The Opposition Leader has congratulated the Prime Minister, Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa for finally appointing two new Ministers to increase the size of her Cabinet.

Speaking during his weekly press conference on Thursday, Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi explained that the changes in the size of the Cabinet were initiated by his administration with the necessary legislation to effect the change passed by the Legislative Assembly in December 2020. 

He then acknowledged the decision by Fiamē to help with the workload and the collective decision-making in the Cabinet while also congratulating the two new Cabinet Ministers on their appointments. 

On the appointment of the new Minister of Finance, Tuilaepa said Lautimuia Uelese Va'ai is a former chief executive officer for Samoa Shipping Services and has experience in management and different government policies. He said Lautimuia has a background in finance so he will do a good job. 

As for Laumatiamanu Ringo Purcell, the new Minister for Sports and Recreation, Tuilaepa described him as one of the most "honest" parliamentarians. 

"I got to know him during Parliamentary Committee meetings for the Finance and Expenditure Committee," said Tuilaepa. "And he never missed any of the meetings and had really constructive questions for those whom we called in before the committee members. 

"He also worked in the government as a police officer."

Tuilaepa said the two new Cabinet Ministers' appointments represent a significant move for the improvement of the work within the Cabinet. 

"There were two main reasons why we initiated the change in the number of cabinet ministers. The amendments were passed on 15 December 2020 to increase the number of ministers from 13 to 15. 

"The first reason was that the development of the country continued to grow at a very fast pace. This was measured by looking at the different indicators in the economy. 

"This includes the Gross Domestic Product and also the Income Per Capita. It was clear at that time that the economy continued to grow. The other reason was so that there's an opportunity to train future leaders of the government. The changes are very important because it helps with the workload."

The veteran politician then noted that this was not the first time that the Cabinet did not have a complete number in terms of its membership to operate. 

However, he is of the belief that this is an important decision and commended Prime Minister Fiamē for finally deciding it was time to have a complete Cabinet. 

"Only the Prime Minister has the power and authority to do something like this and she is the only one who can do a cabinet reshuffle from time to time if she sees that that's something she needs to do. 

"She knows her cabinet ministers better than anyone else, and as I said before, only she has the power to hire and fire members of her Cabinet."

Tuilaepa brushed off questions from this newspaper if he was satisfied with the changes that Prime Minister Fiamē had made to her Cabinet. 

"That is not important here. I don't have the right to decide that, because, at the end of the day, this is something particularly under her discretion. 

"As I said, she knows her Ministers better than anyone else. I would only be satisfied if she chooses members from our party to join her Cabinet."