Senior official apologises over comments

Remarks made by the Acting Secretary for Finance Kevin Carr in Tuesday’s issue of the CI News have raised several eyebrows and not just at the highest political level.
When the Times drew the Minister for Finance’s attention to the article on Friday morning, the Minister advised he had contacted Carr over the matter. Minister Wilkie Rasmussen said he did not necessarily agree with everything Carr had to say and he has asked Carr to keep him informed.
Rasmussen said Carr had apologized.
Some of the comments made were in this writer’s view, inappropriate for the Secretary to make.
Reference to his desire to create a similar model to the one the country produced for the ADB debt negotiations in Manila in 1998 is a decision for the Minister and Cabinet to make not the Secretary. Government’s policy on a framework to rein in spending will be signaled to the Secretary by the Minister not the other way around.
Such modeling could be considered a step backwards at a time when more innovative thinking is required. Retrenchment may not be the best option. The impression is the Secretary is staying with a strategy he is familiar with. A priority even for a prudent government is to find new revenue streams and to stimulate the private sector to generate more revenue. The alternative is less government services, reduced income, rising unemployment, further depopulation and a rise in property related crime. Households are already experiencing difficulties with the high cost of living. Last year this paper predicted an increase in petty crime if finances became tight and we see this happening now. Petty criminals are increasingly focusing on tourists who are soft targets and soon this will impact on our reputation overseas.
The Secretary made a prediction on the tabling and passing of the Budget. He should refrain from such comments until his Minister has informed him of the date for tabling.
The Secretary is quoted as saying he is not clear on what the government’s economic position is. However, he continued to comment on his proposals regarding a financial model.
Rasmussen said government needed an alternative assessment done of its financial position and in this regard he had approached the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to send an adviser to assist. He said a Cook Islands woman employed by the Reserve Bank is being considered to carry out the assessment. Rasmussen said the assessment will reveal how MFEM can improve its performance.

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