22 Jun 2005

Cooks outer island budget cut forces spending re-think

3:42 pm on 22 June 2005

The head of the Cook Islands' Office of the Minister for Outer Islands says a budget cut will lead to more careful targetting of assistance to outer islands.

The latest Cook Islands' Budget, being debated this week, cuts funding for outer islands by about 287 thousand US dollars, to about 6 point five million US dollars.

The chief executive, Nandi Glassie, says the Government wants to see a redistribution with funds going to high-priority projects.

"We will be looking much more specifically into harbour developments in the outer islands, the development and improvement of harbours, the improvements of airports in the outer islands, because those are two areas of great concerns, and also looking at the roads on some of the southern group islands because they have to be improved as well, and there are other areas that the Government is very very mindful of. The water system in the outer islands is of priority, and so is the generation of electricity."

Nandi Glassie.