Among the issues that Governor Pulaalii Nikolao Pula was asked when he appeared on 93 KHJ’s Morning Show with John Raynar was lawmakers serving on executive boards.
In his latest appointments to some of the boards, the Governor did not included names of legislators. For example the board of the Development Bank of American Samoa and the Territorial Bank of American Samoa. The law does not specify that members of the Fono should be members of these boards. In contrast the statute governing the American Samoa Economic Development Authority does require a Senator and a House Representative to be members of the board of ASEDA.
The Governor said that he intends to replace Representative Faimealelei Anthony Allen on the Board of Directors of the LBJ Hospital Authority when his term is up .
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The Governor also discussed the 2022 law which raised the employer and employee contribution rates to the American Samoa Government Employees Retirement Fund.
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According to the bill passed in 2022 the employer contribution should now be at 14% while the employee rate is 6%. However the administration has only been paying 8% for the employer contribution since late last year. A report submitted by the Retirement Fund Office to the House of Representatives showed that as of March 14, ASG and autonomous agencies owed $25.6 million in unpaid contributions to the Retirement Fund.
