In a first for the nation, the Lefaga and Falease'ela district will now be able to procure farming and fishing equipment through the use of Maua App e-vouchers.

The district became the first to use a digital platform to get items under the Government's SAT$1 million District Development Project. The initiative has been hailed, as an example of a district embracing the Government's digital transformation, to ensure greater transparency and accountability.

This is the first phase of the project disbursement with a total procurement value of SAT$340,000. In just three days, the district was able to get full delivery of items from suppliers such as SMI, Bluebird Hardware, and other agriculture stores at the value of SAT$233,739.87. 

The Member of Parliament of Lefaga and Falease'ela, Masinalupe Makesi Masinalupe, said the district consists of eight villages, and with the help of the digital platform, they were able to equally distribute each of the requested tools and equipment.

“We faced some difficulties as some companies were in short supply of some of the requested tools," he said.

He said it was good to have chosen the digital platform provided by SkyEye Pacific and he thanked the company for running training with the committee members of the district.

The C.E.O. of SkyEye Pacific Fa’aso’otauloa Sam Saili said using the service will ensure the district followed the Procurement Operation Manual of the Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Development.

"We are mindful of audit purposes and we want to make sure that we follow the Government procurement process. The app is convenient given the district offices can do the shopping online from the office without having to travel to Apia," he said.

He said the digital platform is a move into the future as the rest of the world is going cashless and more and more goods are bought online.

Fa’aso’otauloa hails from the district and has met with the committee and was able to convince them to make the shift to a digital platform for efficiency, transparency, and accountability.

The villagers are also grateful because they received their items in record time and without having to travel almost 30 kilometers to Apia.

The Maua App e-Vouchers system allows organisations and individuals to convert money into electronic vouchers to be used for payments for products and services available through the Maua App.