16 Feb 2017

American Samoa key building unsafe

5:03 pm on 16 February 2017
American Samoa's Executive Office Building

American Samoa's Executive Office Building Photo: RNZI/Monica Miller

In American Samoa, the Director of Administrative Services has described the Government's Executive Office Building as unsanitary, unhealthy and not safe for people working in it or for the members of the public who visit it daily.

The building houses part of American Samoa's 4,000-strong bureaucracy.

Fuega S Moliga told the Senate Government Operations Committee that he had considered how much the administration might end up paying for negligence for injuries or fatalities due to the condition of the three story building.

Fuega also commented on the government housing at Lyons Park saying it's in the same dilapidated condition.

In his confirmation hearing in the House, Fuega said units which are currently occupied at Lyons Park are in no condition to have people in them.

He pointed out that there was a security risk for government housing at Lyons Park because there was no fence to secure the residential area.

Fuega, a former warden of the Territorial Correctional Facility, related he had dealt with cases of inmates breaking out and victimising homes and residents of Lyons Park.