Samoan PM denies misuse of tsunami rebuilding funds

Updated October 19, 2010 08:34:23

Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has rejected allegations made in a New Zealand television report that millions of dollars in tsunami relief funding has gone missing.

Journalist John Campbell from TV3, suggested that up to 45 million U-S dollars have been misappropriated, while hundreds are left without running water or electricity.

An opposition group, the Tatua Samoa Party, has also accused the government of not using the money received from donors to help tsunami victims.

But, it has been alleged that Samoa has not received the vast majority of aid for rebuilding that it was promised in the aftermath of the August 2009 tsunami.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi says of the US$80 million pledged by foreign donors, the country has only received US$15 million.

Presenter: Geraldine Coutts
Speaker: Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Samoan Prime Minister

MALIELEGAOI: That's all stupid, all those comments about missed funding, it's all ridiculous, and that's all based on the report by this amature reporter, Mr Campbell, who came here, spent all his time talking to the Observer newspaper, and then in his own words spent much time on the coast. People have moved inland, and therefore he could not have seen what has taken place. So all the comments that have been made so far are extremely stupid and uninformed. What Mr Campbell should have done is to come and talk to the very people, the government officials that are directly dispersing the funds and also to talk to the New Zealand High Commissioner who is on the spot, who knows what has been done with the funds. The ridiculous point about Mr Campbell's report was that he was given by the deputy Prime Minister the full report, date the 29th of September, which laid out all the funds that have been received and spent, up to date. So all the funds that have been received from overseas that have been pledged came to 35 million tala, and we have spent already up to the end of August 68.73 million tala, local currency, which means that we expended out of our own funds $33 million.

COUTTS: Now Mr Prime Minister there are a couple of points there, that means that not all the money that was pledged has come in, and all the money has been spent on the rebuilding in excess of what's come in?

MALIELEGAOI: That's right, the total amount of money that has been pledged came to $57-million tala, Samoan tala, and of that 57-million only 35 has been received so far. This is in accordance with the understanding reached that some of these funds will be paid, remitted, over during the planned period, the reconstruction period. I think what happened with Mr Campbell was that he completely missed out on the report that was given the headline "Post Tsunami Recovery Plan 2010 to 2013 Year One", and then the report proceeded to outline the money that has been earmarked for the various recovery projects. And Mr Campbell missed the four year period and the amount that he was looking at referred to the first year of the reconstruction period. That represented the whole misinformation that Mr Campbell failed to note. I think if he had come to see the deputy Prime Minister had advised him to see for a more intensive analysis of the work plan, he would not have made this mistake in his report.

COUTTS: Well the opposition in Samoa have said that they believe that some of the money that was earmarked as donations for recovery projects after the tsunami hasn't been used there, it's been used on other projects in the country?

MALIELEGAOI: No that's stupid, the opposition members forgot that we had put these items in the package and they have forgotten that. I have constantly reminded the constituencies where these members come from to vote for people that understand budgeting. We have consistently been getting opposition members who don't understand the budgets that we explained and explained and explained over and over again to them.

COUTTS: Now could the process have been more transparent, therefore averting some of this criticism?

MALIELEGAOI: There cannot be any more transparency than the transparency that has already been disclosed by government.

COUTTS: So just recapping, all the money that has actually come in above what's been pledged, has been spent directly in the tsunami recovery project?

MALIELEGAOI: Every single cent has been recorded and accounted for.