Legislative Assembly of Samoa
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Government of Samoa Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF SAMOA ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN, COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT For the period ended June 30 2008 To be laid before the LegLegislativeislative Assembly GOVERNMENT OF SAMOA OFFICE OF THE MINISTER FOR WOMEN, COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT The Honourable Speaker The Legislative Assembly of Samoa In compliance with Section 18 (2) of the Ministry of Women Affairs Act 1990, Section 17 (2) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Act 1995 and Section 17 (1) of the Ministry of Youth Sports and Cultural Affairs Act 1993/1994, I have the honour to lay before you copies of the fourth Annual Report for the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development for the period of 1 st July 2007 to 30 th June 2008, for tabling before the Legislative Assembly of Samoa. This report documents activities implemented by the Ministry within this financial year, in accordance with the above identified Acts. ____________________________________ Hon. Fiame Naomi Mataafa Mulinuu II MINISTER OF WOMEN, COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2 GOVERNMENT OF SAMOA Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development Honourable Fiame Naomi Mataafa Mulinuu II MINISTER FOR WOMEN, COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT In accordance with Section 18 (2) of the Ministry of Women Affairs Act 1990, Section 17 (1) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Act 1995 and Section 17(1) of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Cultural Affairs Act 1993/1994, I hereby submit the fourth Annual Report for the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development for the period of 1 st July 2007 to 30 th June 2008. This report contains a summary of the operations of the Ministry for this financial year, in accordance with the requirements of the above identified Acts. _______________________________ Luagalau Foisagaasina Eteuati Shon CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER FOR THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGES INTRODUCTION 5 1. SECTION 1: MINISTRY OF WOMEN COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 1.1 Vision 6 1.2 Mission Statement 6 1.3 Mandate 6 1.4 Objectives 7 1.5 Functions 7 1.6 MWCSD Organisational Structure 8-9 2. SECTION 2: ACHIEVEMENTS AND INITIATIVES 2.1 Office of the Minister 10-11 2.2 Office of the Chief Executive Officer 11-13 2.3 Division for Internal Affairs 13-19 2.4 Division for Women 19-23 2.5 Division for Youth 23-27 2.6 Division for Research Policy Planning and Information Processing 27-31 2.7 Division for Printing 31-33 2.8 Division for Corporate Services 33-35 3. SECTION 3. STAFF DEVELOPMENT 36-37 4. SECTION 4. REPRESENTATION 38 5. SECTION 5. CONSTRAINTS 39 6. SECTION 6: MWCSD BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS (2007-2008) 40 7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 41 8. ACRONYMS 41-43 4 INTRODUCTION This is the 5 th Annual Report of the Ministry of Women, Community & Social Development (MWCSD) since the Ministerial Realignment in 2003. It is intended to highlight the Ministry’s strategic developments and accomplishments in terms of its contribution towards the attainment of Government’s overarching vision and mission. As well, it documents some of the challenges faced by the Ministry during this reporting period. This year is considered a transitional period between the official conclusion of the first MWCSD Corporate Plan 2004 – 2007 on June 30 2007 and commencement of its new Corporate Plan 2008 – 2012. This transitional period was deemed to be of great importance in terms of reflecting on experiences and lessons learned from the implementation of the first Corporate Plan to inform the development of the new Corporate Plan with the aim to consolidate the direction and way forward for the Ministry in the next three to four years. The Ministry of Women Community and Social Development, in collaboration with its partners and stakeholders, continued to make significant progress in its strive to accomplish its vision through the “ …provision of community welfare and social services to advance the attainment of quality of life for all .” The mission of the MWCSD as stipulated in its Corporate Plan 2004 - 2007 was certainly in line with that of Government’s to ensure positive outcomes for all citizens of Samoa. Further, the Ministry’s core business to ensure the social and economic wellbeing of communities was consistently reflected in its achievements as highlighted in this Report. Despite the challenges faced by the Ministry during this reporting period, the commitment by each Division contributed positively to the achievements and successful completion of this year’s activities. Significant events that occurred during this reporting period included the Ministry’s involvement in the preparations for the visit to Samoa of the New Zealand Governor General and assistance to the implementation of the TALOMUA programme spearheaded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Since its first Annual Report, the MWCSD has endeavoured to refine the organization of the information documented in each succeeding Annual Report. With this Annual Report, a matrix providing details of activities implemented under each Output is appended with the aim for readers to gain a greater appreciation of the extent of the work carried out by the Ministry. The Ministry of Women Community and Social Development would like to acknowledge with great appreciation the commitment and continual support of the Government of Samoa, in particular the Honourable Minister of Women, Community and Social Development, Afioga Fiame Naomi Mataafa for her guidance and leadership throughout this financial year 2007 – 2008. Last but not the least, our sincere appreciation and a big “faamalo” to all partners and stakeholders of the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development for their continual support and assistance to the work of the Ministry throughout this reporting period. 5 SECTION 1: 1.1 VISION “To be the lead agency in Samoa in the provision of community welfare and social services to advance the attainment of quality of life for all” 1.2 MISSION “To work in partnership with stakeholders to strengthen the social structures of Faa-Samoa to ensure the sustainable development of the spiritual, cultural, social and economic wellbeing of families and communities” 1.3 MANDATE The Ministerial and Departmental Arrangements Act 2003 sanctioned the amalgamation of the MWCSD. However, during this reporting period, it continued to await a governing legislation to be drafted by the Attorney General’s Office. In the absence of a specific legislation to govern the realigned MWCSD, it continued to be administered under the following mandates: Government's Strategy for the Development of Samoa (SDS) 2005-2007 Ministry of Women Affairs Act 1990 and Amendment Act 1998 Ministry of Youth Sports and Cultural Affairs Act 1993 (provisions pertaining to Youth) Ministry of Internal Affairs Act 1995 and Amendments 1997 Ministerial and Departmental Arrangement Act 2003 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) ratified by the government of Samoa in 1992 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) ratified by the government of Samoa in 1994 Pacific Youth Strategy Commonwealth Youth Programme National Youth Policy 2001-2010 6 1.4 OBJECTIVES The Ministry’s Corporate Plan 2004 – 2007 officially ended on 30 June 2007. However, the year under review constituted the transition from the completion of the Corporate Plan 2004 – 2007 to the development of the next Corporate Plan 2008 – 2012. In this connection, the following five broad objectives continued to be relevant for the Ministry’s work. 1. To provide quality advice on national policies and plans to promote the spiritual, cultural, social and economic development of families and communities. 2. To coordinate the provision of effective and efficient community and social development services to enhance social harmony and economic wellbeing of families and communities. 3. To promote a gender responsive orientation in national initiatives so as to provide more choices and opportunities for women, men, youth and children. 4. To provide quality and affordable printing services for government and private customers. 5. To strengthen Human Resources Management as well as Corporate Services systems, to support the efficient and effective delivery of services. 1.5 FUNCTIONS To achieve its objectives, the Ministry continued to perform the following functions during the period under review: 1. Provision of policy advice 2. Provision of Ministerial support 3. Policy development, planning and research activities 4. Establishment of an appropriate Information system 5. Coordination and implementation of activities relating to the CEDAW and CRC. 6. Provision of Community development services for women. 7. Coordination and implementation of youth development programmes 8. Provision of capacity building programmes for Government women representatives, Pulenuu and Sui o le Malo*. 9. Dissemination of information on community and social development issues. 10. Promotion of Village based development activities and food security through Pulenuu and Sui o le Malo*. 11. Provision of quality printing services. * Pulenuu counterparts in non traditional villages 7 1.6 MWCSD ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE Hon. Minister for Women, Community and Social Development. Honourable Fiame Naomi Mataafa II CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Luagalau Foisagaasina Eteuati Shon DIVISIONS The Ministry retained its organisational structure of six Divisions, namely the Division for Internal Affairs,