Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

New Zealand Samoan group sceptical of claims tsunami aid not getting to victims

Posted at 07:40 on 26 October, 2009 UTC

The New Zealand-based Samoan Advisory Council says it’s surprised by claims aid isn’t reaching all those that need it in tsunami devastated Samoa.

The Deputy Mayor of Porirua, near Wellington, Letia Ah Hoi, says she has seen first hand that some people are not getting Samoan Government-supplied aid on a regular basis.

The Samoan Government is rejecting the claims, saying the Samoan media has been printing these sorts of allegations without any proof.

Fa’amatuainu Tino Pereira, of the Samoan Advisory Council, says the council views these claims with a degree of scepticism.

“We haven’t seen any evidence to support that, not have we heard anything to support that particular story. What we do know is that the Samoan community is still mobilising, is still rallying to provide substantive support to the affected villages of Samoa.”

Tino Pereira, of the Samoan Advisory Council.