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09/09/2024

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07/09/2024

✍️CHOGM and Cultural Leadership 🇼🇸

The long-awaited briefing by the Prime Minister on preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) brought good news, including confirmation that many of the 56 Commonwealth Heads of State and Government will be coming to Apia.

The news has inspired many villages to start beautifying their homes and road frontages with beautiful plants and colourful decorations.

The beautification efforts by the villages need to be matched by our capital city.

Apia needs a major facelift before our guests arrive.

Government and the Samoa Chamber of Commerce must work together to get all the commercial buildings in the Central Business District repainted.

If needed, the Chamber can launch a public appeal for donations for materials to paint the outside walls and replace the roofs of dilapidated buildings, which are becoming an eyesore in the city.

Our rural communities, headed by village Council of Matais (Chiefs) along with the Village Women Committees, have responded positively to the Government’s call to beautify our villages ahead of CHOGM.

Under this leadership, villages are beautifying their homes and preparing activities and food for any celebrations.

The vital role of village Council of Matais and Women Committees in ensuring peace and security is again at the forefront of our preparations for CHOGM.

A responsibility that they have dutifully carried out for generations, despite the various frustrations and increasing challenges to their authority.

This communal structure is at the heart of Samoa’s culture and a source of national pride.

The final decision made in London for Samoa to host CHOGM was also the result of our Pacific cultural understanding.

Our neighbours, Fiji, stepped back from hosting the first CHOGM in the Pacific even though 95% of the leaders had agreed to their offer.

The then Fijian Prime Minister, Mr. Bainimarama withdrew their candidacy when he realized that Samoa had in fact offered to host CHOGM 10 years earlier.

A gracious gesture that underscores the deep cultural respect that we, in the Pacific, have for each other.

Samoa’s success in hosting CHOGM is success for the Pacific.

There is no doubt that our people will rise to the occasion.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP

[- Letter to the Editor (2) Friday 6 September 2024 -]

06/09/2024

01/09/2024

⚖️Fundamental Communal Rights of Samoan People Abolished✍️🇼🇸

On Friday 30th August 2024, the Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi dominated Parliament passed two important amendment bills to remove the fundamental rights of Samoa’s village chiefs and religious organizations from the Constitution and related provisions in the Land and Titles Court.

If passed, the two bills will disempower and effectively dismantle Samoa’s indigenous court system that protects our culture and tradition, giving supremacy back to a palagi-based fundamental rights system that has not served justice to our people.

The two bills are now with the Subcommittee of Parliament for the necessary public consultations for at least 90 days before they are considered for final approval by Parliament possibly in December 2024 or early 2025, just before the next general Election.

Why is there so much opposition to the fundamental rights of Samoa’s Chiefs and Orators who have been responsible for the preservation of peace and tranquility in our village communities for thousands of years and are still functioning strong today?

In March 2016 just after the General Elections, at a seminar for newly elected Parliamentarians, Chief Justice Patu who served as Samoa’s Chief Justice for close to 30 years, explained that our leaders at the Samoa Constitutional Convention, wanted the Articles of the Constitution to reflect that Samoa is founded on God and Samoa’s cultural traditions.

It is not surprising, that both Fiame Naomi, who was my deputy at the time, and Laauli Schmidt were absent from the seminar.

At the time of the constitutional convention, the NZ Advisers recommended including these references to God and culture only in the Preamble and not in the Articles of the Constitution to ensure an easy passage of our Constitution at the United Nations.

Following Samoa’s independence, a Parliament of the future may then incorporate the two issues in the constitution.

In June 2016, with the Parliament and Cabinet approval secured, I proposed a motion in Parliament to set up a Parliamentary Committee to carry out public consultations for the recommended amendments.

The amendments were approved on December 15th, 2020, by over two thirds majority in parliament.

Over 84% of Matais in all the districts consulted approved the recommended proposals in the Constitutional Amendments.

As a result, the new Land and Titles Court was formally incorporated in the Constitution in December 2020 for the first time.

Previously, only the Criminal Court was incorporated in the Constitution of 1962.

The statement that Samoa is founded on God was approved earlier by Parliament with ease.

Samoa became the only country in the world that observed both the Communal rights of our village Chiefs and Church Organizations and the rights of the Individuals.

Samoans watched several public interviews that the Honourable Chief Justice Patu gave on television, in which he acknowledged with joy the Constitutional Amendments of December 2020.

He said “In all the cases that came before me to consider involving the Chiefs of the villages versus individuals, the Chiefs would always get a TKO decision because only the individual’s rights were protected by the Constitution. And I delivered those decisions with tears in my eyes.”

The late CJ Patu retired in 2020 and the Judiciary, without the the guidance of his wisdom were not privileged to understand the far-sighted vision of this great Chief Justice and son of Samoa.

The December 2020 Amendments that were approved by Parliament, followed 5 years of consultations and review involving MPs and Office of the Attorney General, Law Reform Commission, and Ministry of Justice.

It is ironic that many of Samoa’s highly qualified professional law drafters who were involved in that process are now assisting other Pacific Island Governments who are considering the same rights of their cultural communities.

All the opposition against the December 2020 Amendments are based more on ignorance and malice.

The FAST Government requires a two-third majority in the House for final approval.

When our people fully understand the real issue involved, it is doubtful that the two-thirds required for Parliamentary approval will be met.

We have already seen the usual buildup of lies and distractions by the FAST Parliamentarians to convince our people in the next months that reverting to the 1981 Land and Titles Court Act is the best decision for Samoa.

Human Rights Protection Party members have continued to explain and defend the December 2020 Amendments with facts and principles that put the indigenous rights, tradition, and culture of the Samoan people at the heart of our fight.

The December 2020 amendments were the result of forward-looking Samoan reformists, such as Chief Justice Patu, who had an inspired vision for our nation.

It is a vision that backward-looking conformists will never understand or have the freedom to enjoy.

After watching the same lies for 4 years, Samoans are convinced that the FAST Party can only fool some of the people sometimes but not all the people all the time.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP

[- Letter to the Editor (2) Saturday, 31 August 2024 -]

31/08/2024

✍️Reconciliation and harmony without truth and integrity is the curse of a nation🇼🇸

A recent public apology from a New Zealand-based online company in connection with a high-profile murder case in Apia and allegations against a senior member of the Human Rights Protection Party is troubling many Samoans.

The apology has derailed the allegations and testimony of key witnesses in the case, who are affiliated with the Faatuatua I le Atua Samoa ua Tasi Party.

This case was brought to national attention after a senior member of the FAST Party used his online appearances to repeat the allegations made against our HRPP member.

A few weeks ago, the Samoa Court of Appeal decided to defer consideration of that murder case indefinitely.

What troubles Samoans is that the opportunity did exist to resolve, once and for all, a case that was forced upon the nation's attention through the actions of a senior politician who must be held accountable for his actions.

It was also an opportunity to hold online commentators accountable for their actions.

This case also questioned the professionalism of our Police Department and wasted taxpayer resources.

It raised the expectations of the victim's family.

It deeply hurt the families and reputations of the HRPP member and a prominent business owner who were accused.

Worst of all, this case has sent a clear message that the political elite and supporters are free to destroy reputations and hurt families without any accountability.

The senior FAST Party Member and followers must follow the example of the on-line company by taking responsibility for their role in this shameful abuse of power and apologize to the families and the nation.

But that will require honesty and moral courage.

Until there is truth and integrity, there can be no harmony and reconciliation.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP

[- Letter to the Editor; (1) Saturday 31 August 2024 -]

25/08/2024

The cost and complexity of international rugby and the reality of small rugby unions!

Last week the financial challenges of our Lakapi Samoa and the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) were highlighted in the media.

The reports revealed the realities that our small Rugby unions face in delivering a world class rugby team on a budget that would barely fund a European club or New Zealand provincial team.

As I was explaining the Lakapi Samoa's financial situation to the local media last week as Chairman, the Chairman of the Fiji Rugby Union Trust Board was doing the same in Suva.

He reported that the FRU had been reinstated on the World Rugby Council 15 months after it was suspended for "governance challenges."
Thankfully Lakapi Samoa remains a member of the World Rugby Council, and we continue to work closely with Chairman Bill Beaumont and its members.

We have tried to manage our debt levels by prioritizing the Manu Samoa international tests and activities.

Our main priority is not to take any short-sighted risks that would bankrupt our union.

What the public also learned is that the FRU had just repaid almost $7 million in debts to its creditors including World Rugby, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, England, Wales, Scotland and France.

Most of the debt was related to the Flying Fijians’ participation in international rugby tours and tournaments.

The FRU Chairman and Board must be congratulated for this great effort to clear their debts and be reinstated to the World Rugby Council.

One big challenge is that Samoa does not have the same pool of players or corporate sponsorship to sustain local and international rugby programmes.

The high number of talented players coming out of the Fiji rugby system every year who enter the Australian, New Zealand and European rugby market allows them to sustain a steady stream of high-performance players.

They even have enough players to field their own team, the Drua, in the Super Rugby competition.

Fiji's big national companies like Fiji Airways and Fiji Water have joined international sponsors such as Coca Cola and Nike to support the Flying Fijians.

This support has helped Fiji build a winning record with Olympic gold and silver medals, multiple sevens championships and reaching the rugby world cup quarterfinals.

Comparatively, the absence of sustained corporate sponsorship and the size of the Samoan economy makes it hard to maintain a competitive international rugby team.

Lakapi Samoa is also mindful of the high demands on government resources and therefore tries not to add to the Samoa taxpayer’s burden.

The Samoa Government currently has many competing priorities.

Lakapi Samoa started its fundraising efforts last weekend with a radiothon, which is one way to help get us back to financial stability.

But there is still much work to be done.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP

[- Letter to the Editor; Saturday 24 August 2024 -]

19/08/2024

"RIP Dad... ofa lahi atu" 💔

17/08/2024

🇼🇸 The road to nowhere! ✍️

Recent media stories of collusion between suppliers and contractors to inflate project costs and or divert supplies for unauthorized purposes is cause for national concern.

The scale of alleged abuse in the Government's million tālā scheme is reaching alarming levels.

This scheme will cost the Samoan taxpayer and donors a total of $255,000,000 tālā!

Reports of wheelbarrows and farming equipment being resold and unused are spreading all over the social media.

It has been made worse by the lack of transparency in the Government's reporting of the use of the millions of tālā that have been paid out to date.

It is a well-known audit principle that any well-planned financial control system cannot function when there is a collusion amongst the top executives of any organization.

The Government's anti-corruption strategy that was recently launched is unable to stop this flood of abuse of public funds.

It looks good in theory but has been ineffective in delivery.

Discovering a fraud is not enough!

What is needed is the courage to take bold remedial action against any offender, regardless of their position and status.

The Government has yet to show us any convincing sign of a return on investment directly related to the $255,000,000 tālā to date.

All we are seeing is Samoa taxpayers and donor money being spent with minimal return except for a few "millionaires-for-a-day" and project accounts that are not properly disclosed.

In fact it is not clear which Government Ministry is accountable for the use of these funds.

The Minister of Women is approving projects, the Minister of Finance is disbursing funds, and the Minister of Agriculture is happily giving out farming equipment through local hardware companies.

There is a famous saying in politics that describes such gimmick projects as roads to nowhere.

Samoa now has its very own $255,000,000 tālā road to nowhere!
These are the same destructive economic and political policies that drove the Samoan economy into the ground prior to 1982.

History is repeating itself.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP

[- Letter to the Editor; (2) Saturday, 17 August 2024 -]

17/08/2024

✍️The waste of taxpayer and donor funds to relegate the LTC and
Samoan cultural rights to second-class status 🇼🇸

The proposed amendments to our Court structure being spearheaded by the Ministry of Justice (MJCA) should be of great concern to all Samoans as these amendments will relegate the Land and Titles Court (LTC) back to its second-class status.

It is also a waste of the precious taxpayer funds that was spent on the extensive public consultations of 2016 to 2020, which was the basis for the elevation and advancement of the LTC to its current status.

The Parliamentary Inquiry Committee 2016 was a response to the numerous public concerns with the LTC and people’s access to justice regarding their customary rights.

The Parliamentary Special Committee 2020 considered the LTC bills drafted in response to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee 2016.

Most notably, the current LTC structure reflects its important status as a Court that deals with disputes pertaining to our Samoan customary lands and chiefly titles.

In the eyes of ordinary Samoans, the LTC reforms protect their indigenous rights and heritage.

This cultural significance is completely lost on the conformists who are desperately trying to uphold a foreign-designed court system that has neglected the customary rights of the Samoan people.

For the current MJCA consultations, it should be simple common sense to objectively consider the dialogue and outcomes from the 2016 to 2020 consultations before initiating a misinformed and misdirected process wasting our limited public funds.

It is professionally embarrassing for the MJCA to now push for the demotion of the LTC to its inferior status when just a few years ago, the same MJCA with the offices of the Attorney General and the Samoa Law Reform Commission were at the forefront of the reforms.

Such fickle approaches to governance are the hallmarks of banana republics whose laws are subject to the whims of short-sighted politicians and mindless bureaucrats.

The data shows that (1) the elevation of the LTC recognizes the importance of our customary rights and the need to address its related issues, and (2) the option of another appeal opportunity in the LTCAR was supported by 82% (201 villages) of the 246 villages that appeared and made submissions to the Parliament Special Committee 2020 (Suaga Vaatele: Final Report).

And for the 6 submissions from the Judiciary, 5 supported the reforms and only 1 opposed the reforms.

The HumanRights Protection Party’s mandate compels it to protect every Samoan’s right including their customary rights now enshrined in the Constitution by the 2020 reforms, therefore, HRPP will never support any proposed amendments that will return the LTC back to its second-class status.

Such a return is an insult to the proficiency of our people, and the investment in sending them on academic scholarship to fulfil our forefathers' dreams that one day Samoans can, for themselves, constitutionally elevate our customs and usages.

This vision for Samoa is reflected in the records of our leaders debate during the Constitutional Convention of 1960.

One must not forget that the majority of our people live in villages under the direction of the village chiefs and orators who govern under our customary laws to keep the peace in the everyday life of the majority of our people.

It is this peace and stability that provided the backbone for sustainable rural development under 40 years of HRPP leadership.

The 2020 Constitutional amendments elevated our LTC with all due recognition in the Constitution equal to that of the Westminster Court system for civil and criminal matters.

The removal of the current LTC structure will deny Samoans equal ‘access to justice’ and their customary rights. Such rights are accessible to criminals in the District Court and Supreme Court.

The new structure pushed by the MJCA removes the second tier for appeal that is available through the Land and Titles Court of Appeal and Review (LTCAR).

This means that criminals will have more opportunities and access to justice than Samoans seeking to defend their customary rights!
In June 2024, in the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the Prime Minister’s removal of the former LTC President Fepuleai from office, the Honourable Justice Whitten found that “the treatment of Fepuleai has been extremely poor,” echoing the Court of Appeal decision of July 2023 that expressed “discomfort at the notion that a senior judge (Fepuleai) can be removed from office in the way contended for, both generally, and particularly without compensation.”

In withdrawing their expressed intention to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision, the Office of the Attorney General on behalf of the Prime Minister and the Government have accepted the decision.

I fully support the Prime Minister for honourably conceding, and saving public funds spent on these expensive and unnecessary court cases.

Nonetheless, the removal of the LTC President was a Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party campaign promise that was promoted in their 2020 roadshow.

In addition to FAST’s unfounded 2020 campaign claims that HRPP and its leader were selling customary lands to the Chinese, the FAST Party also promised to abolish the LTC reforms and remove the LTC President.

The FAST Government have now acknowledged that our customary lands are safe but pursued their promise to remove the former LTC President.

Interestingly, they did have an opportunity in the LTC Amendment Act 2022 to save him but deliberately opted to save all the LTC Judges except for the LTC President.

Such discrimination against a senior Samoan judge has left a negative impression on the minds of our citizens.

The forced removal of experienced Samoan public servants has become a specialty of the FAST Administration.

These are trained experts in whom the country has invested to take Samoa forward.

Which brings me back to the proposed demotion of the LTC to its former ineffective status as opposed to the important work that it dealt with.

If this is being done to simply fulfil a campaign promise, then I sincerely urge the FAST government to reconsider.

It is rational to understand that not every campaign promise can be delivered, especially after careful reflection.

Our LTC should not be about HRPP or FAST, or any personal agenda whatsoever.

The LTC is inherently about our measina, identity, heritage and the Samoan way of life. It is our calling as leaders of Samoa to ensure that our measina is safeguarded for future generations.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP

[- Letter to the Editor; (1) Saturday 17 August 2024 -]

12/08/2024

11/08/2024

⁉️The state of preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting ✍️🇼🇸

We are now just two short months away from the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting in Apia.

According to the irregular updates from Government, everything is OK, thank you for asking, FULL STOP!

Even Cabinet Ministers have been enquiring amongst themselves about the latest status of the preparations.

The Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi government needs to raise its game, beginning with their roadside decorations that are now becoming an eyesore.

The national flags that they used in their roadside campaigns three years ago are starting to fade and fall apart, just like their promises.

The FAST Party practice of using our national flag as a beautification and a campaigning tool diminishes its significance.

Samoans look at their flag as a banner of pride, freedom and liberty. To see our beloved fu’a tattered and hanging on fences, rooftops and trees is a national shame.

As its contribution to the CHOGM beautification campaign, the leadership of the Human Rights Protection Party recommends that the FAST Government clear all rubbish on our streets, trim tall trees and w**d grass along the roads.

They should repair or demolish houses in disrepair along our main streets and repaint government and commercial buildings in Apia.

They can even line the road from Faleolo to Apia with giant size photos of King Charles and other world leaders in attendance, posted on every coconut tree or electricity pole.

What a unique sight that would be!

Everyone knows that CHOGM will take place in the middle of the Palolo season.

That is when we usually experience extra powerful thunder and lightning, heavy torrential rain, mountain slips and roads gets washed away.

The flooding in Apia causes destruction to public infrastructure and private property, as we saw with Aggie Greys Hotel in 2012.

We hope the FAST Government already has contingency plans B, C, D, E, F to Z in place.

It is going to be quite interesting if these weather calamities occur when King Charles and the CHOGM nobility are on the island.

They will experience these catastrophic weather events themselves and have a greater appreciation of the devastating impact of climate change, which is our reality.

We all know the causes of climate change and the solutions that are needed.

More importantly, we need world leaders with the moral courage, foresight and conscience to protect and care for our planet which God gifted to humankind.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP

[- Letter to the Editor; Saturday 10 August 2024 -]

10/08/2024

✍️The Marist legacy and core values: actions that speak louder than words 🇼🇸

Last week our global community of old pupils, families and friends celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Marist Brothers Old Pupils Association (MBPOA).

The week was filled with music, culture, sporting events, community activities, spiritual reflection and thanksgiving.

It was a great time for old pupils to reconnect and renew their commitment to our core Marist values.

Old scholars paid tribute to the contribution that the Marist Brothers have made in all walks of life to the development of Samoa.

The impact of their work can be seen in the Marist values that have been instilled in our families, public service, and private sector.

There was also a ceremony to recognize the contribution that 15 Marist old scholars and teachers had made to the growth of Samoa's economic, social, religious and environmental sectors.

It was an impressive list of honourees.

In listening to the accomplishments of the selected honourees, it was clear that apart from their outstanding work ethic, the one characteristic that all of them have in common is that their actions spoke louder than their words.

May the Marist spirit of service continue to burn strong in our hearts for another 100 years.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP

[- Letter to the Editor; Friday 9 August, 2024 -]

03/08/2024

✍️Respect for the established principle of law that justice delayed is justice denied.🇼🇸

This week, the Samoan public read with great interest of a very odd twist in the case related to the murder of Tu’au that has gripped the nation’s attention for the last three years.

The Supreme Court deferred once again the hearing date for this high-profile case to next year, the final year of the current term of our Parliament.

Even then, no one is certain whether it will be heard next year.

For the first time in our Court’s history, setting the date of a hearing is a matter that is now subject to appeal – a very strange precedent in our Peaceful Samoa!

A Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi party Cabinet Minister had publicly accused Honourable Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi of the Human Rights Protection Party for the murder, supposedly witnessed by FAST supporters who are now charged by the Police for providing false evidence.

Imagining these conspiracies are a favourite hobby of the FAST Cabinet Minister which he uses to divert attention from the issues that affect the daily lives of Samoans and the abuse of their taxes and donor funds.

He has a promising future in dictating fiction novels!

In our small nation, it can be very challenging for the Judiciary to retain true independence.

Very often Samoans can trace the lineage of their families to a set of common parents for many generations even going back to hundreds of years ago.

The descendants of those common parents meet often as is the custom to celebrate major milestones and to contribute moneys and fine mats to meet cultural obligations of their families for funerals, weddings etc.

The regular presence at these family gatherings greatly enhances an heir’s chances to claim the top Matai title which ensures immediate access to the control of family lands and other family chiefly titles.

These family ties are invisible to the eye of a foreign Judge, who may be completely unaware of the close relationships that exist amongst the disputing parties and the Samoan Judges in their courtrooms.

Foreign Judges will always trust that their Samoan court officials and peers will disclose any relationships that would undermine the independence of the judiciary and even recuse themselves in such cases.

During the past HRPP administrations, we had always noted with deep respect, the great care exercised by Judges from overseas to protect their image and perception of independence.

These Judges, who were engaged to preside over disputes and court cases in Samoa, would often refrain from any kind of social interaction such as attendance at public and private functions which involved parties in a litigation.

This was done to protect our citizens’ sacred trust in the independence of the judiciary and the timely delivery of Justice.

Indeed, Justice must not only be done but it must also be seen to be done.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP

[- Letter to the Editor; Saturday 3 August 2024 -]

27/07/2024

✍️Gun violence and the breakdown of respect for the rule of law🇼🇸
This week, Samoa mourns the death of Detective Sergeant Peniamina Perite, who was gunned down in the line of duty.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.

We have sent our sons and daughters to serve in UN police missions in some of the most dangerous countries across the world since the year 2000 but none have been killed by gun violence.

It is unimaginable that this is now happening in Samoa.

This incident is the latest of a series of gun-related violence that is becoming too common in Samoa.
It is a further sign of the breakdown of respect for the rule of law.

Criminals are now acting with impunity and disregard for public safety.

As often reported in the news and social media, robberies are now happening every week in shops and homes, night and day.

It is no surprise that these robberies and gun violence are increasing with the use of methamphetamine, or aisa, in Samoa,

We must all pay close attention to this breakdown of Samoan values that starts from the leadership of the country.

If airplanes and ships can violate our borders, and shipments of guns can be imported without prior licensing then how can our police be expected to defend the law?

It doesn't help when guns seem to be the favorite solution of a senior cabinet Minister who also wants to shoot all the wild pigs in Samoa.

There is a famous saying that a man with a hammer sees everything as a nail.

Likewise, a man with a gun sees everyone as a target!

We pray for God's protection over our families and children from such senseless violence, the safety of our law enforcement officers, and that the respect for the rule of law will return to Samoa.

Until that time, we must always believe that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP

[- Letter to the Editor; Saturday 27 July 2024 -]