A group of senior officials from the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) will visit the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs and its affiliated statutory bodies this week.
The ABG is the government of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, which was established in 2000 following a peace agreement between the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA).
The group's main objective is to come and study the iTaukei traditional governance structures and systems with a view to develop a governance system that best meets the cultures of the people of Bougainville.
According to iTaukei Affairs permanent secretary Savenaca Kaunisela, "The group will look at Fiji's system of land ownership and scrutinise how Fiji kept its records of traditional communal land and fishing rights."
"They are also interested in knowing the different roles played by the provincial and district (Tikina) councils in the affairs of the iTaukei, and at the same time try and understand the functions played by the iTaukei Lands & Fisheries Commission and iTaukei Lands Appeal Tribunal."
The team that is led by Reverend Joseph Nope, Minister of LLG, Traditional Authority, Information & Communication, paid a courtesy call and offered a traditional sevusevu to the Minister of iTaukei Affairs, this morning, prior to their meeting with Mr Kaunisela and his senior officers.
The ABG team will later visit the office of the iTaukei Affairs Board, Native Lands & Fisheries Commission, the Native Lands Appeals Tribunal and the Native lands Trust Board.
The team will leave for Tonga on June 4 for a similar exercise.
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