Sua Rimoni Ah Chong

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Su'a Rimoni Ah Chong is a Samoan politician and former Controller and Chief Auditor of Samoa who gained international renown for his struggle against government corruption in Samoa. He is of Chinese descent.^[1]

While Controller and Chief Auditor from 1992 to 1995 he refused to authorise illegal payments to Cabinet Ministers. In 1994 he tabled an Annual Report to Parliament which revealed wide scale corruption in the HRPP government under Tofilau Eti Alesana. The report implicated six out of 13 ministers in improper activities and payments. The government's response was to set up a Commission of Inquiry to discredit the Report.

The Commission looked not into the irregularities, but into the Chief Auditor himself. Incuded among the committee's members were several individuals criticised in his report.

In July 1995 The government suspended Sua. He then sued the government stating that under the constitution the Controller and Chief Auditor is only answerable to Parliament. As such the HRPP changed the Constitution making the position a Cabinet appointment and sacking Su'a in the process.

Previously the position of Controller and Chief Auditor (a Constitutional Officer) was like that of the Chief Justice, an appointment for life. Being responsible to parliament the CCA could only be removed from office by Parliament. Following the amendment the position is a Cabinet appointment for a term of two years and can be sacked by the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

The whole scandal brought Samoa into international scrutiny and questioned its commitment to good governance, as well as democracy and responsible government.

Su'a Rimoni was awarded the Transparency International's Integrity Awards in May 2003. The annual integrity awards recognize the courage of individuals and organizations fighting corruption.

He is currently leader of the Samoa Party^[2].