The "Free Money" Culture in Bougainville (AROB)
The flow of "Free Money" to Bougainvillean ex-combatants from the Autonomous Bougainville Government has resulted in many of them becoming reliant on these funds for their existence.
(Photo: Bougainville Copper and Gold Mine, Panguna, AROB).
Patrick Nomos | 2/6/2019
Following the signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement in 2001, members of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) and their Bougainvillean opponents, the Buka Liberation Front and the Bougainville Resistance Force ("The Resistance") - collectively known as "Ex-Combatants" - claimed financial compensation from the Government of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ABG) for their respective roles in The Crisis.
The stated basis of their claims were for hardship and suffering, and loss of property during The Crisis. Many of these claims were bogus and/or inflated, resulting in the rapid exhaustion of scarce ABG funds, originally provided by the Government of Papua New Guinea (PNG), that could otherwise have been used for infrastructure repair and maintenance in the AROB.
A large proportion of the initial financial compensation was paid to a few senior BRA members, the remainder being divided among the hundreds of ex-combatants. By early 2019, the ABG had paid several tranches of money to the ex-combatants, but judging by their continuing demands, they apparently think that they are entitled to receive such payments forever. The ranks of the ex-combatants have been swelled by individuals who are too young to have fought in The Crisis, but this hasn't stopped them from unreasonably demanding compensation from the ABG. Such payments have become known as "Free Money", since the funds are provided without any physical work being required by the ABG in return.
Political map of Bougainville
When the ex-combatants have felt the need for more "Free Money" from the ABG, they have banded together in Buka Town to threaten the destruction of commercial or government property, or have stolen ABG vehicles to apply leverage in their "negotiations" with the ABG. Another "negotiating" strategy used by the ex-combatants has been to drive vehicles onto the Buka Airstrip, forcing commercial airlines to divert Buka-bound flights to other airports. This has usually resulted in the ABG swiftly agreeing to the ex-combatants' demands.
The flow of "Free Money" to the ex-combatants has resulted in many of them becoming almost completely reliant on these funds for their existence, resulting in their sub-optimal contribution to village economies. These individuals openly sneer at their peers who earn their income from honest toil in their vegetable gardens, and coconut and cocoa plantations.
Should the planned Referendum On Future Status of Bougainville, scheduled for 17 October, 2019, indicate a strong preference by Bougainvilleans for independence from PNG, and if the PNG Parliament endorses this preference, an independent Bougainville will need a productive workforce to underpin its economy. Continuing demands by ex-combatants for "Free Money" will have the potential to significantly undermine the economy of a newly-independent Bougainville.
Map of the Pacific Region.