Cabinet has approved a SAT$988,737.90 payment to Bluewave under the School Connectivity Programme. Photo: Tour Samoa / FB

The Cabinet has approved a payment of SAT$988,737.90 to Bluewave Wireless for work carried out under the School Connectivity 2024/2025 Programme, despite the company owing SAT$587,662.48 in outstanding regulatory fees.

Cabinet Decision FK(26)22, dated 18 June 2026 authorises the payment from the Ministry of Education’s reserve and contingency funds and instructs the Office of the Regulator to discuss with Bluewave over its unpaid regulatory fees.

The decision is likely to raise questions about why the Government is paying almost SAT$1 million to a company that owes more than half that amount to a government regulator.

While there is no suggestion that Bluewave Wireless should not be paid for work it has completed, the Cabinet decision does not explain why the outstanding regulatory debt was not settled, offset or deducted from the payment before public funds were released.

Instead, Cabinet has opted to pay the invoice first while directing the regulator to discuss repayment separately.

The Cabinet decision also invokes the urgency provisions under Section 38(1) of the Constitution, although it provides no public explanation as to why the payment required urgent approval.

The key issue is not whether Bluewave Wireless should be paid for completed work but whether the Government has adequately protected public funds by ensuring that outstanding debts owed to the State are recovered in a timely and transparent manner.

This article was originally published by MerMada Pacific and is republished by Samoa News Hub with permission.