Unpopular “Talofa Pass” Travel System under investigation

By Lagi Keresoma

Apia, Samoa – 13 October 2023: The Talofa Pass travel system that created a lot of difficulties for travellers into American Samoa during the Covid-19 pandemic will be under investigation by the American Samoa Senate.

This was confirmed by the President of the American Samoa Senate Tuaolo Manaia Fruean who will lead the investigation.

“We now have the time frame to investigate other matters such as the Talofa Pass which came into effect around the COVID pandemic,” he told Talamua.

Tuaolo said the system was designed by the Datahouse Consulting company in Hawaii and was introduced in 2021 for travellers to American Samoa during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The online travel system was very unpopular and caused huge difficulties for travellers and there had been a lot of criticisms against its practicality and became one of the issues discussed in the ATOA Samoa Talks in October 2022.

The American Samoa Governor, Lemanu Peleti Mauga later announced the cancellation of the Talofa Pass system after the 2022 ATOA Samoa Talks.

Overcharged
Tuaolo however said the Datahouse Consulting company charged Hawaii $680,000 for the system a year.

“The same program designed by the same company for American Samoa cost us $7 million,” he said.

He finds the huge difference for the use of the same system for two US territories ridiculous hence the initiative to launch an investigation.