Kia Orana! This section features generic and important notices for the GENERAL PUBLIC in the Cook Islands. The notices are from across the COOK ISLANDS GOVERNMENT and may be regularly updated as information is received by our office. For further information follow the links below or contact us
Ministry of Culture - Limiting Opening Hours due to Covid-19
Ministry of Agriculture - Limiting Opening Hours due to Covid-19
The Public is advised, due to the current COVID-19 and Code Yellow status, the Ministry of Cultural Development will be limiting its services to the general public commencing Monday 30th March 2020.
National Museum, National Library, National Archive will be closed until further notice. For any information please contact Ms Justina Nicholas on mobile 73105 or email justina.nicholas@cookislands.gov.ck
National Auditorium and Cultural / Social Events will be temporarily closed except for approved National/Emergencymeetings. For any further information please contact Ms Ngatuaine Maui on mobile no 76192 or email ngatuaine.maui@cookislands.gov.ck
Governance, Finance and Administration will temporarily remain open with skeleton staff until further notice. For any further information please contact Ms Ngarangi Tangaroa- Teio on mobile no. 52264 or email ngarangi.tangaroa-teio@cookislands.gov.ck;or Cedric Toru on 54268 or cedric.toru@cookislands.gov.ck
For General Inquiries email:
MeitakiMa`ata e kiamatutu tatou i teia tuatau no te paruruatuanga i teia maki e toto`a nei ki teia nei ao. Te Atua te Aro’ano tatou katoatoa.
Infrastructure Cook Islands - COVID-19 Practices
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Agriculture will be limiting its access and service to the public effective Monday 30 March 2020.
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Our office in Arorangi will only open to the public on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday from 9am – 12noon for nursery services.
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Livestock and advisory services will cease until further notice.
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Biosecurity services will revert to “on-call services only” and can be contacted on 80553 (Ngatoko) and 51775 (Pavai).
For growers wanting to collect seeds, you are encouraged to contact our office on 28711 prior to visiting on these days. Hygiene practices and Social distancing will be implemented.
These measures are put in place for the safety of staff and our clients and we will review our opening hours as we progress. For further information, please contact our office on 28711.
Stay Safe during this time. Te Atua Te Aroa.
Mrs Temarama Anguna-Kamana, Secretary of Agriculture
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, Infrastructure Cook Islands (ICI) will be limiting its access to the public and services effective immediately.
ICI wishes to advise the public that its main office in Arorangi will only open to the general public on Tuesdays from 10am – 2pm, starting on Tuesday 31 March 2020.
Building permit, Electrical permits, Road excavation permit and Land Map applications will only be issued on this day and no permits will be issued outside the allocated day and time.
Customers are encouraged to have their
documentation in order, email them through or contact our office on 20321, prior to visiting.
Payments:
We will no longer be accepting payments by cash or cheque over the counter during this time. We encourage you to use internet banking, an invoice with bank details will be emailed to you to process payments accordingly.
On this day, social distancing will be implemented and good hygiene practices are required. Please use the hand sanitizer located at our reception area upon arrival.
Staff will be available to tend to all queries by contacting our office on 20321. These measures are put in place for the safety of my staff and the general public.
Stay Home and Stay Safe,
Mrs Diane Charlie-Puna , Secretary
Ministry of Justice - Limiting Public Services for COVID-19
The public is hereby advised, due to current COVID-19 circumstances, the Ministry of Justice will be limiting its services to the general public commencing Wednesday 25th March 2020.
High Courts Division:
All court hearings, other than criminal court hearings, will be rescheduled for a date after June 2020. Criminal court hearings involving arrests will continue, but under strict social distancing protocols. Meetings of Assembled Owners (MOAOs) and Lease Approval Tribunal hearings will be suspended until after June 2020. Research into court records (e.g. land, traditional titles) will be suspended until further notice.
Registry Services Division:
All births, deaths, and marriage registrations and applications, as well as companies, incorporated societies and Personal Properties Security inquires may be done via email correspondence or phone calls, to assist with social distancing. Should physical certificates be required, these must first be arranged with Registry Services staff before pickup is scheduled. Under the circumstances, please anticipate longer processing times.
Land Administration Division:
Land Trust payments will continue, but with reduced capacity and applications processed by phone and email. Please anticipate significant delays in processing all applications and outward payments.
Survey will also continue with reduced capacity and counter services will no longer be available. Inquiries will be attended to by phone or email.
Please continue to monitor our Ministry of Justice website for any updates, including information on doing online payments. We are asking for your cooperation and understanding during this time of crisis.
We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.
For further information or inquiries please contact the following staff:
National Environment Service - COVID-19 practices
The National Environment Service wishes to advise that its office in Pue and will only open to the general public on Wednesday from 10am – 2pm only.
Building Permits, CITES permits and EIA applications and will only be issued on this day and no permits will be issued outside the allocated day and time
On Wednesday, customers are encouraged to have their
documentation in order and to contact our office on 21256, prior to visiting.
For building permits, customers are encouraged to have the following documentation ready:
4x A3 Set Plans for approval
4x A4 copies of Site Map and plan
For those traveling overseas and wish to obtain a CITES permit or those who wish to file an Environment Impact Assessment report, to please contact our office
on Wednesday, prior to visiting.
On this day, social distancing will be implemented and
good hygiene practices are required and the general public is required to use the handwash station located at the front of our office
upon arrival and when departing our office.
Reducing our customer service to one day only will be reviewed
as the week progresses.
Staff will be available to tend to all queries by contacting our office on 21256.
Meitaki Maata,
Mr. Nga Puna , Director
ISLAND GOVERNMENT ELECTION 2020
PUBLIC NOTICE 1
PURSUANT to Part 2 Sec14 of the Island Government Act 2012-13 and the Island Government (Electoral) Regulations, I, TAGGY TANGIMETUA, Chief Electoral Officer, HEREBY CONFIRM the following dates and times of the Island Government elections to elect Mayors and Councilors to a new 4-year term of office for their Island Government.
1. The date for the election is Wednesday 8 April 2020 as appointed by the Prime Minister.
2. The Main Roll will close on Monday 9 March 2020 at 4 pm.
3. Objections to the Main Roll will close on Monday 16 March 2020 at 4pm.
4. The Supplementary Roll will close on Monday 23 March 2020 at 4pm.
5. Objections to the Supplementary roll will close on Monday 30 March 2020 at 4pm.
6. Nominations of candidates will close on Thursday 19 March 2020 at 12 noon and shall be lodged with the Chief Executive Officers on each of the island or with the Chief Electoral Officer in Rarotonga.
DATED at Rarotonga this 2nd day of March 2020.
Taggy Tangimetua
CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER
Ministry of Agriculture - 'Biosecurity Newsletter'
The Ministry of Agriculture has released their 'Biosecurity Newsletter' for 2020, this is a monthly release and for further information please contact the Ministry Headquarters in Arorangi, Rarotonga on Ph: +682 28711 or website
Ministry of Agriculture logo
Te Marae Ora - Ministry of Health Media Release re: CORONAVIRUS
FROM: Dr Josephine Herman, Secretary
DATE: 24 January 2020
SUBJECT: 2019 Novel Coronavirus outbreak in China
Te Marae Ora Cook Islands Ministry of Health wishes to update the public regarding the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) respiratory virus outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. 2019-nCoV is a new coronavirus that has not been previously identified and it is now spreading widely across China, parts of Asia, and the rest of the world.
Travel Advisory:
The Cook Islands does not have any travel restrictions regarding 2019-CoV. All arriving passengers will receive written information regarding 2019-nCoV. For those travelling overseas, please take all practical measures to avoid close contact with people with flu-like illnesses, wash your hands regularly, cover your coughs and sneezes, and avoid contact with animals including visiting animal markets.
Te Marae Ora strongly recommends travellers avoid all non-essential and non-urgent travel to cities and areas where 2019-nCoV infection has been reported. Those travelling overseas should also prepare for travel delays on arrival at selected airports as some countries have implemented health screening processes. This may include passenger temperature checks and requests for passengers to complete a symptom questionnaire.
Travellers with signs and symptoms of illness (fever, cough, or difficulty breathing) may be required to undergo additional health assessment...
>>> To read and download the full Media release, click on the link on the right
Picture Credit: Google Search - UpNorthLive.com
Downloadable Resources courtesy of Te Marae Ora - Ministry of Health
MFEM - Revenue Management: Annual PAYE Reconciliation and Tax Certificates
NOTICE TO ALL EMPLOYERS
A friendly reminder that your annual PAYE Reconciliations for 2019 are required to be filed to the Revenue Management Division by Friday 31st January 2020. In addition, all employers must have issued the 2019 RM101 Tax certificates to their employees before/by the 31st January 2020 prior to submitting their PAYE Reconciliation.
As an employer, you are responsible for making deductions from the payments you give to employees(salary/wages). These deductions are then paid to Revenue Management Division each month and accounted for in the end of year PAYE Reconciliation. A copy of each employee’s tax certificate is attached to your PAYE Reconciliation for the year and the other is given to the employee themselves for their own Individual Tax returns.
Each employee is responsible for the completion and filing of their Individual Income Tax return once they have received their certificates.
PAYE Reconciliations can be done manually and submitted directly to Revenue Management Division or filed through our E-Tax online website
E-Tax Online Website:
Online banking details: http://bit.ly/32qjVwn
For more information or assistance please call us on 29365 or email tax.info@cookislands.gov.ck
MFEM - Customs: Notice to all declarants
Due to a large number of recurring entry errors being observed and managed by Customs, with effect Monday 3rd February 2020, the Cook Islands Customs Service intends to commence imposing Administrative Penalties pursuant to section 160 of the Customs Revenue and Border Protection Act 2012.
Administrative Penalties will apply to every entry (or amendment to entry) required under this Act and includes every supporting document or declaration required to be made or produced by every person making the entry.
An Administrative penalty will apply when:
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an amount of duty payable under the Act has not (or will not) been paid or declared for payment
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the entry is otherwise materially incorrect
Notice of such a penalty will be given in writing to the person who made the entry. That person has 20 working days from the notice date, to satisfy the Comptroller that the person is entitled to be exempted from such a penalty.
The penalties that will apply and as stated in the Act are:
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Where an amount of duty payable under the Act has not (or will not) been paid or declared for payment, the penalty is $100.00 or an amount equal to 20% of the duty unpaid or not declared up to a maximum of $5000.00
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Where the entry is otherwise materially incorrect, the penalty is $100.00 for each entry.
Public Service Induction Training Schedule 2020
To register, phone +68229421 or email Teresa Tararo,
Ministry of Finance & Economic Management - Te Mato Vai Proposal
