Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt questioned why the Ministry of Finance had not issued a letter to all ministries where the ministers had more than one vehicle, referring to the letter to the Ministry of Health about its vehicles being used by its minister and director-general.

The Minister for Health, Va'aaoao Salumalo Alofipo and the Ministry of Health director-general, June Scanlan Lui, have been told by the Ministry of Finance to return the vehicles they are using as they are unauthorised to do so. 

Laaulialemalietoa said it is the Ministry of Finance's responsibility to oversee procedures under the constitution.

Speaking at his press conference, the prime minister said it is the Ministry of Finance’s responsibility to oversee certain government procedures but questioned why its chief executive officer had not written to other ministries.

“That is their job under the constitution,” said Laaulialemalietoa.

He said the CEO of Finance, Maeva Betham Vaai, should communicate with all ministries where ministers have more than one vehicle.

“If you have written to this ministry, you should also write to other ministries that have two or more cars,” he said. “I am not sure why you are pinpointing health, but there are others who are using two or more cars.”

The prime minister described the letter as an internal matter and said the situation escalated after it was leaked.

The prime minister said the ministries involved would resolve the matter internally. "The vehicles in question were part of a project and were not directly purchased by the government," he said, noting that the Ministry of Health is “one of the busiest departments.”

“These vehicles I noticed are good vehicles, SUVs, but these vehicles can not be used by the employees of the department,” he said. “I said that it would make sense for the minister and the CEO to use the vehicles because it is suitable for their position, in case it is taken and used for deliveries.” He added that the vehicles would also be useful when hosting international guests.

“The letter was meant to be between the two ministries, but the problem was caused by whoever put the letter online,” he said, later referring to the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP). 

“Now, because the letter was taken out of the arena that it was in, people are thinking that there is friction between the two ministries,” he said. “But the thing is, this is how procedures work.”

The prime minister also noted there are provisions under the constitution governing the number of vehicles allocated to ministers.

He further said that previous chief executive officers of the Ministry of Health had multiple vehicles without issue.