Petition for anti-corruption body Thu 8 Aug Rarotongan businessman Tata Crocombe has started an online petition to urge government to establish an anti-corruption commission. “Honourable Henry Puna, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands: Establish an Independent Commission Against Corruption by Christmas 2013,” reads a mass email by Crocombe on Monday. Crocombe, who is the New Zealand-based director of the Rarotongan Resort and Spa, says the online petition webpage has received 93,919 visitors and about 900 likes on Facebook. The petition can be found on the website, change.org, by searching with the keywords, “Henry Puna”. “The Cook Islands is a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. However, Transparency International has identified that there is no credible anti-corruption agency in the Cook Islands. Long standing allegations of corruption are neither investigated nor acted upon,” reads the petition. “With the almost daily revelations of corruption within the Cook Islands government, whether “Colagate”, “Tissuegate”, the Dalvivian tax haven or fishing licences, it is imperative that an independent commission against corruption be established ... to restore public confidence in the Cook Islands government’s integrity as well as the international reputation of the Cook Islands government abroad.” As of yesterday afternoon, 132 signatories had added their name to the petition. “Systemic corruption can only happen if the people allow it to happen,” Crocombe told CI News. “Corruption festers in secrecy and can only be eradication if exposed to the light.” “It is a matter of giving people an avenue to voice their opinion in a constructive way to the PM.” Crocombe has previously spoken about the role of sound governance in business development and job creation, including a speech to the New Zealand parliament. “Corruption is like a cancer that eats away the credibility of our country and tarnish our ‘paradise’ reputation. I’m all for it to stamp out this disease,” one petition signatory commented. Atiu MP Norman George has also signed the petition, and posted the comment, “Public interest in these corruption issues are rampant and this is concerning to me, not just as a politician, but as a Cook Islander.”
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 18:57:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015