Dear Editor,
This week, Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt finally admitted in Parliament that the $20 million payment made to the owner of the Aurora V ferry was a scandalous waste of public funds.
The Australian vessel did not have a licence to sail in the open ocean and would have put the lives of hundreds of Samoans at risk.
The person responsible for this transaction was the Minister for Works, Transport and Infrastructure in the first Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party government under the leadership of Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa.
This same Cabinet Minister oversaw the construction of an expensive $20 million parking facility for small aircraft at Faleolo, which was formally opened by the former FAST Party Prime Minister.
