Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga has given directors an April timeline to begin planning for the proposed Fiscal Year 2022 budget and a strategic “spending plan” for all grants and COVID funding.
The budget is usually presented to the Fono in the second regular legislative session which begins in July
The new fiscal year budget was one of many issues discussed at a March 9th cabinet meeting and which was reported in a press release issued yesterday by the Governor’s Office.
Director of Homeland Security Samana Semo Ve’ave’a focused on the breakdown of communication during last week’s tsunami warning event.
He said BlueSky and ASTCA were not able to manage the sheer volume of calls per minute that led to phone lines crashing.
To prevent a repeat of what happened the director said cabinet members that qualify as emergency first responders will be moved to the FirstNet Emergency Response phones. Each director will receive a secondary NOAA radio as well.
Samana commented, “FirstNet will not be affected by the volume of regular calls that would generally flood and crash the phone networks.”
Governor Lemanu personally recognized the Office of Samoan Affairs for reaching out to village Pulenu’u’s to ring bells and warn residents to evacuate.
“This is the old way of doing things, and when phone lines and warning systems fail, we need to act on what we know,” he said.
“This FirstNet is great, but if that technology goes down, we can always rely on the Pulenu’u to get the word out.”
The governor also commended school children of Pago Pago, who did not wait for a Pulenu’u, but rang the bells themselves, alarming families to move further up and away from the shore. “This example of Lotonuu is alive and well here in American Samoa,’ said Lemanu.
Also at the cabinet meeting, the Director of Human and Social Services Muavaefaatasi John Suisala explained that the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program would start processing food stamp benefits directly onto recipients’ cards
Currently, EBT cards are used primarily for WIC benefits. Director Suisala is hopeful that this program will help lighten foot traffic and large crowds around the main DHSS offices in Utulei.
Secretary of Samoan Affairs Mauga Tasi Asuega presented a scaled-down celebration for the 121st Flag Day. The Office of Samoan Affairs has recommended a “celebration within policy constraints”, due to COVID-19 restrictions and repatriation efforts.
