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Referendum Constituency Committees to be established: TANIS

CAPTION: Secretary for the Department of Referendum, Veterans' Affairs and Peace James Tanis.

An agreement has been secured to establish Referendum Constituency Committees in all 33 constituencies throughout Bougainville.

This was revealed by Secretary for the Department of Referendum, Veterans' Affairs and Peace James Tanis.

Following the recent Joint Referendum Committee meeting that was held in Port Moresby, the ABG team and their counterparts from the national government have agreed to have these committees established with the intention of bringing the Referendum issues down to the people.

 “The idea is to make sure that this conflict which started in the village with village boys who were angry about their resources, and the first arm build up happened in the village- not the provincial government, so we would want to make sure we reach every constituency in the village”, he said.

Tanis clarified that these Referendum Constituency Committees will be responsible for ensuring that the awareness reaches all communities and people will be given the chance to take ownership of these important issues which also includes Weapons Disposal.

The Referendum Constituency Committees will also be responsible for engaging the communities in active and robust dialogue regarding Bougainville’s political future.

We want to give a good opportunity to the people on the ground at the constituency level to debate independence, to talk about referendum”, Tanis said.

This open dialogue will enable people to give clear and honest views of their understanding on what they want Bougainville’s political future to be, without fear or favour.

The Referendum Department will also give prominence to the ABG Constituency Members to educate and expand their understanding on the Referendum issues in order for them [ABG Members] to ensure that their respective constituencies are referendum ready come 2019. 

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