Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Mar 08/00) - A total of 15 board members being replaced at Sakku Investments Corp. and Kivalliq Partners in Development Ltd. is nothing more than business as usual, says Kivalliq Inuit Association president Paul Kaludjak.

The KIA is guided by its bylaws and, every year, names are solicited for people interested in positions, says Kaludjak.

The KIA board then appoints whomever it wishes from any community in the region.

"There was big interest this year from every community," says Kaludjak. "The changes were just a natural progression of turnover."

Sakku Investments Corp. is the KIA's main subsidiary, while Kivalliq Partners in Development Ltd. is jointly owned by both.

Kaludjak confirmed the KIA is showing a deficit, but would not go into details.

"Any number crunching, I leave with Robert (Seeteenak). As secretary/treasurer, he has the responsibility of interpreting the numbers.

"This situation is not going to break anybody. You have to spend money to make money, especially the Sakku Investments Corp.

"With the big projects they had this year, like the expansion, money still has to catch up because of that."

Although he would not provide specifics, Kaludjak says from the KIA's standpoint, there's no problem with federal funding.

"I understand there were accounting differences between Sakku Investments Corp. and Kivalliq Partners in Development Ltd., but that's pretty much it. Again, these changes went according to what the board wanted to see and were a natural course of action due to community interest."

Seeteenak would not release any numbers or comment on federal funding when contacted by Kivalliq News.

Although hesitant to call the board changes a normal course of action, he did say changes were made in an effort to make the KIA more accountable and responsible in managing its affairs.

The Kivalliq Partners in Development Ltd. appointments are effective immediately, while the Sakku Investments Corp. appointments become effective April 1.

The KIA was forced to reconvene its October annual general meeting in December after KIA auditors were unable to present consolidated financial statements due to difficulties with the preparation and co-ordination of the Sakku Investments Corp.'s financial statements.

The statements have since been presented and approved by the KIA board.

Seeteenak says the KIA has taken the appropriate measures to ensure timely and consistent reporting and accounting procedures will be followed in the future by the KIA and its subsidiaries.

"It is very important to note the replacement of the board members was not the sole result of the financial statements," says Seeteenak.

"The KIA board felt we had become somewhat stagnant and needed to start with a fresh approach.

"The new board appointments came about as a combination of a number of different factors over time."

Although the KIA is showing a deficit, Seeteenak says the situation is not serious.

"It is important for our beneficiaries to know we have started the process of straightening everything out and are now moving in a positive direction.

"The KIA board has to receive a great deal of credit for having the strength to see this through and get us back moving in the right direction.

"We have suffered a slight setback, but it's nothing we cannot overcome in a relatively short period of time.

"With this restructuring, The KIA board has shown its willingness to be both accountable and responsible in its dealings.

"Furthermore, we are showing our dedication to doing everything we can to be an effective organization for the benefit of our beneficiaries."