The Missionary Committee of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa has been urged by church members to monitor content aired by the church-owned EFKSTV station, and to cut a program that runs political messages for the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi government.
Various districts within the church, including the Apia Sasa’e district have singled out SOALEPULE current affairs program as being biased, one-sided and too political.
Samoa Observer reports the Faleata district also waded into the fray saying the program is “too political” to be aired on a church-owned television station.
Their concern is that the station is called EFKSTV, which identifies the Ekalesia Faapotopotoga Kerisiano Samoa television station.
The operations of the TV station come under the Missionary Committee, and it has been asked to reconsider the appropriateness of some of the programs it airs on the station.
The Missionary Committee is chaired by the Chairman of the church with members voted in from all the local and overseas church districts and set up the station as a missionary tool to help with missionary work.
The SOALEPULE program started airing in 2021 prior to the general elections in April of that year.
The program provided a platform for Opposition members at the time who are now Cabinet Ministers of the Government of the day and since then, the program continues to be aired twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Hosted by Paialii Tapuala Oloapu, the main guest speaker is the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, La’auli Leuatea Schmidt, who is also the Chairman of the ruling FAST.
However, several Cabinet Ministers and Associate Ministers also make special appearances on the program.
The Human Rights Protection Party leader, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi lodged a complaint against La’auli and the host of the program earlier this year for publicly “defaming” him and his family on a number of Soalepule episodes.
It is still not known if FAST actually pay for the program to be aired on the station but the church has been accused of openly campaigning for FAST during the 2021 general election for certain favors.
These included the repeal of tax law requiring church ministers to pay taxes, and it recently asked the government what had happened to a campaign pledge to pay for all mission school teachers’ salaries.
