The word nepotism was derived from the old practice of Roman Catholic popes and cardinals to appoint their Nepos (nephew) to strategically important political and administrative positions.

Let us understand the basic definition by the Merriam-Webster dictionary which defines nepotism as "the unfair practice by a powerful person of giving jobs and other favors to relatives." 

Adam Bellow (2003) defines nepotism as "favouritism based on kinship." The adverse impact of nepotistic practice is ineffectiveness. Surveys show that people who perceived the position with help of their kith and kin were more likely to have low satisfaction and a higher intention to quit their job, and they are not that much responsible at all (some are an exception).

Political nepotism is defined as a kind of favouritism where people with authority try to accommodate their nears and dears in their professional domain.

Nepotism has been criticised since the ancient times by several philosophers, including Aristotle, Valluvar, and Confucius, condemning it as both evil and unwise.

This has been a point of discussion or rather a point of an argument in local politics in Samoa as well, where we have seen many high end appointments made because the incumbent is related to the person in power.

Why is this topic in the spotlight? It does not take a rocket scientist to figure this out that we are still toiling on the issue of the appointment of the new Chief Executive Officer at the Ministry of Justice.

There is simply no other simple explanation as to why this was done even after the selection panel had endorsed another more suitable candidate. It feels like nepotism because two weeks ago a social media post was buzzing with congratulatory messages for Papalii John Taimalelagi for his appointment as the C.E.O. of the Ministry of Justice.

Mind you, this was well before the announcement by Cabinet on Wednesday evening. Could this just have been a coincidence? From where everyone else is standing, it does not seem like that.

To those who remember the FAST Party campaign before the elections and their promises to come down hard on corruption, it seems there has been a 180 degrees turn on the subject.

If one remembers clearly Papalii had struck a deal with the then powers that be, that he would leave office if no formal charges were pressed. That in fact is very much an admission of the alleged offences.

The political framework is clearly deeply affected by nepotism. It somehow shifts the loyalty of such a house to the family or favoured instead of maintaining loyalty to the nation. The entire cycle of rewarding favoured members and consecutively promoting them to higher positions instead of choosing deserving candidates for the same begins.

Eventually, people in such positions are doing jobs which they are absolutely unqualified for or lack the character that the position requires. This is the root cause of different forms of corruption. The administrative structure slowly takes the form of a family business, in this case FAST Party business.

The government instead of being for the people, of the people and by the people becomes for this party, of the party and by the party. This defies the entire purpose of a democratic framework where people are to be elected by the virtue of their skills. It takes democracy decades behind when these parties treat the nation like it is their domain to rule. Did we not just come out of a 27-year rule by one such leader.

Corruption is widespread when the money is being channeled for personal benefits rather than for the right purposes. A huge demerit arises when multiple people from the same party have a monopoly over power, there is no one to keep them in check. Thus, a sense of accountability is missing in the structure of such a government.

A true democracy needs to be accountable and capable of rendering its services to the people. The existence of nepotism in such a sector that affects thousands of lives can thus be a great disadvantage.

Hopefully, all this negativity and nepotism does not spoil Christmas for some. But on the other side of the coin, a hearty congratulations to Frankie Cai on investing into another supermarket. We need more local investments and your decision to invest $3 million into a new supermarket not only creates jobs but shows that there is still confidence in the local economy.