“The Legislative Assembly was dissolved on 25th January 2011. The decision to privatize SamoaTel was made years ago. The opening of the tenders where the winning bidder (i.e, Blue Sky) was announced was also made before the Legislative Assembly was dissolved.

The concept of “caretaker government�? recognizes that, after the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly, the business of government must continue. What a caretaker government can or cannot do is generally governed by what is normally referred to and recognized as “caretaker  conventions�?. Caretaker conventions normally impose certain guidelines on the conduct of government, e.g. cease making major policy decisions unless urgent or cease making significant appointments. These are conventions only and are based on evolving practice rather than legislation. The current caretaker government also follows applicable conventions.

In returning to the issue at hand, the policy decision to sell SamoaTel, the sale process and the declaration of the winning bidder (being Blue Sky) were made before the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly�?.

Press Secretariat

Share This

About the author