The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, La’auli Leuatea Schmidt says the Government’s business hub lease in New Zealand hasn’t been terminated, dismissing claims of its closure.

He was referring to the Samoa Trust Estate Corporation (S.T.E.C.) Community Business hub located in Otahuhu, New Zealand which the Opposition Leader claimed was closed and not in use. 

In response to the criticism by Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, La’auli said it is not closed, and accused the former administration of purchasing the building without putting in place a structure on how it should be run. 

“It is not closed, they [H.R.P.P. administration] bought it from the start and did nothing to it afterwards,” La’auli said in an interview with the Samoa Observer. “They did not put in place a proper structure to operate it, they just bought it and left it like that.

“We are currently putting together the Export Authority that can operate it.” 

The Minister said that after purchasing the office space, it came under the supervision of S.T.E.C. but funding then became a problem for the entity to run it as a business hub. 

“Up until now we are working on arrangements of the Export Authority and S.T.E.C. in order to manage it,” said La’auli. 

He pointed out that the Cabinet recently appointed Samoa’s Trade Commissioner to New Zealand and once the Export Authority is completed they will be responsible for operating the premises. 

In June 2020 the S.T.E.C. put out public notices targetting Samoan residents in New Zealand, stating that they had opened in the country and would be selling frozen taro and other products straight from the Otahuhu lease. 

A quarterly report authored by the Ministry of Public Enterprises in June 2021 noted that the S.T.E.C. had managed to ship two containers to New Zealand – which it said at that time were its seventh and eighth containers – since the establishment of the S.T.E.C. Community Business Hub in the country. 

Last week Tuilaepa questioned the Government on why the Otahuhu lease was closed and claimed that a senior member of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) visited New Zealand and found the place closed when he went around. Consequently, he questioned why the office had not been operating when funding was allocated under the national budget for its operation. 

The New Zealand business registry confirms the S.T.E.C. Community Business Hub Ltd in Otahuhu was established in May 2020. The company is listed as one of those that were removed from the company registry on 15 June 2023 on the grounds that it has not carried on business. 

The current Government's first supplementary budget in 2021 included an allocation of SAT$830,402 for the Otahuhu Lease.

In the 2022-2023 Budget, an allocation of SAT$830,402 was made for the Otahuhu Lease, but only SAT$498,240 was used for this financial year. However, there's no allocation in the 2023/2024 budget for the Otahuhu lease.