26 Mar 2010

American Samoa report on 2008 Pacific Arts Festival still unfinished

1:52 pm on 26 March 2010

Lawmakers in American Samoa say they are yet to see financial reports almost two years after the territory hosted the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts.

Some lawmakers say they want to know how much was spent on the event, which attracted more than 3,000 foreign visitors.

The Festival committee co-chair, Fagafaga Daniel Langkilde, has said the report was completed early last year and forwarded to the Governor's Office.

But the Governor, Togiola Tulafono, says there are problems with the report.

He says all donations went directly to the committee, while the government handled all finances that came under its care.

The Governor says they are still trying to determine whether taxes are due and why some vendors have not yet been paid.

He also says the tsunami last September further delayed the accounting process.