16 Mar 2010

Senator asks American Samoa governor not to blame fono for failures

4:08 pm on 16 March 2010

An American Samoan Senator, Velega Savali, says the Governor should stop blaming the Fono for the failure of his legislation.

He says Togiola Tulafono should first make sure his bills are sound and in the best interests of the territory before submitting them.

Mr Velega was reacting to statements by the Governor that inaction by the Fono is partly to blame for lack of government jobs for returning graduates.

Mr Velega says when the Fono held hearings on the Governor's bill proposing cash incentives for employees wishing to retire at 30 and 35 years of service, it was apparent that the ASG Retirement Board had not been consulted.

The Governor says early retirement would open opportunities for young graduates.

But Mr Velega says the Retirement Board's Executive Director, Aleki Sene, was concerned that the cash incentives would increase the unfunded liability of the Retirement Fund.