The full story
The Public Service Commission counted 3,970 employees in 2016, 4,155 in June 2018 and 5,622 in June 2021; it says much of the 2021 rise came from counting former National Health Service staff inside the Ministry of Health. 12 Under Fiamē the count was 5,742 in June 2023 and 5,519 in June 2024. 53 The PSC's first vacancy review found 798 vacant positions in 2022/23 and disestablished 132, froze 325 and retained 190, with an estimated SAT$3.55 million saved; its second review recorded 620 vacancies across 20 ministries in 2023/24, when recruitment for most posts reopened. 53 No whole-of-service headcount or vacancy total for the period since September 2025 has been published; the PSC's 2026 vacancy circulars show recruitment continuing but do not measure total vacancies. 6
On pay, the PSC completed a general salary-scale review in December 2022 and reported a Cabinet-approved cost-of-living adjustment for 2023/24 to 2024/25. 53 On 12 February 2026 Cabinet asked the Remuneration Tribunal to prepare a public-service pay proposal; that is a review, not a pay rise. 7 The minimum wage rose to SAT$5.24 an hour on 1 July 2026, with SAT$6.05 due in July 2028, but the Labour Ministry says it covers private-sector and state-enterprise workers, not staff under the Public Service Act 2004. 8 The PSC's 2024 staff survey drew 2,843 responses (54% of those asked); 80% said they were satisfied with their work and rated public-service customer service 3.5 out of 5, which is staff opinion, not a citizen measure. 9
Digital ID has been promised across all three periods. A national-ID component was added to a World Bank connectivity project in August 2019; the project closed in December 2022 after its system procurement, enrolment and integration phases were cancelled, and the World Bank rated its digital-government objective "Negligible". 10 Parliament passed the National Digital Identification Act 2024. 11 A national-ID policy was launched in September 2026, the government expected to seek supplier proposals in November 2026, and the Statistics Bureau says mass registration will start in 2027. 12134 The One-Government Portal soft-launched on 31 October 2025 as a directory; online applications were promised for the next phase, and no usage figures have been published. 14
Services families use continue on published standards rather than measured times: passports in five working days (two for urgent) in Samoa, birth, death and marriage certificates in Apia and Salelologa usually the same day. 1516 The immigration ministry issued 21,211 travel documents in 2023/24, including 20,505 ordinary passports. 17 The Statistics Bureau registered 8,034 births in 2023, 5,725 in 2024 and 5,278 in 2025, and 1,452, 1,490 and 1,553 deaths; these are registration totals, not completeness rates. 18 Savaiʻi service points exist at Salelologa, and on 9 October 2026 four Savaiʻi primary schools (Faga, Siufaga, Safotulafai and Salelavalu) were connected under the last-mile project, with more than 1,000 students and 30 teachers said to benefit. 1519
On procurement and audit, FAST's September 2021 budget set aside SAT$250,000 for a forensic assessment of government financial systems. 20 In February 2026 the Revenue Minister said the review had examined 13 earlier projects and found missing records, with 17 proposed projects unexamined; these are a minister's account, not court findings. 21 The Audit Office's audit of the Samoa Airport Authority's 2025 accounts, dated 5 November 2025, found contractors selected and approved without full board endorsement in a year with about SAT$6 million of contracts, but no material misstatement and an unqualified opinion. 22 Public-enterprise dividends fell from SAT$19.51 million in 2021 to SAT$9.69 million in the year to June 2024, and aggregate return on equity (2% in 2021, 5.3% in the year to June 2024, 1.01% in the July to September 2025 quarter) stays below the 7% policy benchmark. 232425
The 2025 FAST campaign proposed a family-focused ministry; from 1 July 2026 the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development became the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs and a Samoa District Development Authority took over district development. 2627 Government said SAT$91.8 million was approved for the 2025/26 district programme, subject to plans and financial controls. 28 By June 2023 all 51 district councils were registered and about 82% of district offices were operating, and a government report estimated the programme had reached 53,918 households by 2024; no independent measure of family welfare, waiting times or travel to services has been published for any period. 2930 The 2026/27 budget address promises a national anti-corruption strategy through the PSC; no service-wide outcome since September 2025 has been measured. 31