Three ASG departments faced legislators during last week’s budget hearings

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Joint Budget Hearings continued last week with Senators and Faipule conducting joint hearings for the Departments of Agriculture (DOA), Public Works (DPW) and Port Administration (DPA). The legislators heard what happened to DOA subsidies, delays for new Fono Building and that Port and Airport need more money.

DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

During the Department of Agriculture’s budget hearing last week Tuesday, both branches of the Fono were displeased to learn that the farm subsidy in the DOA’s budget had been used to pay the salaries of employees instead of it being directed to assist farmers for the last two fiscal years. 

The $100,000 farm subsidy was intended as an incentive for farmers to pay for agricultural supplies, animal feed, tools and other materials for agricultural work. The subsidy is suppose to pay half while farmers are to pay for the other half of the cost of the supplies, materials and tools.

 “I fully understand what the farm subsidy is for and that the funding was meant to assist farmers, and not hire people,” Director of Agriculture Solia Mutini said, but according to the DoA director, “the farm subsidy was placed under the Special Programs which was administered by the Governor’s Office, and it was the Governor’s Office that was responsible for using the funding to pay workers.”

 “The farm subsidy is set by law and once the governor signs off on the budget bill that the Fono approves, it becomes law,” said Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean upon hearing this. “Where did you get the authority to use the subsidy to pay people?”

Mutini said that “he fully understands what the subsidy is for and the budget law.” Tuaolo replied why he (Mutini) “did not follow the law?” and if this is how they will proceed and if he “sought the AG’s opinion on whether or not this was legal at all?”  

The DoA Director apologized and said his job is to include the subsidy funding in the budget, but how the money is used is out of his hands. When pressed later on who decided to use the subsidy money to pay salaries, the director reiterated that the farm subsidy is under Special Programs administered by the Governor’s Office.

The Senate President told the co-chairman of the joint budget hearings to note this issue — to ask the Attorney General, when he appeared for a Senate hearing.

DEPT. OF PUBLIC WORKS

This year, the Fono had plans to dedicate the new Fono building during its 75th anniversary celebrations of the American Samoa Legislature in November. But as it turns out, the “iconic” building, as said by Director of Public Works Faleosina Voigt, will not be ready until April or May next year.

 During the review of the Department of Public Works budget, on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, Senate President Tuaolo recalled when he and Speaker Savali Talavou Ale met with Public Works Director Voigt, and she said that “the Fono building would be ready in June of this year.”

Tuaolo asked Voigt for an update on the status of the Fono building, and she stated that “the building will be ready next year,” adding that “the main structure should be done by the end of this year, however, final touches and furniture would not be ready until next year.”

The Senate President asked her for “an estimated date on when the building would be completed, taking into consideration that some of them may not be around, they would like to know how soon they would be able to sit in the new building.”

Voight replied, “The main building should be ready by April or May next year to include final touches and furniture installation, but the offices will not be completed until the end of next year.”

Tuaolo then asked Voigt “if the contractor would be penalized for the delay?”

Voigt stated that the “delay is justifiable because of circumstances beyond the contractor’s control, such as a shortage of cement, the furniture has to be bid on, and there are decisions awaiting approval of the Fono leaders.”

DEPT. OF PORT ADMINISTRATION 

During the Department of Port Administration’s budget hearing, Director Falenaoti Loi-On Fruean told the budget committee that the proposed budget for her department was not enough to run a smooth operation for the port and airport facilities. 

Director Falenaoti currently operates six seaports and three airports, and said that they had “asked for $4 million to operate the airports and $6 million for seaports, but were only given $3.9 million for the whole department.” in addition, their request for more employees was denied. 

“Ninety percent of the department’s budget goes to personnel costs, and that doesn’t leave us with much in order to maintain and operate the seaports and airports,” said Falenaoti. 

Senate President Tuaolo advised the Port director to “take this issue up with the governor and his administration because it is not the Fono’s responsibility to increase funding for ASG departments.”

Tuaolo then vaguely stated that other directors thinking of asking the Fono to increase their budgets should take notes.

The Port Administration’s fiscal year 2023- 24 budget totals $3.9 million, an increase from the current fiscal year’s $3.2 million budget, while the number of employees remains at ninety-seven.