Samoan Assembly

High Salaries Bill Worries Samoan Assembly

From Our Own Correspondent APIA, April 9.

THE Estimates of revenue and expen diture for Western Samoa Govern ment for the calendar year 1951 were reviewed by the last session of the First Legislative Assembly, the term of office of which ended the end of April, when an election of new members of the Assembly took place.

The figures as submitted show esti mated receipts, mainly derived from im port and export duties, for the year 1951 at £542,340. In addition the amount of £208,624 is to be brought in from the Capital Development Reserve Fund and £6,000 from the Vaisigano Bridge Reserve Fund, making a total of £756 964. Esti mated receipts for the financial year 1950, for only 9 months, was £370,550, but actual revenue collected was £471,087 thus showing a surplus of £100,537.

There is an estimated expenditure for 1951 of £730,463, mainly on Public Works, Education and Health. Of the total, £242,198 is for capital development and £488,265 for recurrent charges, of which approximately half are for salaries. For the first nine months of 1950 an expen diture of £518,185 had been voted and only £444,202 expended, but the saving thus shown is all on capital development projects which the Public Works Depart ment was unable to complete.

During the Budget Debates consider able criticism was voiced by European and Samoan members who expressed concern that the present expenditure on Education, Health and Public Works strains the financial resources of the country to the utmost. They fear that it will result in financial difficulties. The Assembly favoured considerable cuts in expenditure and recommended the greatest possible economy in Government spending.