Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA —  Commerce Department director, Keniseli Lafaele, appeared Tuesday morning before the Senate Rules Committee, where he apologized to senators about the wrong ASG lease proposal that was submitted to the Fono for review and endorsement.

Under local law, any ASG lease of more than 10-years is subject to Legislative review and approval.

The lease submitted for Fono action, via the Governor’s Office, is between ASG and NIU Group Inc. for a parcel of land at the Tafuna Industrial Park, which is overseen by the DOC. According to the document provided to the Fono, the lease went through approval with the Attorney General’s Office, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga, and Lafaele in January this year.

Signing for the Lessee is company president, Leilua Stevenson.

At the start of the hearing, Lafaele was asked by the committee to share specific details on the land to be leased. The DOC director apologized and said this was not the lease that is seeking a 30-year extension, and said this is an embarrassing situation for him.

He said the correct lease is for Don’t Drink the Water (DDW) cafe in Utulei and not NIU Group. He explained that the attorneys for the owners of the two companies sent to DOC the wrong lease — referring to NIU Group — and DOC proceeded with it.

He said there was a miscommunication between the attorneys for the company and a DOC staffer, resulting in the wrong lease being sent to the Fono. He acknowledged that DOC should have re-checked with the owner to make sure it was the right lease for Fono action.

None of the committee members asked and Lafaele didn’t specify the name or names of the owners; but Samoa News notes that Stevenson is also the owner of DDW.

Lafaele requested to withdraw the NIU Group lease from Fono consideration, and the correct lease will be submitted later.

The NIU Group lease was recorded at the Territorial Registrar’s Office on Feb. 21, 2019 and is valid for nine-years, 11-months and 29-days commencing on Mar. 2, 2019 to Feb. 25, 2029.

[photo: FS]