Legislative Assembly of Samoa
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Government of Samoa To be laid before the LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF SAMOA For the period ended June 2014 1 | P a g e 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 and Amendment 2009, Section 17 (2) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Act 1995 and Amendment 2010 and Section 17 (2) of the Ministry of Youth Sports and Cultural Affairs Act 1993/1994, I have the honour to lay before you copies of the eleventh Annual Report for the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development for the period of 1st July 2013 to 30th June 2014, 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. Honourable Tolofuaivalelei Falemoe Leiataua MINISTER OF WOMEN, COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2 | P a g e GOVERNMENT OF SAMOA Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development Honourable Tolofuaivalelei Falemoe Leiataua MINISTER OF 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 eleventh Annual Report for the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development for the period of 1st July 2013 to 30th June 2014. 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. Leituala Kuiniselani Toelupe Tago Elisara CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 3 | P a g e TABLE OF CONTENTS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER‟S FOREWORD 4-5 1. SECTION 1: OUR ROLE AND STRATEGIC DIRECTION 1.1 Vision 6 1.2 Mission 6 1.3 Mandate 6 1.4 Objectives 6-7 1.5 Functions 7-8 1.6 Values and Principles 8 2 SECTION 2: FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR YEAR ENDING 30 JUNE 2014 9-12 3. SECTION 3: HIGHLIGHTS OF WORK UNDERTAKEN DURING THE YEAR 13-34 4. SECTION 4: ACHIEVEMENTS AGAINST PERFORMANCE MEASURES 35-55 5. 4 | P a g e CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S FOREWORD In presenting the Annual Report for the Ministry 2013/2014, I would like to begin by acknowledging my Executive Management Team and staff for their hard work, their commitment and contribution to the work of the Ministry for the last 12 months. I also congratulate all our partners and stakeholders in the public and private spheres, for their support and collaboration throughout the year. In the same spirit, I also wish to convey the same sentiments with respect to the continued and never ending support of the Village Representatives (Sui o le Nuu) and Village Women Representatives (Sui Tamaitai o le Nuu) whom we have continued to depend on in the coordination of all village based initiatives across the whole of Government. Our report provides a snapshot of what we have delivered in line with our Strategic Plan 2013-2017 and our Annual Management Plan 2013/2014. This year has been particularly challenging given our commitments and engagements in the preparatory work for the 3rd International Conference for Small Islands Developing States (SIDS Conference), in particular our role in coordinating the first SIDS Pre-Conference Forum which is the Youth Forum. The demands of our involvement with the SIDS Conference preparatory work and the need to attend to our own ongoing work for the financial year, was quite a challenge. However, despite this challenge, the persistent application of teamwork and good leadership across our Ministry, resulted in our ability to attend all the meetings at community, national, regional and the global level, attend to implementation and monitoring as reported in this document and answer to our political masters in addition to many other tasks expected of an organization whose focuses cut across many sectors of Government. In line with the strategic direction of our Ministry, our efforts targeted the strengthening of social structures through promotion of good governance and leadership, to enable sustainable community development. This was realised through social and economic development programs targeting women‟s committees, youth groups and village councils where our resources would permit. In addition, various sectors of Government through our Ministry, also conducted consultations and meetings to a total of 224, with community representatives for the purposes of raising their awareness and enhancing their understanding of the relevant developments and potential implications on communities. Moreover, efforts towards facilitating an enabling environment responsive to the socio- economic needs of communities including mainstreaming gender and disability across all sectors also featured in our work in the last twelve months. The ultimate goal is to advocate for, articulate and facilitate the integration of the relevant issues for women, youth, children and persons with disabilities across various policies and programs of Government, given our limited resources and the need to ensure sustainable community development initiatives to improve the quality of life for all. Aside from the focus on our target groups, there was also a lot of emphasis on enhancing workforce capacities and institutional mechanisms, to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of programs for communities. Many of our staff attended trainings, workshops and meetings at the national, regional and global levels, and we are grateful for these opportunities which allowed for staff exposure and capacity development. Furthermore, efforts were also directed towards improving efficiency of the Division for 5 | P a g e Printing in terms of improving quality printing services and our annual revenue collection, including the collection of arrears from previous years. To conclude, I wish to thank our Minister for his leadership and support throughout the year. We are also grateful to our Associate Ministers for their contribution and support. We would also like to pay tribute to our Associate Minister, the late Tuilo'a Anetele'a, who passed away in June 2014, in recognition of his contribution to the work of Village Representatives and the Executive Committee for Pulenuu in Savaii. In closing, we note our acknowledgement for the continued support and partnership of all the development partners that we have worked with this year, including AusAID, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, European Union, Commonwealth Local Governance Forum, Commonwealth Youth Programme and NZAID. Soifua ma ia manuia! Leituala Kuiniselani Toelupe Tago Elisara CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 6 | P a g e SECTION 1: OUR ROLE AND STRATEGIC DIRECTION The Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development‟s (hereinafter referred to as „the Ministry‟) mandated focus is to lead the work on community development in order to achieve the social and economic outcomes for families and communities. The strategic direction of the Ministry as follows guided the delivery of programs and services this financial year, in line with the Strategy for the Development of Samoa 2012- 2016. 1.1. VISION “The people of Samoa become productive citizens through their participation in sustainable community and social development” 1.2. MISSION “To lead community and social development to enable social and economic wellbeing for all” 1.3. MANDATES The work of the Ministry is mandated by the following legislations: Ministry of Women Affairs Act 1990 & Amendment Act 2009 Ministry of Youth Sports and Cultural Affairs Act 1993 (provisions pertaining to Youth) Ministry of Internal Affairs Act 1995 & Amendment Act 2010 Ministerial and Departmental Arrangement Act 2003 Public Service Act 2004 Public Finance Management Act 2001 1.4. OBJECTIVES 1. To strengthen social structures through the promotion of good governance and leadership to enable sustainable community development. 2. To facilitate an enabling environment responsive to the socio-economic needs of communities including mainstreaming gender and disability across all sectors. 3. To enhance workforce capacities and institutional mechanisms towards efficiency and professionalism and the effective delivery of community development programs and service 1.5. FUNCTIONS To achieve its objectives, the Ministry continues to perform the following functions during the period under review: 7 | P a g e Policy Advice on community and social development issues including Village Governance and Culture, Advancement of Women, Youth and Child Development and Disability Delivery and Monitoring of Community and Social Development programs for target populations Coordination of government led village based programs and projects Support Village Governance towards enabling sustainable community development and maintaining social cohesion and harmony. Provision of Government Printing services. 1.6. VALUES AND PRINCIPLES 1. People Centered – we put people first. 2. Teamwork – we work collaboratively and work as a team to achieve results. 3. Respect for Cultural Etiquette – we respect our culture, traditions and customs in the performance of our duties. 4. Acknowledge and Honour Achievement – we recognize individual and collective efforts towards achieving results and outcomes. 5. Professionalism – we value staff professional development and we empower staff to empower our target populations 8 | P a g e SECTION 2: MINISTRY’S FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR YEAR ENDING 30 JUNE 2014 9