Bougainville to seek donor help over vote funding crisis

9:59 am on 17 January 2019

Bougainville is planning to ask donors to help fund referendum preparations as it says the Papua New Guinea government has failed to meet its commitments.

Flag of autonomous region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

Photo: manganganath/123RF

The autonomous region is to hold a referendum on independence, with a tentative date set for June the 15th.

The Bougainville president John Momis has dismissed a claim by local MP Joe Lera that Port Moresby is withholding the money because Bougainville is not meeting its obligations.

The PNG prime minister, Peter O'Neill, has made a number of promises to get the money through but Mr Momis says he doubts Port Moresby wants to honour the Peace Agreement.

"Unfortunately donors seem to pay too much heed to the national government's wrongly assessed situation. I don't think the national government really wants to honour the Peace Agreement.

"So we will go to the donors and I think it is time there is foreign intervention in the way the Peace Agreement is being implemented by the national government."

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs