Samoan indigestion on the way

From FELISE VA’A in Apia Tupuola Efi’s election as the new Prime Minister of Western Samoa could not have come at a better time. For almost a year now, Western Samoa has been enjoying an abundance of foodstuffs, notably taro, taamu and bananas, for local consump tion. In fact, there is such a lot of taro some villages recently reported their taro is rotting. This state of affairs is in sharp contrast with that in 1973 when Mataafa came into power. Then, the cost of im ported foodstuffs was above the means of the average Samoan family and taro, taamu and bananas were extremely dear.

The Mataafa government resorted to strong enforcement of price control regulations which led to strained relations between the government and commerce.

But though the picture is brighter in that regard for the Tupuola administration, the fact remains that the country, as a whole, is no better off. There is scarcely any im provement to the export situation. Taros are rotting because of insufficient markets.

Recently, 700 tons of locally-stored cocoa went musty because of prolonged storage and, according to the South Seas Star, it is estimated that the government will spend $lOO a ton to repair the damage. In all, it will cost the government about $lOO,OOO to have the cocoa brought to a state fit to be exported. The expense is hardly worth the $300,000 the country expects to get for it.

Poor prices for copra is discouraging planters. The banana industry has been suffering for years. Thus, the export situa tion not only remains poor, it is also ex

tremely dangerous.

It is dangerous because it is forcing the government to raise duty on just about

anything (particularly on luxury goods

but what is a luxury good these days?) to discourage people from importing, and is forcing the government to strict credit con trol within the country.

For several years now, lending (except in very, very few cases) has been stopped at the Bank of Western Samoa and Pacific Savings. Of course, small loans up to $lOO have been permitted mainly for emergency purposes.

The point to all this, of course, is that for many years now, noticeably since the beginning of the last Mataafa administra tion, the government has found that its agricultural policies were not working.

Loan payments by the government, and

the importation of heavy equipment for

public projects, aggravated a situation already made almost unbearable by low exports in comparison with increased private and commercial imports.

Hence, the government had to order all credit institutions to either drastically cut down their lending or stop it altogether.

Presumably, this not only cuts down on in flation, but also enables the government to draw on the stored-up funds of those in stitutions to enable it to meet the balance of payments deficits and other overseas government obligations. The government is, thereby, bleeding the people white.

Essentials, such as house construction, have come almost to a stop. Loans to buy cars are practically impossible. So an in dividual can hope for very little progress

because he cannot finance his own under takings. It will take him '2O years or more to save for a house, for instance. The com mercial people are luckier since there is op portunity for them at the Development Bank but they also are subject to the imposition of outrageous interests. Under the circumstances, only Big Government is profiting from the present confusion; never mind about the average guy.

It is this situation Tupuola and his men are stepping into. It will beMnteresting to see how he will cope and how his party will fare in parliament.