14 May 2014

Bougainville launching own public service

4:51 am on 14 May 2014

The chief administrator in Papua New Guinea's Bougainville says the launch of its own public service today will greatly benefit locals

Running its own public service is a cornerstone of the Bougainville Peace Agreement but Port Moresby has, until now, not handed down the powers because it had deemed the province lacked the capacity.

Chris Siriosi says the province has been laying the groundwork for today's development for the past two years.

He says it is something to be proud about and will mean improved services for Bougainvilleans.

"As far as I am concerned I think it will mean bringing public services right down to the grass roots level and making delivery of service much more effective and accountability to the system of local level government here in Bougainville."

Bougainville's chief administrator, Chris Siriosi.