None of the 17 King Long buses that went under the hammer in September got sold and a report has been sent back to the Cabinet for its consideration. 

The 29-seater buses that were donated by the Chinese Government for the 2019 Pacific Games are in storage at the Central Bank of Samoa (C.B.S.) compound at Ululoloa. 

In response to questions from the Samoa Observer, Acting C.E.O. for the Ministry of Finance, Tofilau Lae Siliva confirmed that none of the buses were sold at the September auction. 

"Another report will be tabled to the National Tenders Board with options for Cabinet consideration,” said Tofilau. 

Asked if there's consideration to have the buses donated to schools, given it was gifted to Samoa for the Pacific Games, the Acting C.E.O. said it is one of the options for the Cabinet to consider. 

Schools were given priority by the Cabinet in the September auction to purchase some of the 17 buses left from the games.

The Cabinet gave the orders in a Cabinet Directive (22)20 dated 3rd June 2022 to ensure priority is given to requests submitted by various schools in the country. 

A Ministry of Finance (M.O.F.) notice on the restricted auction sale invited all schools to the auction of the buses at the C.B.S. Ululoloa compound. 

The auction terms and conditions were that interested schools were required to register with the M.O.F. and all buses can be inspected at the Ululoloa compound during working hours. 

“Winning bidders are strictly required to settle payment within 2 hours and must be in cash or bank cheque only,” the notice stated. 

“Strictly only registered bidders will allow entry in the compound on the day of auction.” 

The buses had minor defects with the auctioneers cutting 20 per cent from the auction opening price. 

In January 2020 Cabinet gave approval for the M.O.F. to begin distributing and selling assets donated to Samoa for the Pacific Games which the country hosted in July 2019. 

Several lots of equipment were loaned to the Ministry of Health (M.O.H.) to carry out the mass vaccination campaign during the measles epidemic in the last quarter of 2019 including computers, coolers used for vaccines and vans. Some were returned to the Ministry in less than pristine condition. 

Sporting equipment were also released to sporting bodies and schools between April and May 2020 through the Ministry of Education Sports and Culture which was tasked to oversee the task.