Cook Islands Government Spending Risks Overheating Economy
Financial Secretary of the Cook Islands, Kevin Carr warned last week that increasing
government spending could cause the jurisdiction's economy to overheat, citing
the growing number of public servants employed by the government as a potentially
serious problem. Speaking to the Cook Islands News service on Thursday, Mr Carr explained that
the authorities are 'spending too much on ministries and the public service
is again being inflated,' concerns which were supported by the Chamber of Commerce. Cook Islands Public Service Commissioner, Maine Brown has reportedly estimated
the number of civil servants employed by the various government ministries at
around 1,460. Although the Commissioner admitted that there were 'quite possibly
more', Ministry of Finance figures in April of this year recorded 1,555 'Crown-funded
entities' on the payroll, suggesting that the Public Service figures are, in
actual fact, quite far off the mark. According to Cook Islands News, the Chamber of Commerce also recently expressed
concerns with regard to the growth rate shown by the jurisdiction's economy. 'The popular opinion is that real GDP growth of 4% is necessary to maintain
our standard relative to other countries,' CoC President, Ewan Smith explained,
adding that: 'We have achieved an average of 2.5% over the past 10 years.' .
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