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DPW busy preparing for Pacific Arts Festival, causing delay in repairs for Lt. Governor’s home
Workers from the Department of Public Works are busy constructing, renovating, and erecting new structures and installing fixtures across the territory in preparation for the upcoming 10th Festival of Pacific Arts set to be hosted locally next month.
DPW director Taeaotui Punaofo Tilei said his workers have been busy with ongoing projects including efforts to revitalize the Fagatogo Pavilion and the erection of new stands at the Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tafuna.
Plans for the project at the Fagatogo Pavilion, said Taeaotui, include a proposed restroom to be installed and designated for use only by VIPs.
Following this year’s Flag Day celebration in April, DPW workers began work on the construction of new stands that face the grand stand at the Veterans Memorial Stadium. Taeaotui said both jobs have progressed faster than expected, and both are expected to be fully completed and ready in time for the Pacific Arts Festival.
The two projects, including the recent relocation of DPW operations from the EOB in Utulei to the M&O compound in Tafuna, have consumed the time of DPW personnel who were working on renovations to the Lt. Governor’s House in Utulei.
That particular project was addressed by Governor Togiola Tulafono during his weekend radio program. According to the Governor, there is a delay in repairing the Lt. Governor’s home, and this is due largely to the lack of funding, as well as the lack of sufficient manpower to carry out the job.
Togiola explained that the project, which was launched last year, is a major job as the home in question is an old building that dates back more than 8 decades and will require a complete overhaul. Meanwhile, he said, the government is in search of additional funding to complete the project.
(Taeaotui said the home is damaged due to termite infestation and water leaks, and the structure is just old and in desperate need of repairs).
Togiola explained that because the Lt. Governor’s home is not ready for occupancy, the government has been paying $1,500 a month in lease payments for Lt. Governor Ipulasi Sunia and his family to use their own home. The amount is the same or similar to the lease rate the government pays for other private three or four-bedroom homes leased or rented by the American Samoa Government.
According to Togiola, this arrangement has been in place since he and Ipulasi took office. (Prior to the complete renovation of the Governor’s Mansion at Mauga-o-Ali’i, it was Togiola who resided in the Lt. Governor’s House which is located just down the hill from the official Government House).
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