The Prime Minister is undermining the work of Samoa's Government Ministries by placing himself at the centre of their decision-making and stripping them of independence, his former deputy has said.

Speaking exclusively to the Samoa Observer, three-decade Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P.) insider and former Deputy Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, says she has watched on as the independence of the nation's public service has been dismantled and its decisions routed exclusively through the Office of the Prime Minister for approval.

The Prime Minister's orienting of Samoa's Government around himself is slowing down the process of governing and is generally to the nation's detriment, the M.P. for Lotofaga says.

"It’s almost like nothing happens until it comes from the top, so everything else is dysfunctional,” she said in her last interview of the year.