The Opposition Leader has "challenged" the Prime Minister to come forward and address the nation regarding some of the recent issues implicating Cabinet Ministers. 

In an exclusive interview with this newspaper on Wednesday, the veteran MP for Anoama'a No.2, Lauofo Pierre Lauofo says he would like to see Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa "do more than what we are seeing right now". 

"I will certainly like to see the Prime Minister do more than what we are seeing right now concerning these issues and these cases," Lauofo responded to questions from the Samoa Observer. 

"They are very serious cases. 

"One issue involves border security (the Kite Runner boat), [and] that's a serious issue because it affects our sovereignty as a nation. 

"Border security is very important and considered a priority therefore, we must never take issues of border security lightly."

Lauofo is of the perspective that a Commission of Inquiry (C.O.I.) should have been called upon discovering an American Samoa registered boat entered Samoa's jurisdiction illegally. 

"I mentioned this before and I made it publicly known that the Prime Minister should have called for a Commission of Inquiry into this boat. And I also stress that the C.O.I. must be an independent commission. 

"The reason is that there are Cabinet Ministers being implicated in this matter. The inquiry should have been undertaken by independent individuals and the outcome of their findings should be made public. 

"From what I have gathered, the police had completed their investigation and submitted the report to the Cabinet. The report is therefore tabled before Ministers who are allegedly involved in the matter. 

"Another critical question that rises in terms of procedures is the integrity and adequacy of the report and a decision based on the report. 

"We are yet to hear about a decision, up to now, we haven't heard of any decision from Cabinet. 

"Let us wait for the report from the investigation undertaken by the Ministry of Customs and Revenue as they are in charge of border security. I've yet to learn whether the investigation has been completed and what the result is."

Lauofo went on to say that there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered in relation to how the officials dealt with the boat. 

"If the so-called pleasure boat as one Minister calls it without proper documentation, then that means the pleasure boat entered our territorial waters illegally. 

"What must be made clear is, just because the paperwork was obtained or completed after the boat had entered our jurisdiction, does not make the entry legal. 

"If the boat entered our jurisdiction illegally, therefore, it remains illegal. Any subsequent action done after the boat arrived does not remove the commission of the offense. That is why this issue is very important.

"Another question is, who gave the orders to release the boat? The investigation from Pago confirms that the boat did not have proper documentation or incomplete or no documentation to enter our jurisdiction. 

"Those are issues that are quite apart from what the cargo was. 

"That's also a serious issue. What was on the boat? We can all speculate but we don't know if there were drugs, arms, or pests. Those are some serious issues concerning border security and biosecurity. Those are very important issues to us. 

"We have to be mindful that we are an island and small in size, once pests or diseases reach our shores, it spreads out to the community quickly. That's why the Opposition party is not taking these issues lightly."

Having said that, the veteran parliamentarian who is a former Cabinet Minister and deputy prime minister said Fiame "owes it to the people" to answer these questions and address the public on issues involving her Cabinet Ministers. 

"As the leader of the executive, government, and as the leader of the country, she has to come forward and address the country on these issues involving her ministers. 

"I'm challenging Fiame to come forward and speak to the country about issues that implicate 

"She is the leader of the executive and she has the responsibility to look after her ministers and be accountable to the country, especially, when one of the issues deals with a business venture that is allegedly attracting millions of tala."

Lauofo was referring to the direct flights from China which are now being postponed until September and the involvement of a newly established tour operator business registered and operated by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (M.A.F.) children.  

"It has been reported that the delegations were hosted at the Minister's residence (Maota o Samoa) and were taken to his constituency in Savai'i. Those are all the things a Cabinet Minister should be very careful of. 

"You can't sit in a Minister's chair making policies and legislations and then be seen carrying out businesses on the other side, based on the policies they make. 

I'm not fully aware of what really happened, but that's what we see is happening right now. 

"I think it's important for the Prime Minister to come forward and say something because these issues affect ministerial responsibilities. 

"An explanation has to come from her as leader of the Executive and leader of the country. It's hard for people to know the truth if we have Ministers who are involved, going public, and trying to explain these things to the people. 

"It's hard to accept an explanation from La'auli on this issue because it's his children's business that's involved."

Lauofo then insinuated that there might be some "internal friction" inside the Cabinet chamber and says that he understands Fiame must be feeling a lot of "pressure" from the inside. 

While he commended Fiame for being honest about the proper actions that should have been undertaken when the Kite Runner boat entered Samoa's waters illegally, he is calling on the leader of the country to speak up about the issues concerning her Cabinet Ministers. 

He is of the view that the Cabinet is not working as a "unit" to push forward government policies. 

"I can see that there might be internal frictions inside the political party because I've been in politics for the last 21 years. 

"I also understand that she feels the pressure and the heat from these tensions within the party.

 "From what we observe, there seems to be some tension amongst the Ministers. And it's quite obvious to me from what I am seeing. 

"They are not working as a unit. They are supposed to work in unison to drive government policies and the country's development. 

"We have the Minister of Transport apologising for the boat delay from Savai'i and it seems like he was not the reason why the boat was delayed for a couple of hours. 

"The Minister of Tourism has also apologised to the country for confusion about the direct flights from China. The C.E.O. of S.T.A. and the Board were also quoted saying they were not aware of the arrangements carried out to bring these flights from China. 

"We would like to hear from the leader of the country on these issues."