Samoa's Prime Minister has announced in a meeting with assistant police commissioners and senior officers that the recent promotion of 31 officers has been put on hold.
A police source says Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi told the meeting that only the police commissioner, who is currently suspended, has the power to deal with decisions on promotions and other issues.
The source also says Tuila'epa also announced at the meeting that only 10 out of 40 officers who sat the United Nations Peace Keeping mission exam passed.
The announcement comes after the Cabinet approved the Ministry of Police and Prisons to host a selection assistance and assessment team from the UN Peacekeeping operation.
The team has been evaluating candidates for potential deployment to UN peacekeeping operations.
Prior to the team's visit, a pre-screening process for candidates applying for deployment was undertaken by local authorities to evaluate competencies in mission spoken languages, driving skills and shooting proficiency.
