PNG cheque to Bougainville cleared, says PM

Papua New Guinea media is reporting that a cheque the national government gave Bougainville has now cleared. On Wednesday the President of Bougainville John Momis said the $US1.49 million (FJ$3 billion) dollar cheque, given by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill at the end of the Joint Supervisory Board meeting at the end of last month, had bounced.

The money was intended as an initial payment towards preparations for the referendum on independence planned for next year.

Mr Momis said the cheque failing to clear was an indication of the national government’s apparent lack of commitment to the vote process.

But Loop PNG reported Mr O’Neill saying to avoid fraud the cheque required a covering letter from the secretary of finance before it could be cleared, and that Bougainville would have known this was the case.