Building "Boom"

Goes Bust

A DELEGATION of chiefs from the islands of Olosega and Ofu in the Manu’a Group of American Samoa called on Governor H. Rex Lee recently to apologise for wide spread misuse of Government build ng materials and labour at two school projects at their villages.

But the Governor told them that ipologies were not enough.

Work on the schools was halted ifter a team of investigators found hat some leaders had had their lomes newly wired for electricity, hat several homes had new Masonite filings and walls, and that many lew latrines had been built in the ullages—all with the materials sent o build the new schools.

Following these discoveries, four ocal government officials were suspended and 18 Public Works De partment employees were given leave without pay and returned to Pago Pago.

Governor Lee told the Olosega and Dfu chiefs, all of whom are residents pf Pago’s Bay area, that work on ;he new schools would remain suspended until the people responsible For the misuse of the building uaterials had been dealt with.

Use of Government materials in ;he private homes of village leaders was a “very serious matter”, he said.

He added: “It is additionally dis leartening in Manu’a because of the difficulty in shipping materials to the outlying islands and the great ex pense which the Government has in :urred to improve the education of ;he Manu’a people.”