‘My hands are clean,’ says former Minister of Finance

Former Minister of Finance, Papali’i Niko Lee Hang, is a sad man.

He is unhappy that Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, has brought into question his reputation to the point where he says his family has been affected.

It’s come about because Prime Minister Tuilaepa continues to point to “flaws” in Papali’i’s performance as Finance Minister every time he is questioned about the performance of incumbent and embattled Finance Minister, Faumuina Tiatia Liuga.

“My reputation has been affected,” Papali’i told the Sunday Samoan yesterday. “I’ve been a public servant for more than thirty years where I managed the Public Trust Office upon a recommendation by the H.R.P.P. During that time, Papali’i said his reputation has never been questioned.

“I went to see the Prime Minister one-on-one so that I could ask him about (what he keeps referring to,” he said. “It’s not easy because even my family have asked me about what I did wrong.

“Judging from the statements that he keeps making, there are things I did not do right. That’s a general comment but when people interpret it, it comes across that all the things I did were wrong.

“So I wish he would pinpoint what they are.” Papali’i said that he believes the reputation of a public servant should openly be questioned when “he doesn't perform his duties honestly, misuse public funds and break government policies.”

The Member of Parliament said he is not guilty of any of the above.

“So my question (to the Prime Minister) is that; is there an incident where I have misused public funds? Are there government policies that I breached while I was a Minister?

“If I did none of the above, then my hands are clean about those accusations in relation to budget issues.

“The problem is that the Prime Minister is not talking about the real issues. The major issue here is expenditure.

They spent more money than what had been approved in the budget to be spent.”

Papali’i is referring to instances of overspending raised by Controller and Chief Auditor, Fuimaono Camillo Afele, in his report to Parliament for 2009 and 2010.

These include overspending by Minister Faumuina during his tenure at the Samoa Land Corporation (S.L.C). In one incident, a vehicle purchase which should have cost $200,000 or less ended up costing $340,000.

Another incident involved millions of tala paid to a “middleman” for a water drilling truck that ended up costing the government nearly twice the amount than what had been initially budgeted. But that’s not all.

Faumuina’s fascination with expensive offices baffles the mind. Referring to Faumuina’s newest $600,000 office at the S.N.P.F Plaza, Papali’i said: “It’s not an office, it’s a headquarter.”

Papali’i said the government owes it to the people to explain how their money is spent. That’s what good governance is about, he said. “In terms of budgets, it’s understandable when it’s not achieved,” Papali’i said.

“There were instances during my time that the budget forecasts were not achieved but it wasn't my fault. It was the performance of the ministries who did not achieve their budgets and that happens for a number of reasons.”

Chief Auditor Fuimaono’s report in question highlights this issue for a number of government Ministries. But Papali’i is worried.

“The important issue, which I believe the Prime Minister is avoiding, is what I see as the root cause of the problem,” he said.

“This is an area that should be explained to the public. I believe that if this is done, things will be a lot clearer because the Auditor has clearly reported instances of violation of government policies, procurement and tender processes.

“These processes were not followed and that is clearly highlighted in the Auditor’s report.”

Referring to S.L.C, Papali’i said there were two reports from the Chief Auditor in two consecutive years. “In both cases, a management letter was given to S.L.C about what needs to be fixed. The S.L.C did not respond.

“Why? They could not respond, they could not explain so they hid it like that. So that’s what I want to tell people.

“These are the reports that I’ve raised in Parliament often that has made the Prime Minister accuse me of bringing up the past. In saying that, he has suggested that I have things (I did wrong).

“What I find disappointing is that I’m not told (what these things are). So the country is in the dark about what things I did not do, what I did not implement as a Minister.”

But Papali’i said his conscience is clear.

“For five years when I was a Minister, there was not one time where the Prime Minister called me in that this is what should be done or this is what needs to be corrected. There was nothing like that during my time,” he said. So where does he come from with these things?

“My belief is that he is trying to hide the real meaty part of the Auditor’s report.

“His statements avoid the issue. He talks about budgets and revenue but these are minor issues because there are times when budgets are not achieved when the ministry does not perform for several reasons.

“But it’s how the money was spent, in my view, that is not being touched upon in the statements (by the Prime Minister).

“If these things had been explained properly, there would be no more questions.” In one meeting with Tuilaepa, the Member of Parliament said he advised him to refer back to their accounting backgrounds. “I reminded the Prime Minister that he is an accountant and I am an accountant. What I found from the Auditor’s report, in my view as an accountant, are very serious matters.”

One of them is Faumuina’s spending. “The budget approved $200,000 for the (ministerial) car but when it arrived in cost nearly $400,000,” said Papali’i.

“That’s overspending and that’s breaching the Director’s approval. The other issue is that a Corporation does not purchase a vehicle for the Minister. All Ministerial expenditures, Ministerial support including vehicles, are budgeted and approved by Parliament.”

But this happened because at the time, Ministers were allowed to chair Boards.

“Through that, they misused their powers. This is the spending that’s out of control. Not only have they violated procurement policies in attaining assets, they’ve done it themselves (without Parliament approval).

“So what happened? After his term as Minister of S.L.C, his wife was driving around in the Lexus.

“That’s one of the reasons why we wrote that letter to the Prime Minister. We were not happy with how the car was being used.”

The letter in question was submitted to Prime Minister Tuilaepa in May last year. Signed by 19 members of the H.R.P.P caucus, the letter called for Faumuina to be removed as the Minister of Finance.

“As far as I know, he is the only Minister, I have confirmed as an Auditor from my investigation that orders things to be paid…. “Even though he knows these things, he is acting as if nothing is wrong and I feel very sorry for the Prime Minister, he is taking all the pressure.”

During a recent H.R.P.P caucus meeting, Papali’i said he asked Faumuina why S.L.C did not respond to the Management letters from the Chief Auditor, as well as requests from the Officers of Parliament Committee, of which Papali’i is a member. Faumuina did not respond.

Instead, Prime Minister Tuilaepa responded on his behalf. Getting back to issue of Tuilaepa questioning his reputation, Papali’i said he guesses that it has something to do with “reforms.”

“There was a time he touched upon reforms,” he said. “One reform in particular involves the removal of Ministers from the chairmanship of public boards.”

According to Papali’i, under his leadership, the Ministry of Finance submitted a recommendation for reform to be implemented. “It was signed by me as the Minister,” he said.

“The problem is that even what the Prime Minister has said about this is not clear.

“But if he spoke directly that this is what he is referring to, I would have told him that I don't make a decision.

“We submit a recommendation and the Cabinet decides. He is the one who makes the final decision.”

Parliamentis scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday where the Officers of Parliament Committee’s report, in response to the Chief Auditor’s report, is scheduled to be debated.