“Today, when I received the certificate of the Bougainville Savings and Loan Society and that we now have our very own Society for our people - I believe we can forge our future.”
President Ishmael Toroama made this remarks when he received the operating license from the Acting Governor for Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) Mrs Elizabeth Genia this week at the launching of the Bougainville Savings and Loans Society in Buka.
President Toroama’s challenge to the people was for them to start somewhere if they wanted to see Bougainville’s economy grow and for the future generation to benefit as well from today’s savings.
President Toroama highlighted that it is the Government’s responsibility to make the environment conducive for Bougainville to grow its economy. He said that the government has done its part in taking the people through the Bougainville referendum and it was the people who attracted big projects such as the Bougainville Savings and Loans Society, to come to reality.
“People everywhere in Bougainville are asking the government, how it is going to fund its own economy and the answer is, if we can save some amount starting with the Bougainville Savings and Loan Society then we can be assured that our future is secured,” he said.
President Toroama warned about having the habit of only borrowing and not saving. He said that it was an unhealthy exercise when people only borrowed from the bank because the outcome only makes it a burden again but he encouraged that it would be healthier if people saved money first and then borrowed later.
He assured the people of Bougainville that the Bougainville Savings and Loans Society was the best option for the people who can save money for their children to benefit in the future.
He strongly urged that saving with the society was the better way forward for the people of Bougainville to move the economy of the region.
