Not even a question, says former Speaker

Former Speaker of Parliament and acting leader of the Opposition, Aeau Dr. Peniamina Leavai, has slammed the handling of the Officers of Parliament Committee report, which highlights “corrupt practises” among government bodies.

The veteran Member of Parliament is particularly critical of Parliament. He has also lamented the government’s failure to deliver on its promise to debate the O.P.C. report, which backed an alarming report by the Controller and Chief Auditor, Fuimaono Camillo Afele, questioning the spending of millions of taxpayers’ dollars.

Although the veteran Member of Parliament and former Speaker stopped short of saying that the events of last Wednesday night was a conspiracy, he questioned the careful timing of the debate and everything else that followed – including the resignation by Faumuina Tiatia Liuga as Finance Minister.

“Why were all these things held on the last night in the last two hours?” he asked.Aeau pointed out that the issues were “all absolved” by the lateness of the hour and Faumuina’s dramatic resignation.

“These things happened without anybody opening his or her mouth and asking even one question,” Aeau said.

“And there is a bigger question floating there now. Was he (Faumuina) held accountable? Because after that (his lengthy speech), everybody was tired, everybody didn't want to talk, everybody pitied him.”

Aeau also questioned Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi. “(If) he doesn’t know it (what the Chief Auditor and OPC reports revealed), who is supposed to know it? Worse still, who is supposed to expose it?

“Nobody?”

“This is why I wanted this to go the long way through the Commission of Inquiry so everybody will be exposed. But on the last day (of Parliament) they said let this go through the law – I am okay with that. “(So now I am) waiting earnestly with members of the H.R.P.P. (as) that is their recommendation to go through the law. I would love to see it right up to the end (as) there is quite a lot there.”

In speaking out, Aeau has become the first Member of Parliament to openly question why Parliament held off the debate on the O.P.C. report until the last minute. “The motions were all over the place, run over by the speech, the longest speech given by any Minister, and to cap it off, with the resignation,” said Aeau.

“So what would you expect (at that time of the night or morning)? You would pull the blinds down and go home. That was what was on everybody’s mind that night.”

During an interview with the Samoa Observer, the former Speaker of the House questioned how the final sitting day played out, with 39 reports being rushed through undebated. While he made it clear he is “not after anybody’s neck,” he wanted to go on the record to say that this is the second time the Government has pushed through a number of reports without House debate.

“We are all Members of Parliament,” he said.

“We are supposed to uphold the law, obey the law, respect the law. The procedure was not everybody’s thing, it was the Speaker’s (La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polata’ivao) thing and the Government’s.”

Aeau also wants to know why and how reports that have been debated by committees, who provided recommendations to the Government, were rushed through at the end of session.

“It is not the first time they have passed through bills in the house without debate,” he said.

“Why and how is this happening?

The Government is responsible for the Parliament meetings; it is the government that put down a set table. One day a month, sometimes no days except for the budget session.

 “This is the second time that the Government has rushed through reports like this and passed them without debate.

“As Committee Members, it is wasting our time, it is wasting government money and the people have a right to hear what was discussed and what the Committees’ recommendations are.”

On the night in question, a debate broke out between Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Minister of Justice and Courts Administration, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Speaker La’auli and the leader of the Opposition, Palusalue Fa’apo II, about Faumuina using a Ministerial statement to respond to the allegations against him.

Palusalue and Fiame objected to a Ministerial statement being used. Tuilaepa disagreed. He told Parliament there was nothing wrong with the Minister trying to explain and answer to the many allegations he had been facing over recent months.

In the end, Speaker La’auli granted Faumuina the opportunity to deliver a Ministerial statement. Aeau said he interjected twice when Faumuina was speaking. “I asked a question in Samoan,” he said.

“‘Mr Speaker I don’t understand what he was talking about, it is just wasting our time, his time and we don’t know where we are heading. Isn’t this a plan so that he speaks until the end of our session?’

“Those were my cheeky questions, twice (asked) during this one hour and 20 minute talk. I said that to the Speaker and he just said ‘hang on, hold on’ and so he (Faumuina) went on. “Unfortunately the proceedings are controlled by the Speaker, but that is exactly what happened really.

That is procedure unfortunately.”

Because of the lateness of the hour, Aeau said many things were left unsaid. Today, the Acting leader of the Tautua Party said the Government now has three months to respond to the recommendations made by the Officer’s of Parliament Committees Report on the Report of the Controller and Chief Auditor, a Committee of which he was a member.

He said it would be interesting to see if the Government acted on the recommendation that the investigation into “corrupt practices” within the Samoa Land Corporation should be taken to the Court.

“Because my personal recommendations to our Committee was to go through the Commission of Inquiry (as it is) much more elaborate and understandable for everybody to come and hear it,” he said.

“But on the last day, the members of the H.R.P.P. (Human Rights Protection Party) asked me…to change this from the Commission of Inquiry to the law

. “I said ‘ok’, and that was it.”

He said what he was after was the Committee’s recommendations being taken up by Government.

“The Government is now bending their decisions, their reply,” he said. “We have opened all the loopholes in the whole issue, collusions between the public servants and the ministers and all those government officials.

“We have to expose it…in this case because it was pretty well demonstrated by this case all those collusive practices so I would like them to be exposed so that everyone will be aware of it.

“So we are waiting, myself included, earnestly for what their recommendations are whether they agree to let these things go to the law. That is up in the air now.”