A 53-year-old farmer and former police officer, Laumatiamanu Mathew Ringo Purcell, is ready for a rematch with his election opponent, Nonu Lose Niumata for the seat of Safara East. 

The first time he ran was at the 2016 General Election, but as a Human Rights Protection Party [H.R.P.P.] candidate. 

But he had a change of heart this time around and contested under the banner of the Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi [F.A.S.T.], in the April election. 

Although unsuccessful, Laumatiamanu believes that the third time's the charm and is ready to take another shot to represent the Safata East seat in the Legislative Assembly. 

While the father of 10 understands that the Safata East's by-election is not going to be as difficult as the election in April, he is confident in his preparations that he will succeed as he has been preparing for the past couple of years for this year's election. 

"Preparations for the elections have been going well so far," Laumatiamanu told the Samoa Observer. 

"A lot has changed after the election in April. As you know, people didn't really think that the F.A.S.T. party I joined had any chance of winning. 

"However, now that we are now the government of the day, I think that has changed the mindset of the people and voters. 

"People know that now that it will be easier for them to deliver the promises they need and want for the constituency because they are now the government."

While Laumatiamanu says he appreciates the former Government’s work in Samoa, he feels there is still more that needs to be done. For his constituency alone, he has a long list of things he will prioritise if the constituents vote him as their next Member of Parliament. 

In terms of priorities, healthcare, education, and tourism development are at the top of his list.

"At the moment we do not have a hospital," he told the Samoa Observer.

"We used to have a hospital in the last 20 years, but it was demolished by the Government. So right now, we are all using the hospital at Poutasi. 

"But for those district hospitals, we usually have nurses and midwives there so whenever there is an emergency case or patient that needs a  specialist or a doctor, we make the long trip to the main hospital in Apia. 

"But the distance from Safata to Poutasi is almost the same distance as traveling from Safata to Moto'otua hospital. Therefore, we really need to establish a hospital in the Safata district."

In terms of education development, Laumatiamanu is proposing to establish another college and a polytechnic within the Safata district, should he succeed in the upcoming election. 

"The village of Sa'anapu is located at the end of this district, that's where the college for the district is located. So the children from all the other villages have to go to it. 

“It would be nice to have another college within the constituency so it is convenient for the children and to make sure that they do not have an excuse not to go to school. 

"Some kids who do not have cars and buses, have to wake up early in the morning and walk to school. Some take the bus, but these are public buses so they need to have money to pay for their fares. 

"Another thing that we want to establish is to have a polytechnic in the constituency that our children can use. As we've seen nowadays, once our children reach the age of 14 and 15, most of them lose interest in school. 

"Therefore, they drop out of school and start doing things adults are doing. They are easily attracted to smoking, drinking and resorting to all those bad things because they are no longer in school.

"But having a polytechnic in the constituency will provide an environment where the different skills and talents of our children are nurtured and developed. Not all of us were born to work in an air-conditioned office or become a teacher. We all have different skills and talents from God. 

"We just need to push, develop, and nurture these skills. That will also help eliminate the many issues that are affecting our youths nowadays. We see the rise in crimes by our youths and we see so many of them in our prisons, which is not a good thing as they are the future of this country."

Laumatimanu is also eyeing tourism development within his constituency that will offer employment opportunities for the constituents.  

"There is a peninsula at Safata, and I hope to develop it into a tourism attraction so it can attract more tourists, but also provide employment opportunities for the people living around that area. 

"We also have mangroves in the constituency, but it is not preserved. Nothing has been done to preserve it and to conserve it."

A former student of Saint Joseph’s College, Laumatiamanu was a policeman for 20 years and made his way up to the rank of senior sergeant before leaving. He then worked at the Samoa Shipping Corporation for a decade and is currently a security advisor for J.I.C.A. as well as a farmer.

The former M.P., Nonu Lose Niumata resigned from the seat, following an election petition filed by Laumatiamanu after the April election, which triggered the by-election for Safata No.2. 

The by-elections for the seven constituencies in Samoa are staged for the last week of this month.