Dear Editor

Re: Police Ministry, cause and effect 

I agree wholeheartedly with this analysis. Spot on.

As one old lady at the makeki told me recently, a great leader is one who takes his department with him on the journey. 

On the other hand, a sign of a competent manager is one who takes the path of least resistance. Is the present Commissioner a great leader or a simply a competent Manager? 

You readers, can make your own assessment.

My simple view is that the Commissioner’s role requires somebody with exceptional leadership skills because of the nature of the work and the type of organisation which is the Police department. 

Is the present Commissioner the right person for the job? 

Again different people have different views on this. I simply make the point that having a significant public profile does not, of itself, demonstrate great leadership skills. 

Great leaders such as Nelson Mandela showed great leadership skills in forgiving those who imprisoned him and others, because without that action, South Africa would have continued to be divided and the sense of a nation lacking. 

Applying that analogy to Samoa’s Police department, the present Commissioner appears to enjoy the retributive actions against those who plotted against him last year. No lessons there from the South African experience. 

Now that the senior officer ranks is denuded of experience and that Samoan thing which is accorded to those wise and old heads - commanding respect from the community. These are the wise heads who are effective at exercising that ava fatafata when issues get out of control and the police need collaboration from alii ma faipule o nu’u ma alalafaga. 

I am absolutely sure that the present Commissioner is aware of these issues and has strategies to manage them.

As for those officers who are losing their jobs even though they had nothing to do with last year’s events, you have my sympathies. You are the collateral damage in the drive to get the Police department populated by those who obey without question. Sounds very much like America under Trump.

Vai Autu