Premier Dalton Tagelagi has appointed the Member from Lakepa John Operator Tiakia as his first MAM (Member Assisting a Minister) to assist with the Ministry of infrastructure (MOI) in a temporary six-month appointment.
A government press release this afternoon stated that “The Premier of Niue, Hon. Dalton Tagelagi announced today the appointment of Mr. John Operator Tiakia (Member of the Legislative Assembly) to assist the Minister for Infrastructure to expedite the long list of high-priority projects and backlog workload of the Ministry.”
It further stated that “Mr. Tiakia (MAM) assumed acting capacity when Hon Crossley Tatui was absent overseas during the Festive season. The temporary appointment will be for six months.”
Mr John Tiakia is no stranger to the Legislature having served previously as the member for Lakepa from 1996 until 2005. After which he was appointed as a Commissioner of the Niue Public Service. Prior to his political career, he was an employee of the government’s Public Works Department which has since grown to become the Ministry of Infrastructure.
The press release was issued by the Office of the Minister of Infrastructure Crossley Tatui who said that “The appointment of Mr Tiakia is timely to facilitate communication from Cabinet to MOI and vice versa to avoid undue bottlenecks and delays.
“MOI plays a significant role in keeping Niue’s national infrastructure operating reliably for the country.
Minister Tatui added that “MOI’s workforce is also affected by the number of experienced employees who retired within the past two years leaving behind a sizeable skills gap”.
According to the press statement, the MAM is already involved with the ministry officials and staff to help strengthen the governance, management, and service delivery on the outstanding and current projects.
In welcoming the new Member to assist him, Minister Crossley Tatui who is also the Minister of Finance said that the overall goal is to build community confidence in the government.
‘The overall goal is to build community confidence in the quality of work the Government of Niue and employees are expected to provide a level of skill in the services they provide’, Minister Tatui concluded.