New Deputy Director at SPREP

Written by Media release
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Mr Kosi Latu The new Deputy Director of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has hit the ground running. It’s been a very busy week at SPREP since Mr Kosi Latu entered through his office doors for the first time. With only one month left to prepare for the biennial Pacific Environment Ministers Conference, Mr Latu is getting ready for the Conference and at the same time getting to know the Secretariat and fellow staff. “I’ve been getting briefings from colleagues in terms of what SPREP does internally as a Secretariat but not forgetting the big picture of SPREP’s role in terms of engaging effectively with members, the donor community, stakeholders, international and regional organisations.” “My key objective is to help the executive and management of the Secretariat to take this organisation to a new level in terms of efficiency and delivering the kind of services SPREP is mandated to deliver, ensuring that our members get the benefit of these services.” Mr Latu attended high school in Samoa before obtaining an undergraduate degree in New Zealand and a postgraduate degree in Europe. In the two years before he came to SPREP, Mr Latu headed a financial compliance programme funded by the United States State Department and contracted by the United Nations, based at the Forum Secretariat in Fiji. The move into an environmental field has been a welcoming, but not a new one for Mr Latu. He initially developed an interest in environmental issues while working as a prosecutor with Samoa’s Attorney General’s Office and then continued to pursue that during his 11 years as Deputy-Director of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division in the Commonwealth Secretariat. “I think SPREP is at a crossroads. The issues that we have to deal with now are not just particular to the Pacific, but they are global in nature and as such are much more complex and serious. I believe we are at a point where SPREP can really make a difference if we move in the right direction.” Mr Kosi Latu fills the position last held by Mr Vitolio Lui for six years, and works with SPREP Director Asterio Takesy, whose term comes to an end in January of next year. Mr. Latu has returned to his home nation with his family after 13 years of living overseas. Despite having only been at work in his new role for a week, Mr. Latu has a clear vision for SPREP that he plans to work in partnership with staff, to achieve. “I am excited, not just about my new position, but more so about the kind of issues and challenges that this organisation has to deal with at this point in time and the role I can play to address those key environmental issues in a way that will bring understanding to our members. We also want to show an impact that will result in a difference on the ground, because at the end of the day, that’s what we’re here for. We’re here to deliver service, but we’ve got to ask ourselves, are we making a difference on the ground? That’s what I hope we’ll achieve.” Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Email Title Comment

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