Samoa says Separation of Power is all Rhetoric

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Ms. Andra Samoa has mixed reactions to the Governor’s move to remove her from the Board of Directors of the American Samoa Telecommunications Authority.

Ms. Samoa, who will be sworn in as the new House Representative for Fofo County, says she’s happy and relieved she can now focus her time and energy to be an effective member of the Legislature in order to meet the needs of Leone village and also the people of American Samoa.

But she says she’s also sad knowing that during her tenure as a board member of ASTCA since September 2017.  She stated, “Our fiduciary duty as a Board to promote transparency and accountability being that ASTCA is still a public organization, was considered undermining the process and agenda of the Governor and his consultants/advisors.”

In an interview with KHJ News, Ms. Samoa said, “I had expected to be removed as my efforts in questioning the current management did not cease. It is pure hypocrisy to be using an excuse referring to a policy and the separation of power principle. There is no separation of power and no checks and balances being practiced. It’s all rhetoric.”

Samoa, a former CEO of the American Samoa Power Authority added, “I still want to thank the Governor for giving me this opportunity to be engaged with the hard working employees at ASTCA and realizing that ASTCA’s problem is a self-inflicted approach of selectively excluding others to expedite an agenda that is not transparent and in the interest of the people.”

Under the revised executive order establishing ASTCA as a semi-independent entity of ASG, the Board of Directors is responsible for selecting the CEO or Executive Director.

However according to Ms. Samoa, the Board was left out of the selection of the current CEO Mr. Lewis Wolman.

Ms. Samoa said, “I believe Wolman was a recommendation by Adolfo and accepted by the Governor. The Board had no say in hiring and appointing the CEO despite the clear authority of the Board spelled out in the revised Executive Order.”

Samoa recapped that the Board’s first attempt to advertise the CEO position was back in July 2018 and of course the Governor was disappointed and instructed our Board to put a hold on the CEO ad.

She said, “On the second attempt, our Board was told again by the Governor to put a hold and give him time to consider some issues of change.”

She explained that despite the Governor’s request, the Board decided to proceed and follow the law with regard to open competition and its fiduciary duty.

“The Governor signed Wolman’s contract on November 13th when the Board did not close its advertisement on November 14th.  The former Chairman signed the contract after the Governor inserted his signature on Wolman’s contract and pleaded with Chairman to sign. At the same time, the Board has not yet issued a letter of apology to the two applicants who submitted their application,” Samoa explained.

KHJ News asked her whether the ASTCA board was informed of the $4.5 million payment recently made to the American Samoa Government Employees Retirement Fund as lease payment for the Hawaiki cable.

She replied, “The Board was instructed by the Governor via a written letter and also in a meeting that only Adolfo and Barry Rose are to be his official representatives to negotiate and meet with ASGERF and Hawaiki. The Board did not know of a $4.5M payment until we read it in the news.”

When asked about her concerns regarding the operation of ASTCA under the current administration particularly how the board seems to be left in the dark, Ms. Samoa was to the point.

Ms. Samoa said, “The Board is being micro-managed by a selective team of consultants/advisors to the Governor. However, the final decision is with the Governor.  If the Board continues to serve without loyalty to the mission of ASTCA and the rule of law, then the people will suffer.  I hope the current Board members will have the courage to look into the many contracts of consultants that have been unilaterally processed without due process and accountability considering cost containment and especially the application of technology to generate revenue.”

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