1 Dec 2021

Samoa govt at loggerheads with UN country office

From , 6:00 am on 1 December 2021

The United Nations has glaring problems in Samoa where the government is calling for the UN's role in the country to be reviewed.

A major climate change resilience project in Samoa under the UN umbrella has gone awry with the emergence of corruption allegations.

The most pressing immediate problem concerns the UN Resident Co-ordinator in Samoa, Simona Marinescu, and the local government's allegation that she has interfered in domestic politics.

To unpack all this, I'm joined by Johnny Blades, Kia ora Johnny, now... Samoa's ruling Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party  -  which of course recently came to power after an historic election victory - the FAST government has accused Marinescu of breaching UN principles of neutrality by actively working against the party during this year's election. What is this row all about?

The Vaisigano River Project in Apia is now the subject of a UN corruption probe.

The Vaisigano River Project in Apia is now the subject of a UN corruption probe. Photo: Samoa Observer