Ranked top of the class in stocktake report


A specially compiled stock take report for FEMM 2006 drove home the governance, economic and financial reforms, and trade and investment issues around a decade of progress.

The report which  analysed feedback from countries to a series of surveys, confirmed the good work from some countries, highlighted the lack of progress amongst others, and identified key reasons and trends covering good performance from most of the Forum nations in some areas versus a lack-lustre output in others.

Amongst those consistently ranked near the top of the class when it came to putting action into the plans was Samoa, who only tripped up on the enforcement of financial regulations covering discipline issues.

Henauri Petana, the finance chief executive in Samoa, takes the long-term view that the goals of FEMM are less about being an end in themselves, but being a process of change over time.

“Take into account the institutions and resources and issues that need to come into play to make policies into action, and good strategic action, and the fundamental issues of political stability and commitment,” she says, to know that good governance is key to strong and vibrant Pacific economies.

The FEMM veteran, who is also one of Samoa’s few women leading government ministries, says the eight principles of accountability on which the whole drive for economic reform was put out, “is a daunting thing for any small islands nation to achieve”.

Overall, she says, the stocktake speaks well of Pacific public sector and finance reforms with some gaps to fill in on critical economic reform issues.

Samoa as the rising star of Pacific Islands growth in this FEMM report card? Petana says if there’s a lesson to offer, it would be the enjoyment of long-term political stability and a leadership committed to reform and institutional strengthening.

A lot of the good practice has just been the result of applying good planning and common sense.

“Nothing fancy, just refining stuff that was already there; whether big or small, and addressing or redressing principles in the best approach possible. Samoa has been fortunate.”

Analysts would be quick to point out that being lucky has little to do with being a thriving economy. As if hearing that thought, Petana is quick to point out the critical role of macro-economic stability which often lets the private sector do what it does best—make money.

For Samoa, this doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Collaboration and consultation are part of driving wholesale reform across the country, from the top floor of the Reserve Bank building in Apia to the furthermost corner of Savaii.

Enter Samoa’s national macro-economic policy coordinating committee, who spends up to eight months preparing Samoa’s financial vision for any three-year period.

“The wide consultation in the country, from rural areas to public forums ensures our feet are grounded. We listen hard to what is out there in terms of the perceptions of people  and whether they fit in with the strategic options that government has and what it wants to push.”

All the feedback leads to adjustments and tweaks in terms of the monetary policy, allowing an overall vision that really has ‘found its fit’.

For Samoa, all the talking about action plans and strategies pays off  in the long-term in wider public acceptance and support for reform policies.

“You can’t talk reform to someone who is hungry, to someone who hasn’t a clue what the hell is going on,” says Petana.