Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — With the American Samoa Government’s financial coffers overburdened from the measles outbreak, followed by three back-to-back storms in February, and now the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga has requested a federal government waiver for American Samoa’s 25% cost-share under the federal COVID-19 declaration.

The governor first revealed his plan to request a federal waiver during the ASG’s COVID-19 Task Force meeting on Apr. 3rd but he didn’t give details at the time. The governor’s Apr. 7th letter to Robert J. Fenton Jr., regional administrator of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region IX, requests a full waiver of the 25% cost-share.

“I am requesting... a full elimination of the 25% match required of the American Samoa Government in order to receive FEMA reimbursement,” Lolo wrote and explained that ASG is indebted to the federal government for all the assistance “we have received particularly with defraying the 75% of the costs of all approved expenses connected with the coronavirus campaign.”

However, “our financial coffer has been overtaxed and overburdened by the effects of our fight to contain the measles epidemic, weathering the consequences of the three consecutive storms and now the upshot of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he explained.

At the end of February, “a deficit of over $5 million is projected for the year based on revenue collections up to date of the statement,” according to the governor.

Then in March, with businesses operating hours shortened to 12 daily, daycare centers closed for 30 days, tourism earnings effectively halted and many business activities suspended, it is anticipated that revenue collections for ASG “will further plummet and will get worse if the coronavirus curve continues to climb,” the governor said. “At the end of the year, deficit will undoubtedly rise.”

The governor notes that American Samoa is counting on federal aid to help stimulate consumer spending to spark in some degree recovery to lessen the financial effects of the economic fallout attributed to the effects coronavirus.

“At this juncture, the American Samoa Government lacks the financial wherewithal to front the 25% match to receive the 75% reimbursement from FEMA,” he said.

Lolo explained that despite the risk, “I have no recourse but to exempt StarKist from [his] coronavirus declaration because not to do so would effectively cause an economic catastrophe for American Samoa with far worse consequences than the coronavirus effects.”

“If our coronavirus environment changes for the worse, I will have no choice but to close down StarKist’s operations,” he tells FEMA.

The governor explained that he has been “engaging in very delicate balancing act trying to strike balance between the economy and the health of our people. My choices are very limited as other than the American Samoa Government, StarKist represents the other 50% of our economy.”

At the beginning of this letter, the governor expressed gratitude to US President Donald Trump and U.S Vice President Mike Pence “for their proactive and aggressive leadership as they boldly navigate our nation through this deadly COVID-19 disease.”

He also says that the people and government of American Samoa are grateful over the prompt presence of FEMA on island, now working closely with our local government to articulate local needs to the federal level.