village councils

Fears over plan for village councils

THE Cook Islands govern ment’s plans to reintro duce village councils to Rarotonga has many peo ple worried over sweeping powers these bodies will have to introduce any bylaws they want.

Under the Rarotonga Local Government Act passed last year, three district councils can come up with any bylaw which can be enforced by Police.

Nor do the district councils have to first consult with their people to get support for any bylaw they feel is necessary for the “preservation of peace and order in the Vaka (district).” At worst, if councils are over strict, they could enforce old-fashioned bylaws similar to the incredibly rigid and archaic Blue Laws introduced by the mis sionaries.

There’s nothing to stop district councils from enforcing village curfews, totally ban

ning Sunday trading, imposing their own

taxes on alcohol sales, banning people from parties, fishing ... name it, and the district council can enforce it.

For breaking a bylaw there can be a monetary fine of up to $2OOO which the council puts in its kitty. Some say the idea behind the Rarotonga Local Government Act 997 is not so bad, just the wide powers they have been given.

Rarotonga’s vaka councils will be simi lar to the reform measures introduced by the government in the outer islands where much of the central administration’s responsibili ties have devolved to island councils. Even though state politicians will have less to do, once the councils are up and running, it’s doubtful that they will cut their numbers in Parliament.

The country is unlikely to see the politi cal reforms being demanded by the National Development Council, House of Ariki (body of paramount chiefs) and Chamber of Commerce. The Cooks has the distinction of having huge parliamentary representation per capita - about 700 people to every politi cian, one of the biggest in the world. The

National Development Council - a govern ment appointed budget advisory body - says the village councils will take $605,000 out of the public purse each year, a cost the cash strapped country can ill afford at this time.

With the national budget set at $2B million, it is $5.3 million less than the last financial year. The council village elections alone will cost $30,000.

While believing the concept to be good, the opposition Democratic Alliance Party says the time isn’t right for local govern ment bodies in Rarotonga because the coun try can’t afford it. “Why are we creating this bureaucracy today? Why are we going to spend money to pay administration of the Vaka Council on this island? Is this a prior ity for us today at this time of crisis?

“This Bill is going to create a position whereby money has to be allocated to pay the officers running this Council,” said DAP leader Dr Terepai Maoate during debate on the Act. More recently, Dr Maoate is con cerned that there is really nothing he’s aware of to stop a vaka council from re

introducing any old by-laws.

He says there appears to be a lack of constraint to “prevent over zealous mea sures being enacted by the vaka councils” and believes there wasn’t enough public consultation prior to the drafting of the Act.

Maoate’s party is also wary over the “extent of powers vested in the three vaka mayors.”

“But DAP supports the idea behind the Act to encourage some form of autonomous development, be it political, economic or social within each individual vaka on Rarotonga.”

New Alliance leader Norman George described the Act in Parliament as a "cha rade” and said it was being used to divert public attention from the "real issues” fac ing the nation.

With the general elections next year, there’s been speculation that the Vaka elec tion plans for September are really a cun ning election ploy by prime minister Sir Geoffrey Henry and his Cabinet. Some say the prime minister and his cabinet are push

ing for the elections to go ahead as soon as possible because the Government will gain favour (from the thousands that will be poured into local communities.

Under the Act, three Vaka Councils will be set up in Rarotonga and headed by a chairman. Council members will be elected by people in their respective districts.

All council members will be paid and their salaries will be increased to keep up with any raises given to public servants.

MP’s in each of the vaka will be ex-officio council members and will not receive any payment for sitting on the councils.

Jn Parliamentary statements, a number of government MP’s have abstractly expressed how they think the village coun cils can be expected to perform.

Education Minister Ngereteina Puna has said the Rarotonga Local Government Act can be used to “re-introduce the old ways, which included a (village night time) cur few.” Puna said in Parliament an 8.00 pm curfew on school nights would be good for children “who will be better prepared for an effective learning day in their schools.” MP Utia Matata said the councils could be used to “iron out problems” in relation to Sunday trading in Rarotonga. A number of church es, particularly the Cook Islands Christian Church, are opposed to any form of trading on the Sabbath. But some business people criticise this view saying it’s old fashioned and the country’s economic reforms need to be driven by the private sector.

Even more astonishing was Matata’s statement that “the large amount of liquor that is being imported into our country and being sold and transported into the many Vaka (districts), can be tapped into and taken advantage of to earn a few cents (for the vaka council) from the sales of each car ton.” Retailers, however, would most likely be opposed to putting up the price of car tons of beer and keeping track of sales would be extremely difficult for the coun cils. Matata also suggested councils take over the registration of dogs and earn

money. Similarly, Ngereteina Puna thought

it a good idea to impose fines on the owners of “stray animals that are found roaming around in our villages and on the roads.”

The final decision whether to go ahead with the Vaka council elections later this year rests with Cabinet. And if Cabinet's past performance is any indication of what it will do, that decision may not necessarily reflect the recommendations of its own advisory body. ■