The nation needs its elected leaders to be truthful. It becomes dangerous when people in power start twisting facts. It creates an atmosphere of uncertainty, and people begin to believe in lies spun by those who are perceived as leaders.

A fine example is the comments by the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) leader La’auli Leuatea Schmidt when countering the new measures of social welfare benefits by the Human Rights Protection Party. Instead of countering the HRPP social welfare initiatives, La’auli attacked the HRPP with emotion. He went on to blame the deaths of the children during the measles epidemic on the party and went as far as saying that the party did little to compensate for the deaths of the children.

Let us get one thing straight. It would not have mattered if FAST or HRPP were in power when the measles epidemic happened. The simple fact is that children were not vaccinated, allowing measles to spread faster and claiming lives. It was the failure of the health system to get children vaccinated, and it was the failure of parents. This is a historical lesson on why vaccination is important. If anything, everyone who doubted vaccination failed.

La’auli goes a step further in claiming that it was the FAST party that compensated the parents who lost their children in the measles epidemic. The 2019 Samoa measles outbreak began in September 2019. By 6 January 2020, over 5,700 cases of measles and 83 deaths had been reported, out of a population of 200,874, an infection rate of over three per cent.

La'auli was still a member of parliament under HRPP during the measles outbreak. He resigned from HRPP in June 2020 after being cleared by the court over criminal charges. The FAST party was registered on 30 July 2020, and in August 2020 began announcing candidates for the 2021 Samoan general election. The FAST party was not around when the measles epidemic took place.

People believe that words that are uttered by politicians are the gospel truth. This places a lot of responsibility on people who are vying for seats because what they say to the people would be taken as the truth. Therefore, it places an enormous burden on a candidate to be honourable. People cling to words that politicians will utter. Some will believe these words even when they are not true. Politicians wield power, and in this nation, that power increases twofold to threefold because every politician is a chief.

It’s important to recognise that deception in public life is a problem. Declining trust in politics and politicians is directly linked to failures of integrity and a perceived lack of accountability. Strengthening accountability systems, improving the transparency of how decisions are made, and how politicians are held to account are important responses to this.

Lying is not a victimless crime. When politicians choose to lie, there are often people who suffer, and often an individual who suffers a great deal, often someone whose reputation is damaged, whose life is turned upside-down.

To the candidates and political parties, please do not make promises that you know cannot be fulfilled. If election promises could be prosecuted, many would be in trouble for not delivering. It is deception when you promise something in return for votes. Lies during the election also create uncertainty and harm the balance of peace and calm. These are the same lies that rile a brother against a brother.

Dear politicians, if you cannot contribute positively to nation-building and have no idea how to improve the nation, please don’t tell lies. Your lies are harming the nation. If you truly want to build the nation, stop lying, work for the people, stop being self-serving and above all, have the decency to realise that people of this nation can see the wrongs you are doing.