Sports minister pleased with CISNOC progress

Government wants the best outcome for sports, says minister of sport and finance Mark Brown commenting on the current financial state of the national sports body CISNOC (Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee).

“That means that we want to see people participating in sports, and be able to provide a pathway to compete at the most elite level,” says Brown.

He says for this to happen it is vital that CISNOC overcomes its current financial problems.

“Government is using its leverage with the appointment of advisors to the board – Richard Neves (finance secretary) and Bredina Drollet (internal affairs secretary) – to help CISNOC put in place the necessary financial discipline to ensure the organisation operates efficiently and maximizes its support to the development of sports by its member sporting bodies.

“I would expect CISNOC now as a federation to move forward to fix those issues and lead the way for sport in the nation,” says Brown.

Brown says for CISNOC to move forward, it must address the back log of issues including paying off creditors.

“Use of the All Sports Fund collected by government for passing on to CISNOC to meet the creditors ensures that all debts are paid and reduces a further call on public resources. This is expected to be a temporary measure for this year only with normal resumption of the fund expected in the future.”

Since the surfacing of the financial issues in CISNOC, Brown says government is pleased with the progress that the national sports body has made including a thorough review of its accounts which has helped shaped the current “no-frills” budget for the remainder of year. “Items such as Koru membership are not provided for in that membership and are not expected to be included in future budget plans.”

On questions of why government continues to bail out the organisation despite what some national federations claim to be a ‘culture of extravagance’ within the sport body, Brown says no one has bailed out CISNOC.

“If you look at what the government has actually done it was to ensure that athletes got to attend the Pacific Mini Games in New Caledonia, we have loaned the money to CISNOC and that debt still remains.

“CISNOC’s operations will be supported but nowhere near the numbers that were quoted earlier, and we will ensure that our athletes attend the London Olympic Games this year by advancing the money for their attendance which will then be refunded from the Olympic Games Organising Committee – as a result of new funding arrangements.”

“If there is anyone out there suggesting that they should not go, I will let those people try and explain what their rationale is,” adds Brown.