Strong, robust economy makes 2007 SPG the best ever

Samisoni Pareti

Biggest ever... 20 countries will be participating in the South Pacific Games in Apia.

If the successful hosting of the South Pacific Games depends solely on the state of one’s economy, then the Samoa Games, to begin on August 25, will undoubtedly be the best the region has ever seen. If truth be told, Samoa—of all the economies of the islands of the Pacific—is the star performer.

The figures tell the story. For 10 years to 2005, the economy has been growing at an average rate of 4.2%.

By 2005, the gross domestic product—the total value of goods and services Samoa produced—stood at US$400 million.

Given the country’s population of some 185,000, that gives a per capita of GDP of about US$2250.
Inflation has also stabilised.

After years of double digit inflation rates during the 1980s, this has come down to hover around 4.2%.
Lending to the private sector has also improved with rates dropping to somewhere around 12%.

These figures were shared recently to delegates at the 11th Pacific Islands Forum economic ministers meeting (FEMM) held in Koror, Palau, early last month by Samoa’s finance ministry’s chief executive, Hinauri Petana.

Today’s Samoa, she said, is  a far cry from the Samoa of the late 1970s.

“For the seven-year period to 1978, the average GDP growth rate was a mere 2.5% per annum,” Petana told the ministerial meeting.

“And for the five years to 1984, the average growth rate worsened, recording a rate of negative 2%.

“Inflation rates were extremely high and in double digits. Inflation registered 33% in 1980, 20.5% in 1981, 18.5% in 1982 and 16.4% in 1983.

“Samoa’s external position deteriorated drastically in the early 80s, registering negative T$28.5 million in 1982 followed by negative T$16.5 million in 1984.

POLITICAL STABILITY

“As you can imagine, this severely constrained Samoa’s ability to pay for imports. Consequently, shop shelves laid bare with supplies of many goods falling short. People queued up for basic necessities, including sugar, butter, flour and cigarettes.

PM Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi... taking part in the SPG.

“Oil tankers threatened to bypass Samoa unless oil payment arrears were settled. Gas stations ran out of petrol and cars littered the roadside for lack of fuel.

“These events had a domino-effect on the whole economy. Thieving and breaking and entering worsened as people tried to make ends meet, unlawfully.”

So what did it for Samoa?

The answer is unanimous for all who have studied the island nation—political stability—a capability that is sadly in short supply in our part of the ocean.

Its current Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi has been at the helm of government for nine years.

This remarkable political feat was also highlighted in a 2007 report on Samoa, co-authored by former governor of the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands, Tony Hughes, and tourism expert, Dain Simpson.

The study was commissioned by the Suva-based Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and although it specifically looked at public policies and private sector investment in Samoa, it made an observation about Samoa’s political stability and political leadership;

“A well-managed, multi-level interface between government, church and traditional authorities and obligations has enabled Samoa to work out a coherent and broad-based responses to external and internal challenges.

“Such a collective capacity to absorb information and develop effective responses on a national basis is rare among nation states, and is the principal reason for Samoa’s remarkable record of stability and progress.

“The government’s skilful and determined handling of Samoa’s threats and opportunities has been rewarded with a steady economic growth and a reputation for sound economic management—strong selling points for any country in the investment marketplace.”

LAND ACCESS

The Hughes-Simpson report did single out land access as Samoa’s most “prominent issue.”

The challenge, they said, is for the island nation to produce “secure, bankable leases of customary land for development by national investors and foreigners alike.”

This challenge, the report observed, is true for all Pacific islands nations.

Faumuina Tiatia Liuga... sports minister.

That steady and determined leadership was made to bear on Samoa’s preparations for the 13th South Pacific Games which officially opens in Apia on August 25 and continues for a fortnight to close at the new-look Apia Park on September 8.

By his estimation, the minister responsible for the games, Faumuina Tiatia Liuga, said the central government poured ST$100 million into SPG infrastructure.

“With the high standards of sports facilities, the generations of the future will certainly drive to achieve the best in sports,” Faumuina told this magazine by electronic mail from Apia.

“Tourism is another major beneficiary when international events are held here in light of international standard facilities.”

Samoa—like the games of 2003 in Fiji—hopes to run the games with private sector sponsorship.
Its three main sponsors of ANZ Bank, SamoaTel and Samoa Shipping Corporation had contributed almost ST$3 million.

At one time, the games’ authority in Samoa was planning on an operational budget of US$35 million.

Altogether, the Samoa Games is hosting 20 countries competing in 33 sports.

Initial count in July showed that about 6000 athletes with 1500 officials are expected to attend, although this number is expected to drop by the time the SPG starts.

In terms of number of sports and athletes, the Samoa Games has already surpassed the 12th South Pacific Games, last hosted by Fiji in 2003.

It was dubbed the largest games ever then, with 4000 athletes competing in 32 sports.

In our August 2004 edition when this magazine first spoke to Samoa’s South Pacific Games Authority chief executive officer, Fonoti Monogiamanu Ioane Etuale, we had called his games plan “ambitious.”

He was clearly determined to surpass the Suva 2003 Games, and by all accounts, it appears he has done that.

Apart from the multi-million dollar facelift on the main venue of Apia Park, the Samoa Games Authority has had to build several games venues right from scratch.

The netball courts at Apia Park, for instance, cost ST$3.5 million to refurbish, with a 1000-seat pavilion added.

The four-green lawn bowling venue was spruced up at a cost of ST$2.25 million in Faleata.

A new baseball diamond with a 600-seat stadium costs an additional ST$1 million.

The most impressive, of course, is the ST$50 million indoor aquatic centre that will be the swimming venue for the Samoa Games.

Built with the help of the Chinese Government, the aquatic centre is the largest in the islands of the Pacific and one of the most spectacular.

LESSONS

Samoa has learnt a great deal from one of the Fiji Games’ downfalls. Games venues have been completed some two months before the actual games itself.

There were huge delays in completing venues in Fiji’s case, mostly attributed to the delay in securing building contracts as well as unfavourable weather conditions.

But judging from Cherelle Jackson’s report (on page 20), it appears Samoa has been unable to escape the same issues Fiji faced with some of its games venues.

The rush to get the venues ready has unfortunately led to building defects and complaints.

Samoa may not avoid either the fallout that is likely to occur from the per diem it has levied athletes for using the Games Village.

When the Fiji Games levied US$40 per head in 2003, there was an outcry from visiting athletes.

Quite a number of them could not stay for the closing of the games as the “high cost” forced them out of the country once they had finished their competition.

Samoa, on the other hand, is quite bold. It has levied a US$50 per athlete and already some large participating countries like Fiji, for instance, are planning to do what some other Pacific islands athletes did in 2003: leave as soon as they have completed their events.

This is definitely going to disappoint the owners of the South Pacific Games, the SPG Council.

Speaking to this magazine soon after the closure of the 2003 Games in Suva, council chair Vidya Lakhan of Fiji had wanted the issue of per diem revisited.

“The per diem for the Suva Games was US$40 per person per day.

“Some of the countries found it very, very difficult and they had at the very last minute reduced the size of their delegation.

“As a result, there must have been hundreds of disappointed athletes because they couldn’t come to the games. Somehow we have to address all those issues.”

Lakhan was overseas by press time and was unavailable to talk to this magazine for this edition.

It also appears that Samoa has not picked up another lesson learnt from the Fiji Games, which was the need to keep the games small.

One sure way of doing that is to host fewer team events. That was the advice given by Dr Robin Mitchell, chair of Fiji’s South Pacific Games Organising Committee, in an interview he gave this magazine after the 2003 Games.

“For Samoa, I would suggest they have fewer of the team events, you know we had four versions of rugby in our initial proposal; rugby league, rugby union, rugby sevens, touch rugby—the men’s and women’s components— and the mixed component just made that small group quite a big number of people.”

Of the 33 sports Samoa is offering in the 13th South Pacific Games, about 19 are team sports.

There are three versions of rugby—rugby 7s, rugby league 9s and touch rugby.

By the look of things, Samoa is poised to produce the best games ever.

It surely is looking to be the most expensive too, which means that future hosts of the games will have the uphill task of matching or even surpassing what Fonoti and his team at the SPG Authority are going to deliver later this month.

No doubt, this will be an added worry for Lakhan and his Games Council.

After the Suva Games in 2003, Lakhan told this magazine: “The games are getting too big and too costly.

“It is sad to hear that athletes are being denied the opportunity to take part in the games purely on the basis of costs because they can’t meet the cost of participation.

“What we need to do and it’s going to be a very delicate exercise is to control the numbers and yet allow athletes who should take part to take part.

“So we would need to look at the cost of organising the games,” Lakhan said.