The Samoa Cabinet has approved about $360,000 tālā to cover medical treatment the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Ale Vena Ale, received in New Zealand while Parliament was dissolved and before he was officially sworn in as a Cabinet minister.
The Samoa Observer said it obtained a Cabinet directive showing Ale Vena Ale received medical treatment in New Zealand in July 2025 at a cost of $223,530 New Zealand dollars, equivalent to about $359,513 tālā.
The directive, copied to the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Labour and the Controller and Auditor-General, shows Cabinet considered the request on Wednesday, January 21, 2026.
“The SMTS program will fund the Minister’s medical and surgical expenses from the 2025/2026 budget,” the directive said.
The Government allocated $12 million tālā to its Overseas Medical Treatment Scheme under the Ministry of Health’s $170.68 million tālā budget for that financial year.
After regaining the Faleata No. 4 parliamentary seat and returning to Samoa, Ale revealed in an interview with the newspaper in September 2025 that one of his legs had been amputated.
