The Land and Transport Authority (L.T.A.) paid out money to a board that did not exist.
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According to its 2011 – 2012 Annual Report, the Authority compensated its directors $4,950 tala for the year under review (See Figure 1 above).
The figure was presented in the financials which were compiled by the Samoa Audit Office (S.A.O.).
According to the report Almost 70 per cent of the above figure went to “gifts and other board expenses”.
When asked about this issue, a spokesperson for the S.A.O. said the L.T.A. did not have a Board for Financial Year ending 2012.
“As it is noted on the minutes and F.K.s (Cabinet Decision) components by the audit team,” the spokesperson said.
“It states that only submissions were given to Minister for approval as there was no Board.
“However there were expenses of $4 [sic] thousand (tala)…that were recorded under Board expenses which were mainly paid to the Institute of Directors but I could not confirm from the files the nature of these expenses.”
The Ministry of Works Transport and Infrastructure (M.W.T.I.) C.E.O. and Chairman of the L.T.A. Board Vaaelua Nofo Vaaelua was contacted for comment, but none was forthcoming at the time of press.
The S.A.O. spokesperson said the Board was only established in the 2013 Financial Year as per the notes in the accounts.
“I could recall that all Boards were dissolved in 2011 because of the elections. I assume these all link to having no Board for (the) L.T.A. in 2012.”
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" class="caption" />A motorist who used the new airport parking facilities was concerned to see that the fee included a 19 percent charge for Valued Added Goods and Services Tax (V.A.G.S.T).
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The legislated rate is 15 per cent. The motorist handed in the ticket, above, and asked Samoa Observer to check whether this was accurate.
Questions sent in via email to the Samoa Airport Authority last week were not responded to by press time last night.
However, a clue to the mix up may come from the parking ticket itself. Tickets issued at Faleolo airport still retain the slogan from the installation company, “Designa VLT The Know How of Parking.”
An online search for this slogan shows the electronic parking fee system comes from Designa VLT, a company claiming 60 years experience with around 6,000 installed systems in over 50 countries.
The company, DESIGNA Verkehrsleittechnik GmbH, is headquartered in Germany, where the Valued Added Tax rate is 19 percent.
Meantime, back here, Section 57.1 f (ii) of the 1992 V.A.G.S.T.
Act applies against those who “knowingly” charge “in excess of the amount properly so charged under this Act”.
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