Friday, 11 February 2022
Ms Temarama Anguna-Kamana has been re-appointed as the Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) for a second 3-year term. Prior to taking on her first term as Secretary for Agriculture, Anguna-Kamana was the Human Resource Manager for the Te Marae Ora Ministry of Health for over 10 years, with management qualities in strategic and business planning, policy development, knowledge and information management and risk management.
Heads of Ministries (HoMs) are employed under 3-year term contracts. Pursuant to the Public Service Amendment Act 2009 a HoM's employment may 'roll-over' into a second three-year term contract with the approval of Cabinet, provided that performance criteria have been met during the HoM's first term.
During her first term as Secretary, Anguna-Kamana, along with the team at Agriculture reviewed and completed the Strategic and Sector plans, Cook Islands Agriculture Master Plan, Workforce Development Plan and Risk Management Plan. Key deliverables in Crop Research, Biosecurity and Advisory were achieved.
For her second term, Anguna-Kamana will focus on four areas initially, extending the range of value-added products; providing support to commercial growers; facilitating the development of niche products for the domestic market and strengthening border protection measures to prevent invasive pests and disease. MoA will also progress work on completing the Biosecurity Regulations to support the implementation of the Biosecurity Act 2008 and develop Animal Welfare legislation as required by the Economic Development Strategy.
Recently, the MoA team have worked closely with both MFEM and the Chamber of Commerce to assist those growers who had suffered significantly during the border closure as a result of the tourism industry coming to a standstill, thus affecting those growers who had supplied hotels and restaurants with fresh produce. The immediate response by MoA to assess the damage to crops as a result of the recent tropical depression with a view towards seeking Government assistance to provide financial relief to those affected growers was a testament to Ms Anguna-Kamana’s able leadership qualities. The Public Service Commissioner Carl Hunter looks forward to working closely with Anguna-Kamana over the next three years.
ENDS
Enquiries regarding this media release can be directed to Teresa Tura, Corporate Services Manager, at Teresa.tura@cookislands.gov.ck or call 29 421 during Office hours. This article will be posted to www.psc.gov.ck