A probe conducted by the Public Service Commission regarding the selection of Fiber-A Consultant for the development of a revised National Alcohol Policy for the Ministry of Health found no wrongdoings with the involvement of the private firm.

The consultancy firm made up of former Samoan Government bureaucrats was given the tender by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community only to be terminated by the Cabinet.

The findings also noted that the credibility of the consultant firm should not have been questioned. 

The Secretary of the Public Service Commission (P.S.C.) provided the comprehensive report detailing the outcome of the investigation into the procurement process of the Fiber A Consultant by the Pacific Community (S.P.C.) and M.O.H. 

The outcome report was addressed to the Chairman and Secretary of the Tenders Board upon receiving a letter of request from the Tenders Board on 11 December for a detailed report on the investigation. 

The investigation was initiated following a directive from the Cabinet and has shed light on various irregularities in the procurement procedure.

According to the report, in December 2022, the Ministry of Health directly approached the S.P.C. for assistance in procuring an independent consultant to develop its National Alcohol Control Policy from 2023 to 2028. 

Subsequently, in January 2023, S.P.C. offered in-kind assistance to the Ministry, retaining sole control over the procurement process from start to finish. 

This assistance, described as an exception to standard procurement procedures, allowed S.P.C. to administer the entire procurement process under its guidelines.

The bidding process concluded on March 3, 2023, with Fiber A submitting a bid proposal via S.P.C.'s online portal. 

Following assessment and evaluation by S.P.C., Fiber A was selected as the winning bidder. 

However, it was discovered that the Ministry's responsible officers did not endorse this decision, leading to internal lapses. 

Consequently, Cabinet directed S.P.C. to terminate Fiber A's contract, which was officially terminated on August 3, 2023, with Fiber A bearing all costs for the remainder of the contract as per contractual terms.

Despite the controversy surrounding the procurement process and subsequent contract termination, the P.S.C. investigation found no contractual impairment on the part of Fiber A consultant. 

The report emphasised that Fiber A had undergone a fair, open, and competitive procurement process, and their credibility should not be questioned.

Concerns about the engagement of the private firm were raised during a meeting of the Cabinet's Development Committee on 15 June 2023, where the Health Deputy Director General was asked why the M.O.H. had a "separate" Alcohol Policy when the country's Liquor Board sits within the Ministry of Customs and Revenue.

Cabinet then ordered M.O.H. and P.S.C. to look into how the firm was appointed without the knowledge of the Health Director General, Aiono Professor Alec Ekeroma and the Minister of Health who did not endorse the engagement of the firm. 

This newspaper understands that Fiber A Consultancy Firm won the bid against an Australian company, Social Impax Services Trust.

In an interview with the Samoa Observer in August last year, Minister of Health Valasi Tafito Selesele confirmed that Fiber A consisted of former top bureaucrats who had served in different government ministries during the former administration.