The recently much publicized event at which a church organization presented a $200,000 tālā cash contribution to Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi Party Chairman La’auli Leuatea Schmidt, leader of a failed coup staged against the Government of Samoa, is deeply concerning.
This money may be seen as an attempt by the church to bolster Laauli’s efforts to overthrow the Government of Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa.
Last year, the church received a $13 million tālā loan from the Samoa National Provident Fund, approved by its Board of Directors, chaired by a FAST Party appointee.
The purpose of the loan at the time was unclear.
The ethical thing to do was for La’auli to advise the church to use the $200,000 tālā to repay the SNPF loan.
The $13 million tālā is a loan from the hardworking Samoans who pay their contributions to SNPF every pay day.
Repayment of a loan to the Samoan taxpayer must take priority over any political schemes.
A few years ago, this same church made a similar financial contribution to a more noble cause when the HRPP was in government, supporting national efforts to prevent the spread of the measles epidemic that tragically claimed the lives of over 80 young children.
Receiving cash from a church that is heavily in debt to the Samoan taxpayer, setting up a crypto currency Samoa stock exchange in Hong Kong without cabinet approval, and creating a special economic free zone in a remote jungle in Samoa without road connectivity, are just a few examples of La’auli and the FAST Party’s pie in the sky get-rich-quick schemes.
The financial liability and risk in all these schemes are carried by the government and people of Samoa, not the FAST Party.
And these FAST scams can destroy our already vulnerable economy when they fail.
FAST has always preached that paying debts must come before investments.
This was the perfect opportunity to practice what they say.
Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP