The leader of the opposition in the Cook Islands says politicians should divorce themselves from any business involvement when they enter parliament.
Wilkie Rasmussen plans on tabling a Code of Conduct Bill by the end of the week which would require MPs to declare any business interests.
He says the Cook Islands are way behind other countries in this area and too many politicians there get into trouble because they get caught up in shady deals.
“Ministers over here do not declare their business interests they do not divorce themselves from their business activities in fact most of them if they get into a ministerial position, in fact it accentuates their business involvement.”
Wilkie Rasmussen says the Prime Minister Henry Puna has neglected the issue and failed to set guidelines for his ministers and that’s one of the reasons the opposition is calling for a snap election in October this year.
RNZI