With great sadness, it is being announced that accountability and transparency have met a demise. Just to make sure that they were dead, both were shot in the head twice. There will be no post mortem examination as there are no forensic pathologists in the country.

This is not a funeral notice but it sure feels like that with the recent dealings concerning public funds. $175,000 has vanished into thin air and two people signed for it. Yet, the Member of Parliament for Fa'asaleleaga No.2 Magele Sekati Fiaui proudly confirmed another transfer, a portion of from their SAT$425,000 grant into the district's bank account.

Magele clarified that the allocated funds would be utilised to support families within his constituency who were previously excluded from receiving vouchers during the initial disbursement. How can this happen?

There was supposed to be an investigation to find out where the money went but to date, there has been no word from anyone in authority, the leader of the Government or the Speaker of the House has said nothing about this. This time again conflicting reports have emerged as some constituents claimed they were turned away from the district office in Savai'i, citing a lack of funds.

Some claimed that when they approached the district office on Monday and Tuesday, they were told by the committee members that they were unaware of what Magele was referring to in his social media post.

Another committee member also confirmed when contacted by this newspaper that they were shocked when constituents showed up at the office asking them for their share of agricultural materials, after seeing the post by the MP on Facebook.

The committee members said they were not aware that the funds had been transferred to the bank account. When contacted by this newspaper on Wednesday, Magele disputed these claims, asserting that the funds had indeed been transferred to the district offices' bank account.

Let’s use simple mathematics here. In the first instance, $175,000 intended for salary of district office staff disappears and then Magele claims a portion of $425,000 was transferred but the district council says there is no money.

The Minister of Finance, Lautimuia Uelese Va'ai confirmed last week that an investigation undertaken by the Ministry of Finance into the missing funds is ongoing. It is time the case of the missing money is transferred to the police. Perhaps with their newly acquired skills in detecting financial crimes, they can be of assistance.

And if there is a need to lay charges on whoever was responsible for the missing funds, then it should be done. No politician or district council member should ever think that they will not be held accountable for misusing or being careless with money that belongs to the public.

Over five years, the constituency would be given $5 million. It is very concerning that such problems have started with the first million. The member of parliament here has to do the responsible thing and step down for the time the investigation is happening.

There are currently no such policies that state that the MP should do so, but if he were an accountable person, he would step away from anything to do with the district development grant. There is no urgency on the part of the government as well to deal with the matter. It feels like the grant is a source of funds made available for the MPs to dip into whenever they want to. Such actions are depriving the people who should be benefitting from the grants.

Accountability is a fundamental aspect of effective leadership, driving trust, and transparency. However, a lack of accountability can lead to a culture of blame, low morale, and missed targets.

A leadership void in terms of accountability can result in eroded trust and that is what is happening in Fa'asaleleaga No.2. The people are losing their trust in their elected representative.

In an environment without accountability, a culture of blame can emerge. Instead of focusing on problem-solving and learning from mistakes, individuals may engage in finger-pointing, and shifting blame onto others. The secretary for the district council was suspended and Magele has pointed fingers at him.

While funeral arrangements are being made for accountability and transparency, there is hope that the government will be there in attendance to acknowledge how efficient and free of corruption things would have been, if they existed.