Village flicks switch on power station

The Village Council of Taelefaga has had enough.

After months of waiting for the government to do something about what they describe as “worst” smell from one of the country’s hydropower stations, the village yesterday decided it would forcefully switch off the engines running the power station.

The decision was confirmed by Ta’elefaga Chief, Leuta Sialafau Valoaga, during a telephone interview with the Samoa Observer yesterday.

“We’ve already switched off the hydro power station at six o’clock this morning,” he said. “The decision was made after a village meeting on Sunday when our village just could no longer stand the odour.

“This is not for anything but for the health of our people. If this is allowed to continue for the whole year, our people will get sick.

“We’ve been waiting for answers for such a long time now and we still haven’t had any.”

It was not possible to get a comment from both the Minister of Works, Transport and Infrastructure, Manu’alesagalala Enokati Posala, and E.P.C. General Manager, Tologata Tile Leia, yesterday.

But Leuta told the Samoa Observer yesterday that the last straw for Taelefaga was on Sunday.

“The smell started to get bad at the beginning of last week and we thought it was only for one or two days but sadly, it got considerably worse,” he said. “So the decision to switch off the power station is for our sake, we believe this is a peaceful solution to save our lives.”

According to Leuta, the problem is not new.

During a previous interview, he said people working at the Electric Power Corporation (E.P.C) have told “lie after lie” about the problem, with nothing solved.

“We still remember what the minister said on television that the smell didn’t harm the health of people,” he said.

“That’s not true. This smell makes people sick. After a year, we gave them a chance because we wanted to resolve this amicably but we cannot wait anymore.

“It’s been years since we’ve raised this issue.”

Leuta said the Village will continue to turn off the hydro station until the smell is finished.

“We’ve been told by one of the E.P.C. officials who comes here to check the station to go and seek Tologata’s opinion relating to the matter,” he said. “Our answer is no. We’ll wait peacefully in our village for him to come and see us. We want something done about this smell.”

Leuta said he hates the thought that people around the country could be disadvantaged.

“But no one can live 24 hours a day and inhale this kind of smell, it’s really bad! I want to remind the government that we are human beings.

“This year is 2015, we have not heard back from the government.”

Last year, Leuta claimed that the pollution from the station has seen the village’s lagoon turn brown and river rocks turn red with sediment.

Hydropower is considered one of the country’s energy success stories, with up to 40 per cent of electricity needs supplied through this renewable energy source.

But, far from the bright lights of Apia, Ta’elefaga villagers have grown increasingly angry about the impact on their health from years of stink air and water.

“I remember we reported the issue before, to the Prime Minister, but sadly up until now it is getting worse. The sea and the river have already turned brown and the rocks have turned red.

“Even though no one in our village has currently been reported to have experienced any food poisoning from catches from the sea, this is an issue that could possibly arise in the future if we allow this problem to continue.”

His concerns were backed up by Ta’elefaga village mayor, Fuiavailili Masani Leiataua, who confirmed concerns about a strong stench downstream from the hydropower station going back more than ten years now.

“It’s still going, right up to this point, and the village is looking for its own ways to resolve the problem,” he said last year.