Dear Editor – As a citizen of Samoa, I am writing to express my frustrations about the Poor Governance happening in our country. While the country is getting ready for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) next week, there has been a lot of effort put in by the Public Sector to ensure a smooth and excellent outcome of this biggest conference yet to be hosted in Samoa, however, there have been complaints shared on social media about the preparations made by different villages in Samoa for this meeting.
The biggest part of these preparations is the villages decorating and beautifying their lands and front houses based on a country flag or theme that was assigned to them months ago by the government. One village has expressed their frustrations on an incorrect flag of an assigned country that was issued to them by one of the ministries of the government months ago when they started this project of Landscaping at all villages of Samoa.
They’ve only just found out this week but have already made heaps of preparations and cleanliness with an incorrect flag, which is not the flag of the country already assigned to their village.
After various efforts by the ministries involved, there’s still no solution to this matter with the limited time they have before the CHOGM.
This is one of so many issues that arise, and the main cause of this is poor planning and poor governance within the country.
There were a lot of trainings and awareness made to the people of Samoa regarding the CHOGM, but the people find it hard to adapt to changes and after various trainings hosted at different parts of the country, different people participated, they would easily go back to their same routine after trainings, as they’re very used to it, as if nothing is going to happen. This is of course part of poor governance within the country.
The meeting is supposed not to affect or hinder the everyday lives of our people, however, there are restricted zones in and closer to the town area, where the CHOGM venues are located, which will prevent other employees working for different businesses in town from accessing their workplaces unless they hold a CHOGM pass id. The government therefore took this lightly and put the CHOGM first instead of our people.
The government also stopped all flights leaving the country during the CHOGM week, affecting those who wish to travel during that time.
This is very poor governance and I urge our leaders to prioritize the people of Samoa first instead of prioritizing others. Acknowledging the nation’s people is a must, as they are the resources of the country, and deserve so much better during times like this.
Yours faithfully,
S11228845
USP Student
