PRESS RELEASE
The Ministry for Public Enterprises (MPE) closed its 2026 Annual Public Enterprises Forum on Thursday, 13 August 2026 at the Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey’s Hotel in Apia. The final day of the two (2) day event brought together the Honourable Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Public Enterprises, Cabinet Ministers, Chairs and Directors of Boards, Chief Executive Officers and senior officials of the twenty-six (26) Public Enterprises (PE), senior officials of Government Ministries, and representatives of the fifty-one (51) Fono Faavae.
The proceedings commenced at 9.00am with a keynote address by the Honourable Prime Minister, LAAULIALEMALIETOA Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt, who spoke on the significance of PEs as the commercial arm of Government. He noted that without the PEs, Government would rely heavily on taxes and duties as its main sources of revenue, and that the returns and services generated by the commercial arm are a crucial contribution to the development of Samoa. He called on PEs, Ministries and Government Offices to work as one, and set out his expectation that Samoa builds its self sufficiency, led by the PEs, on the resources the country already holds.
The Prime Minister commended the work of the MPE, which carries out its mandate on behalf of the shareholders, and encouraged the Chief Executive Officer to continue developing the PEs through the Ministry’s monitoring role, the strengthening and support it provides to boards and management, and its function as the link to Cabinet, ensuring that Cabinet is kept informed of the performance and affairs of the PEs.
The Ministry then presented the Public Enterprises 2025 results, an audio-visual record of the performance of the portfolio for the financial year ended 30 June 2025, covering the twenty-nine (29) Public Enterprises that reported for that period. The presentation set out the results achieved by individual PEs and the reporting and compliance requirements that remain outstanding across the portfolio.
- PANEL 1 – Leadership and Governance: The panellists were the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Public Enterprises, Honourable MULIPOLA Anarosa Ale Molio’o as the Shareholder, Tofa LAVEA Peseta Lua Nafo’i from the private sector, Tofa PAULI Moana Luamanuvae of the Independent Selection Committee (ISC), and Chairperson of the Samoa Housing Corporation (SHC) Afioga LEAUPEPE Satui Dorothy Bentin on behalf of PEs. The panel was moderated by the MPE Chief Executive Officer, TOOALA Elita Tooala.
- PANEL 2 – Cross-Cutting Issues: The discussion was led by Afioga Palanitina Tupuimatagi Toelupe, champion for Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI), with Chairperson of the Samoa Water Authority (SWA), Afioga SULAMANAIA Nuuetolu Montini Ott, Afioga LEASOILOAFALEUPOLU Ronnie Aiolupotea, Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), and Afioga FUIMAPOAO Naea Beth Onesemo, Public Service Commissioner. The panel was moderated by the Assistant Secretary of the Public Service Commission (PSC), Osana Liki-Ward.
- PANEL 3 – Performance of Public Enterprises: The final panel featured Afioga AFOA Saleimoa Vaai, Chairman of the Public Trust Office (PTO), Afioga TUITOGA Christina Angela Faitele Asi, Public Trustee, Afioga MAIAVA Lavea Iosefa, Director of the Samoa Naitonal Kidney Foundation (NKFS), and Afioga MULIPOLA Roger Hazelman, General Manager of the NKFS. The panel was moderated by the Chief Executive Officer of the Unit Trust of Samoa (UTOS), Afioga MALAEULU Aysha Rimoni.
The Forum closed with remarks by TOOALA Elita Tooala, Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry for Public Enterprises, who thanked the Honourable Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Public Enterprises for their attendance, and the panellists, moderators and participants for their contribution over the two days. The Ministry will follow up with boards and management on the matters raised, and the Forum will be held again in 2027.
The Ministry acknowledges the PSC and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for their support of the 2026 Public Enterprises Forum under the PSC-UNDP Anti-Corruption Project.
