The political sparring between Samoa Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and his immediate past deputy, Fiame Naomi Matafa, has started with Tuilaepa throwing the first stone.
“Fiame has never slept on rocks. this is one person who has been blessed in her life,” he said.
Speaking on his weekly Radio 2AP program the PM said Fiame has never experienced the discomfort of sleeping on rocks.
He had been asked to respond to Fiame claiming the country was on the rocks during an interview she gave after resigning.
“When she was born, she slept on a mattress, up until now she sleeps on a mattress,” said Tuilaepa.
Fiame told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the basis of her complaint is that Samoa was ‘’sliding away from the rule of law’’.
She also elaborated on other issues she had been concerned about, for example the measles epidemic which claimed 83 lives last year. She said it showed ‘’weaknesses in our Health system’’.
“We just have to return to the basics, ensure those are in place, intact [and] they’re strengthened. It’s all about just building the human resource to carry out the development work in the country.”
Fiame stayed away from the matter of which party she would run under at the 2021 General Elections but gave a veiled indication she may join the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party.
“The F.A.S.T. party [has] been speaking up strongly also about these [three] bills so we have common ground on those issues moving forward,” she said.
She warned about the strength of HRPP, the only party she has been with since becoming an MP.
“It is very difficult for other voices to be heard or to be aired because the prominent or the government party is so strong.
“There’s a generation now in Samoa that doesn’t know anything else but H.R.P.P. so it’s not going to be an easy challenge.
“But I think in democracies, it is important, especially in the Parliamentary sector that there is good representation of the cross section of views in the country,” she said.
Photo: Talamua Media
