Election Day is a Regeneration of Samoa's Commitment to itself.

Forget the adversarial politics and village rivalries. Forget the divisions and the rancour. Today is a day of national celebration of Samoa's independence after 49 years and cultural survival after 3000 years. Other Pacific nations have been taken over by more powerful and financially well-off countries. Samoa remains steadfast in its commitment to itself. Every election day is a regeneration of that commitment.

The hymn 'Lo ta Nu'u' sums up this commitment. It embodies the spirit of our nation. A nation that has given itself to God but remains true to itself, with all its imperfections and foibles. There is no other country on earth that Samoans can call their own. This is it. Whilst many of us may travel and settle in far away countries, our hearts will always remain with our ancestors who are buried in our soils under a blue sky that still breathes God's free air. The hymn beseeches our nation to rise up and give thanks to the Almighty for our small country perched upon the vast limitless expanse of the ocean. A nation that has survived for so long because of the beloved commitment of its people.
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Not many of us will have these thoughts today as we busy ourselves with the voting process. But many of us may have those thoughts the next time we sing 'Lo ta Nu'u'. The hymn stirs the emotions and will even bring tears to the eyes when we think of our family. It brings a calm peace to our souls. So, as we go to the polls today, I hope that the tenets of this hymn are at the forefront of our minds, even if the hymn isn't: God, Family, Village, Country. That when we vote, we vote for the betterment of our families, villages, and country. That is who we are as a nation. We are a collection of families who live under God. We are a people who unite for the common good for our families, with our villages, and for our country.

Today is one of those days that we unite for the common good by voting for the next national government to take its place at Tiafau malae. Whatever the result, let us remember that God's peace is with us all. On days like today, we remember that the Pax Samoana that was established in 1830 is a commitment to ourselves, our families, our villages, and our country. Whatever the result, let us remain true to that commitment.
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Manuia le faiga palota tele Samoa. Manuteleina lou sa!

TAUTUA PARTY’S ELECTION PROMISES LACK CREDIBILITY

Given  that  the  March  4^th  election  in  Samoa  is  decided  by  anything  but  policy  concerns,  a  discussion  on  policy  initiatives  between  the  main  parties  is  essentially  a  waste  of  time.  People  will  vote  according  to  Samoan  behavioural  patterns  that  can  only  be  summed  up  by  the  statement:  “Only  In  Samoa”.  These  patterns  have  been  discussed  before  on  this  blog.  However,  if  we  were  to  analyse  the  policy  offerings  of  the  two  main  parties,  HRPP  and  the  Tautua  Samoa  Party  (Tautua  Party),  what  we  will  find  is  that  the  Tautua  party  is  stuck  between a  rock  and  a  hard  place.  It  needs  to  differentiate  itself  from  the  HRPP,  but  the  promises  it  makes  also  need  to  be  financially  credible.  Like  previous  opposition  parties  desperate  to  get  into  power  and  grab  the  voters  attention,  they  have  fallen  into  the  trap  of  promising  big,  but  detailing  little.    

Policy  highlights  from  the  Tautua  party.

1. Banning  any  form  of  commercial  activity  on  Sundays
2. Take  away  the  VAGST  from  everyday  food  items
3. Raise  salaries  of  the  Police; Raise the Pension;  Raise teacher salaries; Raise  Doctors  salaries.  Raise  Pulenuu  salaries
4. Get  rid  of  the  casino  legislation
5. A  new  abattoir  to  be  built,  as  well  as  the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  marketing  authority.

Tautua  party  strategists  are  obviously  banking  on  the  voters  to  notice  that  most  public  sector  workers  will  get  salary  rises.  They  have  also  cleverly  added  in  salary-rises  for  pulenuu/sui o malo.  Pulenuu / sui o malo  have  quite  a  bit  of  influence  in  the  village  fono  and  we  all  know  the  village  fono  are  the  real  electors  in  the  villages.  The  God  on  Sundays  and  anti-Casino  proposals  are  clearly  aimed  at  the  old  men  and  women  in  the  rural  villages  who  like  anything  to  do  with  God  and  Sundays  and  who,  funnily  enough,  happen  to  be  in  key  positions  of  influence  in  their  village  fono  and  womens  committees.  It  is  these  old  people  who  tell  their  families  who  to  vote  for.

The  TSP  has  decided  to  be  tactically  silent  on  the  details  of  how  it  intends  to  fund  its  generous  election  promises.  For  an  opposition  party  that  is  desperate  for  change  in  Samoa,  it  is  a  rather  interesting  position  to  take.  To  the  question  of  “how”,  the  Tautua  party  answer  appears  to  be:  “we’ll  tell  you  later”.  The  tactic  is  an  admission  that  Samoan  voters  do  not  really  look  too  deeply  into  party  policies  at  election  time. 

The  HRPP  has  come  out  with  a  continuation  of  its  development  policies  that  are  in  line  with  its  Samoan  Development  Strategies  of  the  past  decade.  The  key  focus  for  the  HRPP  if  re-elected,  is  health  and  education. 

In  Health,  the  highlights  include:

1. Improving  emergency  response  capabilities
2. New  kidney  dialysis  unit  for  Savaii
3. More  district  hospitals  and  staff
4. Increased  support  for  the  growth  of  OUM  (Oceania  University  of  Medicine)

In  Education,  the  big-note  items  are  an  increased  access  for  the  internet  and  computer  literacy,  whilst  in  the  agricultural  sector,  there  will  be  an  increased  emphasis  on  organic  farming  to  reduce  chemicals  in  the  food  chain  and  in  potentially  harming  the  environment.  In  addition,  ‘mobile  abattoirs’  will  be  used  on  both  islands  to  increase  domestic  production. 

Pay-rises  for  the  public  sector  and  raises  in  the  pension  will  only  be  in  line  with  the  cost  of  living  and  only  if  there  is  room  in  the  budget.

The  HRPP  will  rely  on  four  main  sources  of  funding  to  fund  its  election  promises.  1)  earnings  from  exports  and  taxes;  2)  overseas  aid;  3)  soft-term  concessionary  loans;  and  4)  an  international  fund  called  ‘Fast  Start’. 

It  is  a  typical  HRPP  election  platform.  It  is  ambitious  without  being  exuberant  and,  the  PM  would  argue,  it  is  realistic  and  economically  feasible.  In  reality,  the  HRPP  policies  are  more  circumspect  because  it  has  to  keep  its  aid  partners  on  side.  Aid  partners  do  not  like  to  hear  of  exuberant  promises  at  election  time  like  what  the  Tautua  party  are  promising  -  eg:  pay  rises  for  everyone.  They  especially  do  not  like  to  see  these  types  of  pay-rises  in  the  context  of  the  disappearance  of  a  key  source  of  revenue  -  the  VAGST. 

This  is  where  the  Tautua  party  promises  lack  credibility.  If  you  take  away  the  VAGST,  you  are  effectively  getting  rid  of  a  major  source  of  revenue  for  the  government  to  spend.  Most  people  in  the  country  do  not  pay  income  tax,  for  the  very  good  reason  that  they  do  not  earn  enough  to  pay.  This  is  why  the  VAGST  was  introduced  in  the  first  place.  So  if  the  Tautua  party  takes  away  the  VAGST,  it  will  have  to  either  raise  income  taxes  on  the  private  sector  and  public  sector  businesses  and  workers,  or  ask  for  more  loans  from  overseas.  It  is  completely  unrealistic.  There  is  simply  not  enough  money  in  the  kitty  to  fund  the  Tautua  party  promises. 

Like  the  SDUP  before  it,  the  Tautua  party’s  fanciful  and  dreamlike  promises  were  designed  for  nothing  more  but  to  win  the  election.  The  details  would  come  later.  In  reality,  Samoa  is  a  developing  country  and  all  its  economic  policies  are  developmental.  Any  new  government  coming  to  power  would  be  forced  by  economic  circumstances  to  follow  along  with  what  the  previous  government  has  done  -  rely  on  overseas  aid  and  overseas  remittances,  whilst  trying  to  use  that  aid  and  remittance  streams  and  small  tax  base  to  come  up  with  new  industries  to  increase  investment  and  earnings.