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CEO of Commerce, Industry & Labour
Lemalu Samau Tate Simi

BIOGRAPHY

CURRENT PORTFOLIO (2003 - Present)

• Chief Executive Officer, MCIL

The position of CEO of MCIL is a “special post” under the Special Posts Act. The appointee is appointed on a three year fixed term contract by the Head of State on the advise of Cabinet. There is no procedure for automatic renewal or reappointment and by policy the post is advertised at the end of the term and the appointee may reapply if he wishes to be considered for (re)appointment.

Lemalu Tate Simi is the first holder of this post since the establishment of MCIL in 2003. He was reappointed in 2006 and is presently serving his second term in office.

The duties and responsibilities of this position is consistent with those of any administrative head of any government ministry or organisation of this kind. The CEO is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Ministry and the overseeing of its daily operations.

The CEO reports to Cabinet through the Responsible Minister on matters of policy but reports to Cabinet through the Chairman of the Public Service Commission on administrative matters and on the performance of his duties as per the requirements of his contract.

As CEO he is expected to be familiar with all 27 legislations administered in the Ministry and which give the Ministry its legal mandate. He is responsible for advising the Responsible Minister and Cabinet and the Ministry’s stakeholders on all matters under the Ministry’s jurisdiction and which make up its core functions.

Under the different legislations administered in the Ministry the CEO also has the following legal capacities:

• Commissioner of Labour (Labour and Employment Act)
• Registrar of Companies (Companies Act)
• Registrar of Incorporated Societies (Incorporated Societies Ordinance)
• Registrar of Trademarks (Trademarks Act)
• Registrar of Patents (Patents Act)
• Registrar of Cooperatives (Cooperatives Ordinance)
• Registrar of Charitable Trusts (Charitable Trusts Act)
• Registrar of Industrial Designs (Industrial Designs Act)

The CEO of MCIL is an ex-officio member of the following statutory boards and committees since 2003 except where indicated otherwise:

1. Accident Compensation Board – Deputy Chairman (since 1984)
2. Apprenticeship Council – Chairman (since 1984)
3. Development Bank of Samoa Board
4. Electric Power Corporation Board
5. Electric Power Corporation Licensing Committee (since 1984)
6. Industry Development Board (since 1995)
7. National Revenue Board
8. Prices Board
9. Samoa Land Corporation Board
10. Samoa Qualification Authority Board (since 2006)
11. Samoa Tourism Authority Board
12. Small Business Enterprises Centre Board

The CEO of MCIL is also an ex-officio member of the following bodies set up by authority of Cabinet but which have not yet been formalised by law:

• National Codex Committee – Chairman (since 2003)
• Investment Projects Committee (since 2006)

Born in October 1952, Lemalu, was educated in Samoa completing his secondary education at Samoa College in 1971.

He studied architectural draughting under a government scholarship at the Wellington Polytechnic and Central Institute of Technology in New Zealand from 1972 to 1977 while working as a draughtsman initially at the Ministry of Works Head Office, and later at the New Zealand Housing Corporation Head Office in Wellington, New Zealand as part of his training prescription.

He completed his studies in 1977 and returned to Samoa to take up employment as a Senior Draughtsman with the Public Works Department in 1978, but later that same year he moved to the Department of Labour to a new job as Inspector of Apprentices. He served in several positions within the Department and in 1982 he was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Labour. He took over as Head of the Department in an acting capacity in 1984 and was confirmed as Commissioner of Labour a year later in 1985.

As Commissioner of Labour he undertook additional responsibilities as Registrar of Voters and Electors from 1986 to 1990 and also served as a member of the Public Service Board of Appeal during the same period.

Lemalu served a number of terms as Commissioner of Labour until in 2003 a major Public Service overhaul saw the former Department of Labour merge with part of the former Department of Trade Commerce and Industry, DTCI, and part of the former Department of Justice, to form the new Ministry of Commerce Industry and Labour, MCIL. Lemalu was appointed Chief Executive Officer of this new ministry in 2003 and is presently serving his second term in that position.