'Neill's report that money was misused, it was misappropriated. Now the Government of Papua New Guinea is worrying because the people of Bougainville are not seeing any tangible change over there. We, as members of national government, if we are not present over there with the grant that we are getting from national government nothing will happen over there in Bougainville.
DW: But on Buka they're saying they just don't have the resources, the national government hasn't been funding them properly therefore they can't do anything, therefore nothing's happening.
JM: Well you know, I think all the parties have to take responsibility on how the funds should be used, we are mindful of the fact that a lot of projects in Bougainville have not been funded, a lot of money has been directed to other things and people don't see the real benefit of those monies.
