ABG progresses economic reforms
The prospects of economic growth in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville will see great improvement following several reforms the Autonomous Bougainville Government will be introducing.
The ABG’s current Inward Investment Act is currently being reviewed to ascertain its practicality in generating revenue and improve economic growth on Bougainville.
President Ishmael Toroama said that the current act lacks incentives in key sectors in Mining, Fisheries, Agriculture, Manufacturing and Tourism.
“Our current act is a copy paste version of the act in Papua New Guinea. We need our own act that is tailored to suit our objectives to stimulate our economy,” President Toroama said.
“We are currently looking at models throughout the world that are similar to our circumstances and practical for Bougainville to emulate,” President Toroama added.
This review will also look at existing investments that Bougainville has had since 1974 as well as the recent investments by the ABG.
Under President Toroama, the ABG has already initiated several key high impact economic development projects on Bougainville specifically the Bana Special Economic Zone, Tonolei Integrated Agriculture Project and the Manetai Limestone Project.
While these projects will prove to be very lucrative for Bougainville it will take a substantial amount of time for them to be developed before they reach the production stage.
However, the ABG has also sought to develop its fiscal capacity in the “Low-Hanging Fruits” economic sectors as a strategy to generating steady revenue for Bougainville at a faster pace.
The government has already identified three key areas; Gold, Water Bottling and Bio Diesel apart from cash crops such as cocoa and vanilla etc…
“We already have Bougainvilleans involved in some of these businesses and the ABG can develop them within the shortest time possible and generate internal revenue,” President Toroama said.
“We will develop these sectors under State Owned Enterprises or under a Joint Venture with credible investors,” President Toroama said.
“These reforms as well as these initiatives are going to drive economic development as well as international best practice standards on investments in Bougainville,” President Toroama said.
“They are to protect the interests of both the investors and Bougainville,” he added.
Under the President’s Six Point Strategy, Economic Development is the second point that calls for the revival of economic activity on Bougainville and the generation of internal revenue thus enabling Bougainville to be economically independent.
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