There is a season and reason for everything under the sun.
This week our Tourism Festivals to promote more visitors to Samoa opened last Sunday evening with various Church choirs showing off their hymns’ compositions.
The second important event that raised public interest was the announcement of a Cabinet Reshuffle.
The full 15 Ministers positions including the PM in Cabinet as stipulated in the Constitutional Amendment 2020 is finally activated with the addition of two more new Ministers.
When we (HRPP) expanded the Cabinet Ministers including the Prime Minister from 9 to 12 then to 15 over the last 40 years of HRPP administration, the intention was to spread the work load and create an opportunity to train more leaders of the future.
The most interesting change in the current Cabinet Reshuffle is, the former Minister of Finance now appointed as the new Minister with responsibilities for the $1 million tālā grant per District every year for 5 years of the current Parliamentary Term for 51 Districts.
Will the new Minister resolve the current impasse of honoring the FAST Promised $1 million tālā grant per District per annum for 5 years of the current Term of Parliament, especially for HRPP Districts which are being discriminated against?
These funds have been approved by Parliament and sourced from Donors through budgetary support.
It seems the promised $1 million tālā grant per annum is now only $1 million tālā for 3, 4, or 5 years?
It is not the question of shortage of funds for rural development.
It is the misappropriation of funds in broad day light!
The reshuffle also removes most of the duties and responsibilities from Leatinu’u Wayne So’oialo, leaving him with only the smallest Ministry of Public Enterprises to look after. This is a humane decision. The man is sick.
The Samoa Trust Estates Corporation is also removed from La’auli Leuatea Schmidt and it is not hard to know the reason.
Since La’auli’s takeover of STEC, exports of taros etc have stopped and the Government has already sunk $1 million tālā to STEC for nothing done.
Even the Country’s Agriculture production is in the worst position since the last 50 years. So, what is STEC doing now? Nothing?
The others involved in the Kite Runner seemed untouched. Their positions appeared even more cemented.
So, the new Ministers seemed a worthwhile risk to take.
For the HRPP, nothing much has changed till the $1 million tālā for these 3 years is paid out to all the Districts especially our HRPP Districts.
And the back pay is released for two HRPP MPs withheld by a FAST dominated Parliament resolution which the Appeal Court has already ruled illegal.
Up to now, the Court of Appeal decision is not being honored and we envisage pursuing this matter as a clear contempt of Court by the Executive and Parliament.
Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP