Cabinet has approved the reappointment of the Chief Executive Officer for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (M.N.R.E.) and the Executive Director of Samoa Law Reform Commission (S.L.R.C.).

The re-appointed CEO of M.N.R.E., Ulu Bismarck Crawley will serve for the next three years.

This was highlighted in a statement issued through the Government Press Secretariat.

According to the statement, it states that following the completion of the recruitment and selection process, Cabinet last week approved the panel’s recommendation to appoint Ulu to this position.

This would be Ulu’s second term in office.

He brings to the Ministry a wealth of 25 years of experience in the environment sector.

He has worked on many large projects as a Consultant for national, regional and international projects on the environment.

The 53-year old holds a Master on environmental Law and a Postgraduate in the fields of Climate Change, Meteorology, Oceanography, Geographical Information System (G.I.S) and Remote Sensing.

Ulu had worked in the Apia Observatory (presently known as Meteorology Division).

His experience in regional organisations encompassed his employment with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (S.P.R.E.P). 

Ulu is also the Chairman of the National Emergency Operations Centre (N.E.O.C.) that coordinates government plans and responses to disasters.

The N.E.O.C. has been at the forefront of the coordination of national efforts, working closely with government Ministries and Corporations, and Development Partners to respond to the recent measles outbreak, and current national efforts to protect Samoa from the COVID-19.

For the three years, Cabinet has approved the reappointment of Telei'ai Dr. Lalotoa Mulitalo Seumanutafa to the position of Executive Director of the Samoa Law Reform Commission (S.L.R.C.) this week. 

This would be her second term in office.

Telei’ai is a lawyer by profession, and she holds a PhD in Law, Master of Laws, LLB and LLM. 

She has also completed a Postdoctoral studies in Canada and Australia in 2016-2017 respectively.

Telei’ai is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Samoa.

She began her career with the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration in 1992 as an Officer of the District Court, Supreme Court and Court of Appeal of Samoa.

Telei’ai became a Law Clerk at the Office of the Attorney General in 1999 and went on to become the Parliamentary Counsel from 2005-2009. 

She is an External Fellow with the Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law; TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland, and a member of the Samoa Law Society.

Over the last three years, Telei’ai had led the S.L.R.C. in conducting research on current laws of Samoa which had subsequently resulted in recommendations to review existing legislation, in view of international best practice and in the context of Samoa. 

She has published on issues such as legal pluralism, adoption procedures, legislative drafting, and on the aspects of Samoa’s history.