Four letters of complaint have reached M.P.E and Tourism Minister office.

The Minister of the Ministry of Public Enterprises (MPE), which is responsible for the private sector including the Samoan Tourism Authority (STA), has reached out to complaints from some staff of the STA against its Chief Executive Officer Faamatuainu Suifua Lenata'i.

The Minister indicated that on Friday last week he received the written complaints from both current and former staff of the STA. The complaints lodged by some staff members include:

-Threatened to lay off some staff members who supported the FAST political party.

-Threaten to dismiss a staff member if he or she is re -elected as CEO for STA over the next three years.

- Using office workers to do his personal work at home while the government pays for their time

The allegations also include the removal of office assets to be used for his own benefit and using abusive words towards some of the staff.

The Minister has indicated that four letters of complaint have reached his office and is looking into how to deal with such matters.

Faamatuainu was asked about the allegations raised within the office he oversees. He replied … “I do not approve or deny it but because of the situation it has not happened. From me these letters and accusations, to which I can answer ”

He also said that there are ways to deal with such cases, such as through the STA Board, where the chairman of the Board will notify the Minister and conduct an investigation into such cases and complaints. But now he is surprised to reach out to the Minister of Public Enterprises and appear when questioned by the Media.

Faamatuainu said he only found out when he was questioned by the media about the complaints last weekend.

Complainants say that it is very difficult to get to the office because they have been there before and have not received a response. Further, there are members of the Board who are on good relationships with the CEO and thus they chose to go directly to the Minister of Tourism MPE.

The complainants also indicated that it has been almost a month since they submitted copies of their complaints to the Minister of Tourism.

The media also contacted the Minister of Tourism, the Honorable Toeolesulusulu Cedric Pose Schuster for a response or to confirm that he has a complaint but did not want to respond at this time.

On Friday, applications for the position of CEO for the next three years ended and Faamatuainu is re -applying in his current position.