Stop orders have been issued against former government doctors in Samoa to prevent them from leaving the country.
The chief executive officer of the Prime Minister's Office, Auseugafa Poloma Komiti, has confirmed the stop orders were issued on a cabinet directive.
The Samoa Observer reports that the order affects doctors who were awarded government scholarships and have not finished serving their bonds.
The names of 23 former government doctors are on the list, including those who never had bonds with the government and those who have already served them.
A former government doctor who spoke to the newspaper on condition of not being named said that the stop orders have caused problems for doctors trying to leave for overseas jobs.
Some have contacted the Public Service Commission to make arrangements to defer payment of their bonds as they have been hired to work overseas.
Others say they are prepared to pay their bonds off so that they can leave the country.
