The nation and our development partners continue to watch the Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi government and their supporters’ increasingly reckless disregard for the principles of accountability, transparency and the rule of law.
In the post-election bribery case against Deputy Prime Minister Toelupe, witnesses for the defense were reportedly present in court yet refused to confirm their attendance.
This week, Prime Minister La’auli appointed individuals who were found guilty of corrupt practices to chair District Development Committees.
This includes former MP Magele Fiaui who was found guilty of bribery involving donor funded development projects and disqualified by the Courts from running in elections for 10 years.
In announcing the appointment, Prime Minister La’auli downplayed the Court’s ruling by offering his interpretation of the judgment, thereby justifying the appointment of a convicted person to manage public funds.
This is how emboldened La’auli has become in the face of the law!
He has falsely claimed that only applicants to the chairmanship of Rural Development Committees are qualified to hold such positions.
He has also lied about HRPP not supporting rural development.
Our concern has always been the misuse of rural development funds by MPs in the FAST1 government, which has become a systemic problem that must be brought to an end.
Judicial intervention is now Samoa’s only hope of safeguarding against the blatant corruption that has been widely reported by the media and is increasingly visible to the public.
The only effective solution is a return to established accountability mechanisms where all disbursements should be controlled by the relevant government ministries, overseen by the Treasury, and subject to scrutiny by the Audit Office that reports directly to Parliament.
This central disbursement and reporting is a fundamental principle in the accountable management of public funds.
The PM’s preferred method of direct rural disbursement through District Development Committees is not new.
This decentralized model of direct payments, based on political patronage, has been used in Melanesian countries for many years and found to be vulnerable to abuse.
The governments of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, development partners, donors, and investors are fully aware of these corrupt practices and risks.
We can be sure that they, along with their auditors, are taking careful note of any reckless and wasteful misuse of their taxpayers’ funds by the FAST government.
You can probably add world sports bodies to the list of concerned observers.
Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP