The Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party opposes a Commission of Inquiry (COI) into Samoa's ongoing power crisis, emphasising that resolving the issue should take precedence over any formal investigation.

During their weekly press conference on Friday, FAST Chairman, La'auli Leuatea Schmidt, and Deputy Leader, Leota Laki Sio, addressed the media, making it clear that their party does not support the immediate establishment of a COI. 

La'auli stressed the need for urgent action to restore stability in the nation’s power supply rather than diverting attention towards an inquiry.

"The priority at this moment is addressing the immediate issue," La'auli emphasised. "Our main concern should be finding a solution to end the power outages as quickly as possible. Who is there to investigate? The focus needs to be on fixing the problem without delay."

La'auli also expressed appreciation for the efforts of the Electric Power Corporation (E.P.C.) employees working tirelessly to mitigate the crisis. 

However, he advised the government to prioritise practical solutions before considering a COI.

"Our advice to the minister and the cabinet is to address the issue first, with a Commission of Inquiry being a secondary concern. The immediate priority should be restoring and maintaining a stable electricity supply for all of Samoa."

Meanwhile, former Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Labour Leota Laki Sio suggested that the crisis could have been anticipated and addressed earlier. 

He criticised the government's failure to plan and questioned why a Supplementary Budget was not allocated for the procurement of new generators before the crisis escalated.

"I don't believe this is an issue they only became aware of last month. It would be appalling if they had just discovered this now," Leota said, insinuating potential management shortcomings within EPC.

Drawing a comparison to the Samoa Water Authority (SWA), Leota questioned why such an issue had arisen within EPC but not with other essential service providers. 

"If the generators are the issue, then provisions should have been made earlier to acquire new and standby generators to prevent this situation."

Leota also dismissed the idea of a COI, arguing that it would merely involve government departments investigating each other without yielding tangible solutions.

"It would be an issue where the left hand is investigating what the right hand is doing," he remarked.

La’auli further expressed concern over the growing trend of Cabinet Ministers making unilateral decisions without consulting Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa. 

"We saw this recently in parliament when Olo called for the cabinet to leave the chamber, and all ministers followed, except for the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Now, we are seeing other ministers making decisions without proper consultation, which suggests a lack of cohesion within the government," he said.