Pay rise for govt. leaders? You’re kidding!

Dear Editor,

Where is this guy Tofaeono Joe Hollywood coming from? 

Something is definitely wrong with him. He talks about raising the salaries for P.M. Tuilaepa and his M.Ps. What for? 

This is an absolute load of hot air, a delusional opinion for a government bread crumb yet he gives no absolute statistics nor facts to justify a pay rise. 

Maybe Hollywood should come to Samoa and sweat his ass off to pay for the $20 Million increase in salary per annum that he’s proposing.

P.M. Tuilaepa and H.R.P.P have been in government for 30 years and they’ve achieved absolutely nothing but have succeeded in putting Samoa in serious debt of over $1.5 Billion+ and increased the social problems (high unemployment; poverty; corruption; high cost of living; poor health service; education failure; high crime rate and violence; the increasing number of street vendors/child labor; reduced exports;   poor  access to clean, sanitized water; etc) and hardship faced by the people of this nation today. 

 Looking at all that, where then is Hollywood coming from asking for an increase of salary? 

As far as I’m concerned, with all these social problems and corruption from his govt., P.M. Tuilaepa and his M.Ps are over- paid.  

PM Tuilaepa is paid  $200,000 per annum and more with the privileges he’s receiving (free electricity; free transport; free medical; overseas travel; etc) not to mention the envelopes he receives from openings and everywhere else, by a population of 185,000 compared to America’s President Obama who is paid $400,000 per annum to manage a population of 400,000 Million  - and our economy is still going backwards? Not only that, Samoa is broke.

P.M. Tuilaepa and his M.Ps should have their pays slashed by half and money invested to the poor, the sick and the weak to raise their standard of living. What we have in government today are nothing but a bunch leaders who have no love for the people.

We the people of Samoa; are still waiting on the Chief Auditor and O.P.C reports that highlighted corruption within P.M. Tuilaepa’s government, to be tabled. I therefore ask this question to Tofaeono Joe Hollywood, “If you were the P.M. of this nation, and there are evidence of corruption in your govt, what would you do about it? Will you sweep it under the carpet like how your buddy P.M. Tuilaepa did?” 

Remember P.M. Tuilaepa promised the people that these reports will be tabled before the elections. 

Now months after the elections, still nothing has happened and the reports remain not tabled today.  

Can the people of this nation honestly tell me, with all the corruption, debt and social problems I mentioned above, that the government deserves a pay rise?

My answer to that is a big no.

The pay rise is not an issue here for P.M. Tuilaepa and his M.Ps but there is a dire need to investigate the corruption festering within this govt. 

In any other country, facts and statistics of the social problems are produced and determine the success of a govt. 

This govt. have no honest statistics and facts of the social problems of this country but false figures on paper to fool donors and the people. My honest opinion (and I believe most of my people agree with me) Samoa urgently needs a new PM/leadership.

Before H.R.P.P took office, Samoa’s debt was only $15 Million. Today, our foreign debt is $1.5 Billion+ under P.M. Tuilaepa’s and HRPP’s leadership.  Believe me, Samoa’s foreign debt will exceed $2 billion by the beginning of next year.

And what exactly do P.M. Tuilaepa and these M.P.s do to get paid this much money when the government only have 4 or 5 Parliamentary sessions per year and each session lasts 1 – 2 weeks?

The majority of these M.P.s in government own their businesses with their children and they spend most of their time on their family businesses but not on the nation and receive contracts/lollipops from the government to make themselves richer. 

So why wouldn’t most elections candidates run under H.R.P.P when they are getting all these perks for nothing?

MR

Samoa Observer

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