Public servant Unasa Viane Toala must explain his actions and role in the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party trip to the United States.

He is the project manager for the $1 million District Development Project under the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development. While in Missouri in the United States, he appears in various videos of the FAST Party events.

FAST party chairperson and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries La’auli Leuatea Schmidt introduced Unasa at the events as the government-appointed official responsible for managing the funds and operations of the high-profile development initiative. La’auli said Unasa was part of the organising committee for the party’s overseas engagements.

This could be in breach of the Samoa Public Service Code of Conduct. The code of conduct states, “The employees should act apolitically and serve the Government with impartiality, regardless of which party is in power and which party they personally support.”

Public servants serve the government of the day and successive governments, regardless of their political composition. This means public servants must always act in a way that maintains the confidence of the current government and ensures the same relationship can be established with future governments.

It is never acceptable for a public servant acting in an official capacity to express their personal political views in a way that raises questions about their ability to perform their role in a politically neutral way. Expressing such views impacts the confidence of the public in the political neutrality of the public service. 

This is what has happened with Unasa. He was present on the main dice and was seen towing the party line. This behaviour puts into question his impartiality especially when tasked with the important work of being a key player in the disbursement of the grants.

The grants go to all 51 constituencies and not all are FAST-dominated. It is clear to see why Unasa being in the US with the FAST Party is of concern to members of parliament. The time spent in the US was also time spent away from his duties. 

We are all too familiar with how public servants became politically inclined during and after the 2021 Constitutional crisis. This led to mayhem where the public service was in disarray. This was probably one of the reasons why the former attorney general's advice at the time did not do much to help the situation. This should be a reminder of why public servants have to remain apolitical.

It is known that Unasa contested the 2021 general elections under the FAST banner. Despite this, his duties as a public servant should not have him involved in such matters. The political party in power does form the government but public servants do not serve political parties.

The onus is now on the Public Service Commission to deal with the matter. There is a possible violation of the code of conduct and Unasa must be held accountable. He has to explain to the PSC, his ministry and the members of the public what his role was at the FAST gathering.

A public servant serves the public irrelative of his political views. His or her actions need to be impartial, transparent and accountable.