The Central Bank of Samoa's governor position is vacant with the incumbent Maiava Atalina Ainu'u-Enari already meeting the mandatory requirement of serving 12 years in the position.

A special advertisement was published on the official website of C.B.S. on Wednesday this week with interested applicants having until 1 December 2023 to submit applications. The position has been held by Maiava over the last two decades, with the incumbent appointed the Governor and Chairperson of the Board of C.B.S. on 11 August 2011. 

Attempts by this newspaper to get a comment from Maiava have been unsuccessful. This newspaper also reached out to the Chairperson of the Audit Committee and Member of the Board of Directors, Tuala Pat Leota but was told that he is currently off the island. Efforts have also been made to get comments from the Minister of Finance.

A career banker, Maiava became the first woman to be appointed to the position, having worked for the C.B.S. for about 27 years prior to her appointment as Governor. 

Under the Central Bank of Samoa Act 2015, the Governor for the C.B.S. is appointed by the Head of State on the advice of the Cabinet, subject to the advice or proposal of an Independent panel. Section 17 of the Act states that the Cabinet may appoint an independent panel comprising two (2) members of the Audit Committee and an independent member. 

The Act also highlights (section 19) that the Governor holds office for six (6) years and is eligible for re-appointment for only one (1) more term of six (6) years and is entitled to remuneration and allowances as determined by the Board at the time of his or her appointment. This means a person who gets appointed as the CBS governor can only serve for 12 years. 

Since Maiava was first appointed in August 2011, her second six-year term expired over two months ago. However, it is understood that her contract was extended for another three months.

It is also highlighted in the Act Section 22(6) that when the term of the Governor is about to expire, any appointment or reappointment of a Governor must be completed within one month before the term expires. 

The C.B.S. governor is the C.E.O. of the Central Bank of Samoa, which is primarily a policy organisation that formulates and implements monetary policy directed to the economic objective of achieving and maintaining domestic stability in the general level of prices. As the regulator of the financial system, the Central Bank of Samoa licenses and supervises financial institutions to ensure they follow prudent management practices and strict compliance with obligations designed to detect and deter money laundering and terrorism financing thus promoting the stability of the financial system.