The MWTI was established in
May 2003 and incorporates activities that were
previously undertaken by:
- Ministry of Transport (MOT).
- Ministry of Works (MOW).
- Ministry of Police and Prisons (MPP) -some activities
only.
At
that time (2003) the MWTI incorporated these activities
with little structural change to the component parts
that were absorbed from the above agencies.
The MOW, as it existed just before creation of MWTI in
May 2003, had been created from the earlier Public Works
Department (PWD) in October 2002. The reforms that
accompanied its formation included reduction of staff,
privatisation of some assets, and outsourcing of
construction and maintenance activities.
A
key aspect of those reforms was the outsourcing of
services and to encourage the development of the private
sector. A number of new private engineering companies
were established. One of these, the Samoa Works
Engineering Ltd (SWEL), was formed largely from ex PWD
staff.
Prior to formation of the MWTI, vehicle registration and
driver licensing were undertaken by the MPP. These
activities were transferred to the TCB, which remains as
an independent statutory board under the MWTI. The
Police, under the MPP, were responsible for traffic
enforcement and retained this responsibility after the
creation of MWTI.
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have been progressively
established from commercialized government agencies and
enterprises over the past 20 years. An SOE is now set up
as a Public Trading Body under the Public Bodies
(Performance and Accountability) Act 2001 and
Regulations 2002. They are managed by a Board and
accountable to two shareholding Ministers -the Minister
for Finance and the respective portfolio 'Responsible'
Minister. The
Samoa Shipping Corporation was established at an earlier
time as a publicly owned company.
Of
the current Public Trading Bodies, the transport related
SOEs include:
- Accident Compensation Commission (ACC)
- Samoa Airport Authority (SAA)
- Samoa Ports Authority (SPA)
- Samoa Shipping Corporation (SSC
The most recent structural changes to MWTI relate to the
Planning and Urban Management Agency (PUMA). PUMA is a
statutory authority with its own board and acting under
enabling legislation. It had been created in 2004 as a
division of the Ministry of Natural Resources,
Environment and Meteorology (MNREM). In July 2005 PUMA
was moved from MNREM to form a new division of the MWTI.
However this decision was soon to be reversed and the
PUMA functions and staff were transferred out of MWTI
and back to MNREM with effect from 1 July 2006. |
