Minister aims to cut govt. losses

The Minister of Public Enterprises, Lautafi Selafi Purcell, is demanding better performances from Samoa’s State Owned Enterprises (S.O.E's), calling for them to cut their losses.

Lautafi made the call during an interview with the Samoa Observer when he was asked about how he was settling into Cabinet’s newest portfolio.

The Public Enterprises portfolio was created earlier this year following the resignation of former Minister of Finance, Faumuina Tiatia Liuga, over a number of allegations about his performance.

While Lautafi was handed the Public Enterprises ministerial job, Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, reclaimed the Finance portfolio.

A few months into his new role, Lautafi said the groundwork for the establishment of the new Ministry is nearly completed.

One important piece that’s needed is the Legislation that defines the Ministry, its administration and role.

The Minister said this has been tabled before Parliament and he is hopeful it will be passed in December.

Meantime, Lautafi said his vision is to improve the performances of a number of S.O.E's so that they would be profitable.

The Minister’s vision follows countless Parliamentary reports that have exposed the poor performance of some S.O.E's, with some losing millions of tala.

“After the legislation is through Parliament, we are looking at the bigger S.O.E's, to drill into them that they have to operate like a business,” Lautafi said.

“The Management and the Board have to have the same mentality. The Board has to be really on board.

“Some S.O.E's unfortunately haven’t been making profits, they have been operating at a loss.”

Lautafi did not single out any particular S.O.E. But Parliamentary Committees as well as the Controller and Chief Auditor have highlighted losses in

S.O.E's such as the Samoa Sports Facilities Authority, Samoa Ports Authority, the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa (S.R.O.S) among others. According to the M.P for Satupa’itea, the government is continuing to fund “S.O.E's who have been operating at a loss” because “they are crucial services we cannot do away with.”

But the long-term vision is to make them self-sufficient so they will no longer rely of public funding to prop them up.

Lautafi said it is absolutely vital for S.O.E's to make profits to help the government. “They need not to depend on the government,” he emphasised.

“When the Legislation is passed, we will be looking at a way to cut costs and how to make profits to help the government.

“They (S.O.E's) need to be profitable at least so they can fund their own budgets for their operations rather than depending on the government.

“That is the first step to become self-sufficient. “The thing is not to rely on government budget every year. They need to learn how to survive on their own.”

While S.O.E's such as the Samoa Land Corporation (S.L.C) and the Samoa Sports Facilities Authority, the Legislation before Parliament will make it clear what other S.O.E's will come under Lautafi’s portfolio and what the process will be in terms of transferring them from the portfolios they are under now.

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