Samoa's Parliament resumes this morning with the opposition preparing to challenge the Budget.
Samoa's Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mataafa and the leader of the HRPP Tuilaepa Dr Sailele Malielegaoi Photo: Parliament of Samoa
On Friday, the opposition HRPP Party was re-admitted to parliament and its members-elect sworn in, following a directive from the Supreme Court, for the Speaker to end a ban on the 18 members.
Former Prime Minister Tuilaepa, HRPP leader Dr Sailele Malielegaoi embraced his successor Fiame Naomi Mataafa as her Cabinet Ministers and Members arrived for Friday's session of the House.
The brief session went on to see MPs from shaking hands and embracing, after a five month long political standoff.
From today the HRPP will give its response to the Budget which the FAST Party Government tabled last week.
One element the HRPP is concerned with is the hefty discretionary grants to MPs in each of the 51 constituencies.
As laid out in the Budget each MP is to be given approximately $US325,000 dollars to spend on development projects in their seats.
The scheme will take more than five percent of the Budget's expenditure.