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The new Government Building in Apia, Samoa, built by the Chinese. Source: Flickr.
Guest Post by Eric Flis
- Part 1 – Introduction and Overview
- Part 2 – Economic Vulnerability
- Part 3 – Pandemic Vulnerability and Future Paradise
Eric is a member of AIPIO (Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers) and is currently studying for his Post Graduate Diploma in Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism. Eric can be contacted at intellisec(@)hushmail dot com.
Economic Perspective
Samoa has a market based economy and is heavily reliant on development aid, family remittances from relatives living overseas, agriculture and fishing.
Agriculture accounts for about two thirds of the work force, it accounts for 90% of exports, such as coconut cream, coconut oil and copra. Samoa’s main natural resources are hardwood forests, fish (especially tuna) and hydropower (CIA World Fact Book, 2005).
There is a small manufacturing sector which mainly focuses around the agricultural industry. The largest manufacturing business produces electrical harnesses for the automotive industry in Australia. This plant employs approximately 3,000 people, a significant amount given the population of Samoa which at last census was about 199,000 people (Samoa – Country Reports on Human Rights Practices; US Department of State, 2003).
There is also a large number of Samoan’s living overseas, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and California would account for the most significant populations.
In terms of economic vulnerability one only needs to look at Samoa’s major industries, for example fishing and logging of hardwood. Neither of these are sustainable on a large scale over the long term.
Over fishing is a great concern and there has been a decline in fish stocks, especially tuna. In terms of the scale of the tuna industry in Samoa, it is not as large as the industry in American Samoa, which has several major canneries located in and around it’s capital – Pago Pago.
The majority of fishing is rather for subsistence, with catches being sold on the local market, although some are sold on the overseas market, such as Japan. A 10 kilo Yellow Fin Tuna sells at the local market for about $30.00WS (approximately $15.00 Australian).
Over fishing in Samoan waters and surrounding areas is a great concern, this would devastate the industry and the livelihood of many thousands of people, not just in Samoa and American Samoa but other island countries, such as Tonga which also has a great many people working in the tuna industry in Pago Pago.
The local fishermen are already experiencing a decline in tuna numbers, some days there are no tuna at the local markets.
This industry is also prone to environmental factors such as cyclones with even bad storms affecting the fishing industry. If there is a bad storm or cyclone the fishing boats may not be able to go out for days on end. This has a flow on effect across not just Samoa’s economy but other countries that are linked to the tuna industry in Samoa.
As with the fishing industry, logging of Samoa’s hardwood is not sustainable over the long term. The native Ifilele trees are already becoming rare when once they were abundant. While working as a Resort Manager in Savai’i we commissioned an artist to carve a sculpture for the restaurant. We invited him to the resort as we wanted the work to reflect our resorts setting. We had a number of Ifilele tree’s on the resort property. As it turned out the artist had never seen an Ifilele tree in his life. I was both surprised and sad as the Ifilele tree features heavily in Samoan culture.
If we look at bigger countries that have logging industries and the issues with sustainability they have it does not bode well for a small country like Samoa.
The tourism industry is a burgeoning sector within Samoa. With airlines now offering direct flights and money being spent on advertising there will be an increase in the numbers of tourists traveling to Samoa.
However there are several factors which could have a negative impact on the tourism sector.
Firstly, skilled labour to both manage and staff resorts for example, is very hard to come by locally. A lot of Samoa’s skilled labour leaves Samoa to work over seas such as in New Zealand and Australia as they are able to earn a higher wage. This means foreign skilled workers must be imported to fill these positions. It also means most of these foreign workers will be seeking higher salaries than that of local workers. Again, this situation is not sustainable.
The minimum hourly rate in Samoa is $1.70WS ($0.85 Australian). This low hourly rate of pay leads to other problems such as petty crimes. The theft of food and other small items is fairly prevalent, this is something I have witnessed first hand while running the resort and talking with other local business owners.
Secondly, factors outside of Samoa can impact the tourism industry in a negative fashion.
The age of terrorism and high oil prices affects the numbers that may travel overseas due to the high cost of air travel, which in turn will affect Samoa’s economy.
These are factors which could also increase the cost of living in countries where Samoan’s live and as a result this would affect the amount of money they would normally send home for relatives. As mentioned before, remittances from family members living overseas is a major part of Samoa’s economy.
In any country where there is a low income issue various types of crimes appear. These range from petty theft as mentioned previously, through to high level corruption.
There have been multi-million dollar passport scams uncovered in Samoa (Security in Oceania in the 21st Century, 2005, Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies). The investigations went nowhere as it is seen as disrespectful to persons of high rank, for example Matai and government officials, to be accused of criminal acts.
Again, countries, especially developing nations are open to corruption and manipulation not just from within but from other countries and their governments.
Japan for example donated all the ferries that are currently used throughout Samoa. It is not known what Samoa gave to Japan, if anything, but fishing rights would top that list in my eyes. For example, in 2005 Japan awarded millions of Yen in “grant aid†to several countries, including Samoa, in an attempt to buy votes at the International Whaling Commission (McNeil, 2006). So, it would not be the first time something like this occurred.
This could have a very significant impact on fish stocks in Samoa’s territorial waters. That is having large industrialized nation fishing on a large scale in its territorial waters.
After the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing, the Samoan Prime Minister was the first politician to visit China. In return, China built the new Samoa Government Building.
China is now one of the top three donors of aid to the region; it offers aid with no strings attached, or so it seems, unlike Australia and others which ask for good governance of the country. This is seen as China planting the seeds to exert greater influence in the region (Windybank, 2005).
One could argue that this is a war of influence rather than an armed conflict with the prize being greater influence when it come to natural resources.
This type of activity leads to countries or governments at least of developing nations, such as Samoa, being placed in a compromised position, both politically and economically.
The next post in this series is Samoa, A Vulnerable Paradise: Part 3 – Pandemic Vulnerability and Future Paradise.