Allegations of theft have been made by Bougainville's vice president, who is investigating missing payments from a bank to government accounts.
Photo: Supplied/ Bougainville House of Representatives
The vice president and Minister of Economic Development Patrick Nisira said a review had been underway into all of the government's past investments and economic initiatives, to decide which were worth keeping.
He said Bougainville's first government, under Joseph Kabui, bought shares in Bank South Pacific, but this year was the first time dividend payments from the bank had been paid into the government's accounts.
People within the previous governments had taken the dividend which should have been paid to the region, Nisira said; the bank had paid the dividend, but the money had gone into private hands.
Bougainville vice president Patrick Nisira Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
After discussions, the bank agreed to pay all dividends into the Autonomous Bougainville Government's main bank account - its consolidated revenue account, and a payment of $US139,000 was made for the 2021 business year.
Nisira said investigations were being carried out into other government investments in companies such as the Credit Corporation and AVIS companies.
He said the government was working on a 'low-hanging fruit' plan to identify the most valuable projects to help grow the economy and create opportunities for the people of Bougainville. And from now on, his ministry would "ensure that all new economic projects will be based on proper evidence and feasibility studies, which will inform whether the project is viable before moving on to the next step."