FILE PHOTO : President of the Land and Titles Court, Fepulea’i Akila Ropati, with HRPP Deputy Leader, Fonotoe Lauofo Meti, a few years back outside Parliament.
Last Tuesday the Government forced the passage of two bills on an urgent basis – namely the Land and Titles Amendment Bill 2022 and the Customs Tariff Amendment Bill 2022.
When a bill is introduced as an urgent bill, it means the Government will use its majority of members in the House to ramrod its passage through Parliament despite the reservations posed by the opposition.
It means the Bill will not be referred to the Bills Committee of Parliament for its examination and wider consultations with members of the public to get their views and recommendations for further improvement and to report its findings back to Parliament for its final approval.
After all it is the members of the public that will be affected.
It is to be recalled that FAST members criticized the three major Constitutional Amendment Bills by the HRPP Government for rushing them through Parliament in 2020.
The bills took 5 years of preparation and six months of wider consultations with all the Districts of Samoa.
These three bills included the Land and Titles Bill.
The first bill tabled last Tuesday to amend the Land and Titles Act 2020 provides that when it becomes effective all (illegal) actions since March 15, 2021 are “validated as if they were made under this Act”.
It was quite obvious the whole purpose of the Amendment was to legalize the dismissal of the President of the Land and Titles Court.
The Bill itself is discriminatory and unconstitutional as the removal of the President of the LTC and Chief Justice can only be done by Parliament on a two thirds majority vote.
Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa had often announced during FAST election campaign
roadshows the sacking of the President if they won the elections.
The President had presided over a Land and Titles Court case on the Faumuina title where another claimant won and Fiame lost the case.
Since then, Fiame had been seeking revenge.
There is a Court case pending against this wrongful dismissal of the President of LTC and it should beanother interesting case everyone is looking forward to on the role played by the Judiciary whether it has anything to do with the Government action to dismiss the President given the ready support of the CJ and the ready agreement of a senior retired Judge to step in as LTCs new President and an inappropriate speech he gave on his swearing in ceremony.
The second bill on the Customs Tariff amendments authorized the immediate increase of customs duties on certain imported food items like lamb necks, lamb shanks etc, up to 15% increase.
The tariff amendment is a revenue measure.
Again, this bill should have gone also to the bills committee for their consultation with the public and to seek proper justifications for the increase.
Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP