Fund-raising Olympics-Western

Samoa breaks a record

Western Samoa’s Finance Minister, Mr Sam Saili, created a record re cently while overseas as his govern ment’s representative on the Asian Development Bank’s board of governors of which Western Samoa is a full member.

His first call, at the ADB head quarters in Manila earned a loan of $500,000 and that’s where the re cord came in. Mr Saili wanted the money as a supplementary loan to cover extra expenditure on the air port and road project. He got the money after only 40 minutes nego tiation, which, a bank official said, was a bank record.

Then he went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the ADB held its annual governors’ meeting. Mr Saili was chairman on the second day of the three-day meeting, the first South Pacific Islander to act as chairman.

Passing through Sydney on his way home, Mr Saili told PIM he also “touched” the ADB for a $2 million loan with which to launch Western Samoa’s own Development Bank.

“The bank is sending a team to

Apia to complete negotiations for the

loan”, said the minister. “I’m quite confident that we’ll get it. It will be made available to Samoans through our Development Bank for private agricultural projects and for small local industries.

“But the industries will be only small-scale ones. We’ve got to be realistic about the type of industry

the bank can finance. Clearly, it can finance a multi-million dollar indii try like a watch factory, electron goods or a clothing factory. Wei hoping to attract large industry from overseas and expect that thej will provide employment for 01 people and goods for export. T 1 small industries run by our own pei pie will produce goods for home ui and consumption”.

Western Samoa will complete i current Five-Year Plan at the end i the year, a year ahead of schedul Mr Saili is working on the next Fiv Year Plan and hopes to have ti blueprint ready by the end of Oct ber for launching next January.

The new plan’s target is a grc national product of at least six p cent.

“I envisage this will cost a su stantial amount, no less than $ million”, said Mr Saili. “The govei ment’s strategy, of course, will be seek direct aid from various cou tries including New Zealand whi has already committed itself to million in aid to us over the ne three years.

“I am hoping, when the new Au ralian Government is elected, to ha immediate talks with them over wt assistance they will be able to gi us for our new plan, and we v. also talk to the governments Japan, Canada, the United Stat West Germany, the United Kingdc and some of the European govei ments”.

Mr Saili presides at the second day's session of the Asian Development Bank Boa of Governors' annual meeting at Kuala Lumpur. Left is Mr S. lonoue, of Japan, t[?] bank's president.