Former Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi says new Minister for Civil Aviation, Olo Fiti Va’ai, should stop thinking as a career opposition member and start thinking as a government minister.
Tuilaepa said Olo has been in opposition for so long that he still thinks as an opposition MP.
The MP for the Salega 2 electoral constituency is in his fourth term as a member of Parliament and this is the first time he has been in government.
Olo was recently quoted in the media as accusing the Tuilaepa led Human Rights Protection Party government of leasing a Boeing 737-800 jet plane to get votes in the 9 April General Elections.
Tuilaepa said if Olo and FAST are serious about improving the tourism industry in Samoa then the more positive thing to do is look to utilize the new plane to improve the industry which will benefit the whole country.
“Fiji tourism is successful because it has a national airline backing the industry and the HRPP government recognized this when it decided to acquire this plane,” said Tuilaepa.
He said airfares to and from Samoa will never drop as long as Air New Zealand has a monopoly on the route.
The plane, leased from the Netherlands, is currently in Brisbane, Australia undergoing regulatory tests to allow it to fly between Australia, New Zealand and Samoa.
According to former Minister of Public Enterprises, Lautafi Fio Purcel, the global COVId-19 pandemic delayed the planes arrival.
“It’s easy to twist things and predict doom and gloom but it will not change the fact the country needs the airline to boost tourism and make it easier and affordable for our people to travel,” he said recently.