Letters for Friday November 5, 2021

Dear Editor,

The Aitutaki Harbour dredging is a complete shamble and it is unlawful. The acting director of the Environment Service doesn’t even know what his staff are doing in Aitutaki. How can his Aitutaki staff issue a consent or approval to go ahead without even undertaking an EIA or environment impact assessment for the lagoon dredging. Does the acting director know that is an offence under his own legislation?

Right in the middle of this shambles is the chairman of the Cook Islands Investment Corporation, Mike Henry. Who is by the way, the project coordinator for this project. Isn’t this a conflict of interest and isn’t Mike Henry collecting two pays and isn’t this double dipping? It looks like CIIC is a law onto itself?

My advice to the acting director of the Environment Service is to stop the harbour and lagoon dredging now unless you want immediate Court action. Don’t sit in your Office, go to Aitutaki and carry out your own inspections. This failure and incompetent practice by the Environment Service must see heads roll. There is no accountability and I see some ‘high level government bullying’ going on in Aitutaki.

Other EIA applicants for various projects must be furious at these breaches of the legislation and why their projects are stalled. Well, I suppose if the top is doing the same tactics then the bottom will follow suit.

Concerned Environmentalist

(Name and address supplied)

Editor: According to Cook Islands Investment Corporation CEO Allan Jensen: “Michael Henry is not the Project Lead for the Arutanga Harbour Project. He is the Project Works Liaison Officer, who is accountable and reports to the Project Manager, who is then accountable to the CIIC Government Facilities Development Division (GFDD) Manager. Mr Henry was appointed as the result of an open application process run by a Tender Panel which was then examined by the Tender Committee. That was determined by the attributes he brings to the role, in comparison to the other applicants who expressed an interest in this position. Upon his selection, the CIIC Board noted the potential for, and the perception of a conflict of interest and undertook extensive discussions with the Crown Law Office (CLO) and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM) in this respect. As a result, the Tender Committee, CLO and MFEM confirmed that directors are not prohibited from being employed in other roles as long as the Board has processes to manage any potential, actual or perceived conflicts of interest. This is an accepted governance practice in many jurisdictions, particularly where there is a small pool of expertise to call upon.”

Since the inception of the Orongo Masterplan Development in 2012, the Aitutakian people have opposed the development of a Marina in the Arutanga harbor. They did eventually support the land development. When reading the EIA, it notifies that the dredging is to allow for safety of barges, and is also the first stages towards the Orongo Masterplan which includes the Marina. This is then illustrated in a one-page design as part of that EIA. The EIA also refers to a BECA document which was done in 2014, that isn’t provided, nor does it have an online source. If you have been privy to the consultations and the opposition from the local residents then you would understand the article (Dredging causes alarm in Aitutaki amid EIA stink, Cook Islands News, November 4). If you haven’t then keep your comments to yourself. Most residents don’t want the larger development associated with the current dredging.

Dee Tatira

(Facebook)