By Tupuola Terry Tavita

New legislation to change the two Individual Voters’ seats to municipal seats is currently on the cards.
According to Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, the change has been recommended by several commissions of inquiry in recent years.

“The subdivision of vast tracts of STEC (Samoa Trust Estates Corporation) lands in the early 90s has resulted in thousands of people moving to freehold land Vaitele and Falelauniu.

“For these people, their first priority is where they’re residing. This includes access to water, to electricity, to medical health, to schools and law and order. They need to have their own Member of Parliament to serve their best interests.

“Many of these people at these areas today, have only sentimental ties with their original village.”

The Prime Minister also pointed out that these suburban dwellers were also influencing the traditional electoral seats in that area.

“There has been some discontent among the traditional villages that outsiders are taking over their seats. Creating municipal seats addresses that problem.”

And the Individual Voters seats too, said Tuilaepa, have undergone several changes since independence.

“They used to be seats reserved for non-matai (title holders). But the Samoan Parliament is a microcosm of faasamoa where all decisions are made by matai in the village fono. So it was very odd for non-matai to be in Parliament.

“At times I felt sorry for them as they were a source of ridicule from other MPs. That’s why we changed the law to have those seat holders take up titles. Everyone has access to titles in Samoa and taking up one is a matter of personal choice.”

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