Opposition leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi questioned whether the Prime Minister's sons, who seem to be part of his security detail, are being paid by the taxpayers and has warned that the aeroplane funding scheme could be detrimental to the Unit Trust of Samoa (UTOS).

During his weekly press conference, Tuilaepa said Prime Minister La'aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt's meeting with leaders of other countries, with his two sons at his side, was not proper.

"I would like to remind La'auli that when he meets with leaders of other countries, it is very disrespectful for his sons to be there during the conversation," he said.

"Discussions between leaders of two countries are very confidential, which is why it is very inappropriate for La'auli's two sons to be by his side."

Tuilaepa elaborated that he wants to know who's paying for La'aulialemalietoa's two sons.

"I only had my driver, and the only time the police recommended that I should get a bodyguard was when Luagalau was killed," he said.

He shared that it was done because the commissioner of police back then requested that he have a bodyguard for safety purposes.

"Isn't that a conflict of interest for the PM's children to work for him?" he said.

UTOS losing out: Tuilaepa claims

Some unit holders at the Unit Trust of Samoa are now having second thoughts about whether they still want to become shareholders, claimed Tuilaepa.

"UTOS was established for people with money to become unit holders," Tuilaepa said.

"UTOS is not like a bank; it was established for the sake of unit holders to have their money deposited and have more units to be able to have shares."

Tuilaepa claimed that some members of UTOS are looking at withdrawing, fearing their savings will be affected by the aeroplane plan.

The plan was proposed by the La'aulialemalietoa for people to invest $500 or more in UTOS. Registrations would be made available for the diaspora.

"There are banks available for those types of strategies, but UTOS was not made for those reasons," he explained.