Is it an oversight or is the district of Lepa being unfairly singled out? Attorney General Sua Hellene Wallwork’s recommendations suggest an oversight but then again this is politics.

The member of parliament for Lepa, Tuilepa Sailele Malielegaoi has always argued that his district was not being dealt a fair hand with the district development grant. He may have some validity to his argument.

The AG has recommended the release of the balance of funds owed to the district council of Lepa to ensure the district is “not unfairly" singled out.

The Attorney General’s legal opinion highlighted the district council’s (DC) deed of lease with the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (C.C.C.S.) in Lepa is invalid and requires remedy.

Sua outlined her much anticipated legal advice in a letter dated 26 September to the Ministry of Women Community and Social Development (MWCSD) Chief Executive Officer, Loau Donina Vaa.

The legal opinion follows an investigation from the Ministry of Finance in the Opposition Leader’s district council over allegations of advance lease payments which were a breach of conduct.

The A.G. concluded Lepa’s deed of lease with C.C.C.S. fails to comply with the relevant regulatory legal framework, the LLCLA 1965 (Leasing and Licensing of Customary Land Act).

This raises serious concerns. There could be other districts that could be in the same situation. The MWCSD needs to look at all the lease deeds for district offices and correct this. Tuilaepa is also the chair of the Lepa district council and he needs to act fast to get things rolling for his district.

The AG’s findings also noted the Ministry of Finance’s report explicitly disregarded her office's concerns regarding the legality of the Deed of Lease for Lepa as a valid lease instrument. Why did this happen? The finance minister should take the civil servants responsible to task.

The rationale by MOF is that the Project Operational Manual (POM) was not developed before the grant was given to Lepa. This does not mean that the law must not be followed. The oversight is not a small one, it has caused inconvenience to scores of people.

The deed lacks a proper description of the property/land and does not disclose its status (customary, freehold or public land). These things should have been picked up in the first instance. Someone is not doing their work properly and this needs to be remedied.

A check must be done to see if other district council leases have the same issue. What happens if it is found out that there are district councils that have similar issues with their lease but have never been taken to task like Lepa?

If this is the case, then it would mean that the district of Lepa was indeed singled out and unfairly treated. The Ministry of Finance and MWCSD have to promptly follow the legal advice given by the AG. Her office is there for a reason and that is to advise the government on all things legal.

While this issue has been clarified, there should be no delays in the release of the funds and to make the necessary changes. If politics is at play in this case, then it must be stopped. The district development grants are to benefit people and despite political differences, they should never be made scapegoats.

District grants also need to be used for the right purposes. Education, health and social welfare should be a priority. This situation has also put Lepa in an interesting place. When the supposed remainder of the grant that needs to be given before the next election is given out, Lepa’s amount would surpass all other districts.

On that note, it has been months of asking but none of the audited financials of the district councils have been made public. It is public money therefore publish the reports and let the people see if their money has been put to use or misused.

There is no love lost between the two parties. On one side the party in power can afford to toy around with the opposition and let their voters feel the brunt of it. There is a case before the court involving various people that wreaks of dirty politics. For the sake of sub judice, no further discussion will be don on that case.

The world’s dirtiest game is not even a physical sport. It is politics. The constant backstabbing and plotting make politics a dirty game. Would it be too much to ask the politicians to keep it clean and have the interest of the people as the number one agenda in their roles and not self-interest?

Let us see how long it will take the government departments to take the AG’s advice.

Have a blessed weekend Samoa.