With the Fono and many in the community complaining about the usefulness of the America Samoa Visitors Bureau, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga has called for the agency’s top leaders to conduct a thorough review of the agency’s mission as well as identify ways for improvements.

Lolo made the suggestion at last week’s cabinet meeting, after Visitors Bureau deputy director Vaito’a Hans Langkilde, gave a brief report on the agency’s latest activities, which covered clean up activities and working with the National Park of American Samoa to halt the dumping of trash in park areas.

After Vaito’a’s report, Lolo told the meeting that Visitors Bureau is one of the ASG entities, which faces many public questions on what they do and cited a recent meeting with Fono leaders, who remain unclear as to the specific role and mission of the Visitors Bureau.

He said there is a need for Visitors Bureau to sit own and conduct a thorough review of its goal and mission and to ensure that it is not in conflict with work carried out by the Department of Commerce.

Lolo says its no secret to directors that during the annual budget reviews, the Fono has questioned the usefulness of this office and Fono leaders again raised this to him during their recent meeting.

He pointed out that in past Fono budget hearings, questions from lawmakers are not focused on the agency, but individuals working in the office.

During the fiscal years 2016 and 2017 budget hearing, several lawmakers targeted the high salary and benefits received by Visitors Bureau’s executive director David Vaeafe, whose salary and benefits are set by the Visitors Bureau board of directors.

Lawmakers also raised questions over local tourism development and what’s being done because nothing was visible to them, while a lot of money in the Visitors Bureau budget was allocated for off island promotion and travel.

According to the FY 2017 budget document, the Visitors Bureau budget is $751,500 with the executive director’s salary at $87,500, which does not include other benefits — such as housing.

During last week’s cabinet meeting, Lolo suggested that all cabinet members work with the Visitors Bureau leadership on identifying areas that need changes or what needs to be done, even if the role of the Visitors Bureau should be done by the private sector. He said directors shouldn’t be afraid to tackle these important issues and if changes are necessary for improvements then they should be made.

Lolo also directed Vaito’a and Vaeafe to conduct a thorough review of the agency and its mission and if there are other areas that need improvements or if there are things that should be taken away — then provide recommendations to the Governor’s Office.

And with the pending fiscal year 2018 budget review later this year; Lolo believes lawmakers will raise the same issues, including the usefulness of the agency.  

He said the reason these questions remain is because the Fono and the public are not ‘seeing’ any results.

During another cabinet meeting last December, the governor also directed Vaito’a and Vaeafe to revisit and conduct a new review of the agency’s long-term tourism development plan to focus attention on local developments and attractions first.

Lolo said that for the last four years, “We’ve been having some conflicts with the Fono” and it’s the Fono’s belief that the focus should be on the development of a local tourism infrastructure “before we even move outside to attract” off island visitors; and Lolo said at the time he agreed with the Fono. (See Samoa News edition Dec. 13, 2016 for details.)