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Lolo moves to appoint members of ASG boards and commissions

He will not choose cabinet members, unless required by law
fili@samoanews.com

With the Fono already confirming all executive branch directors, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga’s next task is to appoint members to ASG boards and commissions, as well as replacing current cabinet directors on these boards or commissions.

During Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, the governor congratulated all cabinet directors confirmed by the Fono, as when the governor left for Washington D.C. last month for meetings, there were still some directors going through the Fono confirmation process.

Lolo informed his cabinet that the next task for him and Lt. Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga is to appoint members of semi autonomous agencies as well as ASG commissions — as required by law.

Last week the Fono received the governor’s Mar. 17 letter re-nominating all five current board members of the American Samoa Power Authority for another term — Fonoti Perelini (the current board chairman), Peter Crispin, Isabel Hudson, Daniel King and Solip Hong.  (See Samoa News edition Mar. 22 for details.)

At the cabinet meeting, Lolo said there are some new directors, who are board members of ASG authorities and these individuals will be replaced — and instead have the directors dedicate their “full time” to the job of leading their department or agency.

Cabinet directors currently on ASG boards, identified by the governor, are Police Commissioner Le’i Sonny Thompson — ASG Employees Retirement Fund; local Homeland Security Department director Samana Semo Veavea — Development Bank of American Samoa, Territorial Administration on Aging director Evelyn Lili’o-Satele — ASG Scholarship board, and Agriculture Department director Filifa’atali Michael Fuiava — LBJ Medical Center board.

Lolo said these cabinet directors will be replaced with members from the private sector so that the business community has a voice in government through boards and commissions, added there has been many complaints from private sector that they don’t have a voice in government.

However, the governor said that looking back in the last four years of his administration, government boards and commissions memberships are given to the business community and individuals from the community — and that is their voice and contribution to the government.

Lolo made the public commitment when his administration took office in January 2013, that boards and commissions memberships would be given to the business community and not directors who should focus attention on running the government.

Unless, said the governor, the law specifies that a certain cabinet member sit on the ASG board or commission.

During the Chamber of Commerce’s gubernatorial forum last October, the issue of directors on ASG board was also raised. Lolo responded that the “only boards that are served by [ASG] directors are those dictated by law, otherwise all members who are serving on the boards are members of business community and members from the private sector.”

RETURNING GRADUATES

Also during the cabinet meeting Tuesday, the governor said that some cabinet directors are objecting to employing in their departments and agencies, returning college graduates, under a program by the administration to provide jobs for “returning sons and daughters” holding degrees.

Lolo said some directors give the excuse that they don’t have job openings. “Find jobs within your agency to place our returning graduates in accordance with their education background and degree,” he told directors.

If a director claims that there are no job openings, the governor issued a cautionary note, “then don’t you think about hiring any new employees starting now until the end of the current administration.”

Lolo said that even if the student’s degree and education background doesn’t match the job opening, “at least place them in the job” for now. He said students graduating from colleges and universities are returning home to serve the government and the people of American Samoa.

And he’d rather see them return home, than moving on to other locations to work.