A new agreement signed today between the Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC) and Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee (CISNOC) will see the two bodies working together to promote sport and physical recreation throughout the Cook Islands.
Speaking from the Cabinet Room, where the agreement was signed in front of Prime Minister Mark Brown and other guests this morning, CIIC CEO Allan Jensen said the formalised Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CISNOC would play an important part in “encouraging all Cook Islanders to live more active and healthier lifestyles”.
“It’s all about working together for the betterment of the sporting community – and the Cook Islands community in general,” said Jensen.
“The MOU will promote more effective and efficient management of our national sporting facilities – including the National Stadium and Indoor Sports Arena – while also making clear what each party’s responsibilities and obligations are.”
The guiding objectives of the MOU between CIIC and CISNOC are fivefold:
-To establish accessible and affordable sports and recreational facilities of an international standard, thereby allowing for the development of a range of sporting disciplines.
-To maintain and improve existing facilities to a high standard.
– To establish effective and efficient management of sports and recreation facilities.
-To establish effective and efficient maintenance of sports and recreation facilities.
-To promote the accessibility, inclusiveness, and availability of facilities for use by the general public.
The MOU was signed on behalf of CISNOC by their Secretary General Owen Lewis, who acknowledged “the faith being placed in us to manage the use of these facilities on behalf of the government”.
“Obviously, this sporting infrastructure is vital not only to the development of high-performance sport and sport in general but also to the physical health of our country,” said Lewis.
“As such, these venues have to be managed with this in mind. The recently drafted National Sports Stadium Infrastructure Policy that guides the MOU and our plans for usage management clearly sets out the principles by which we ourselves will be guided.
“We want to ensure the venues are affordable and accessible. We want to see them utilised for the betterment of our people and our national sports federations. The MOU allows us to not only influence this process but guide it as well.
“We are thankful to CIIC for working with us to enable this to happen and we in turn look forward to working with them. As mentioned, we are grateful to Cabinet for the trust placed in us and in particular to the Minister of Sport Mac Mokoroa and the Minster of CIIC, Prime Minister Brown, for their continual support of sport in this country. Our theme for the Cook Islands Games can equally be applied to this venture – ‘Together As One We Can Move The Nation’.”
