OOOOppppsss see todays daily post letter to editor. re: Claims by candidate in Port Vila by-election Please allow me space to clarify and put into perception certain claims of Mr. Levi Tarosa made in his political campaign pamphlet. 1. Mr. Tarosa claims he is the first Ni-Vanuatu lands Referee and Valuer General appointed by the Head of State. That claim is partly true. From official records he was officially appointed the Lands Referee in September 2002. The appointment and position lasted 6 months. In November 2003 he was further appointed the Acting Valuer General for 6 months. From record he was reluctant to fully exercise the role and functions of the Valuer General for want of being appointed Valuer General. HE WAS NEVER APPOINTED VALUER GENERAL. Between the two presidential appointments and thereafter his acting appointments and thereafter his acting appointment as Valuer General had lapsed, by his own words recorded in one of his letters in our files he was literally a no-body and without a designated post in the Public Service. 2. Mr. Tarosa also claims he is one of the first 3 indigenous Ni-Vanuatu to work in the government valuation department in Malaysia. That is an exaggerating and misleading statement because HE WAS ACTUALLY ATTACHED TO A VALUATION DEPARTMENT UNDER A TECHNICAL TRAINING PROGRAM, NOT WORKING. I was one of those three persons he numbered. 3. Mr. Tarosa further claims he is the first Ni-vanuatu to be registered as a valuer in the private sector. THAT DOES NOT MEAN ANYTHING except to note that his application was the first to be received by the Valuer General. How a registered valuer practices and conducts himself or herself [at the highest standard] is what matters. 4. Mr. Tarosa furthermore claims he is the first Ni-Vanuatu to be associated with the Australian Property Institute as a student member. Being a student in property studies in Australia (or elsewhere for that matter) would be normal to be provided with a pass to access resources of relevant Institutes and surely in no way construed membership proper. The same goes for his claim for being the first Ni-Vanuatu student member of the Fiji Institute of Valuers and Estate Management. For the last 7-8 years I have been lopped on every email sent by the Fiji Institute as a member but noticed no Tarosa included. 5. And Tarosa claims he is the first Ni-Vanuatu to undertake a Masters of Business in property studies in Australia. Perhaps he should have disclosed WHAT QUALIFICATION HE ACTUALLY ENDED UP WITH. It is disappointing for me as Valuer General, who is responsible for the registration of valuers and the overseeing of their conducts and practices, to note a registered valuer exaggerating and willfully misrepresented himself with the obvious intention to buy votes in this by-election or alternatively get business. His misleading and misrepresentation only adds to the already integrity issues surrounding his practices and conducts which continues to be a concern to the valuation profession. Menzies Samuel Valuer General of Vanuatu
Posted on: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 09:41:58 +0000