‘Pacific World’ or formerly ‘Sun Princess’ docked at the Matauu – tai wharf

By Staff Writer

The ‘Pacific World’ cruise ship or the ‘Love Boat’ to world viewers of the popular American television series sailed into Apia today.

The cruise liner that was the setting for the television series brought into Samoa close to 1,600 holiday travellers, mainly from Japan, with a crew of about 600.

The ship was previously named ‘Sun Princess’ on which the 1998–99 short-lived revival run of the Love Boat: The Next Wave‘ was filmed. 

She made the news in October 2007 as the largest ship to ever cross beneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge while entering the harbour for the first time, with a vertical clearance of approximately 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) to spare at low tide.

Samoa is her last port of call on a scheduled voyage of the Pacific Islands, arriving from Papeete, Tahiti.

‘Pacific World’ has the name ‘Peace Boat’ drawn on her side that refers to a global non-government organization headquartered in Japan.

The organisation was established for the purpose of raising awareness and building connections internationally among groups that work for peace, human rights, and sustainable development. 

“Peace Boat” may also refer to one of the ships embarking on a cruise under the Peace Boat organization.

She sets sail directly from Samoa to home base in Japan.

I am often asked about the most memorable encounters that I’ve had while travelling all over the world meeting leaders, experts, our Samoa diaspora and people of different and interesting cultures.

It is true that my professional career and life in public office has offered me the privilege and honour to represent Samoa at some of the most important events in our time.

Signing the Paris Agreement and the adoption of the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SAMOA Pathway were such occasions when a small nation takes its place amongst the most powerful in the world. 

It also marked the extraordinary work that our Samoan experts and civil servants had done to bring us to that stage. 

For many, it marked Samoa’s coming of age as a contributor at the global discussion, and not simply a participant. 

To see many of our Samoan experts continuing to contribute and lead at today’s global events on economic, social and environmental issues is immensely rewarding.

While travelling on our official government business, we were able to find innovative ideas to help us resolve tricky situations! 

The idea to convert the Tuanaimato Sporting Complex into the conference centre for the 2014 SIDS Conference came to us while attending meetings in other parts of the World. 

It helped us resolve the need to find a venue big enough to replicate the UN General Assembly Hall. 

Samoa also showed the sustainable use of the Tuanamaito complex after we hosted the Pacific Games and Commonwealth Youth Games. 

It was even used as a venue for the opening of the recent CHOGM Meeting.

Meeting our diaspora was a chance to warmly reunite with old friends who chose to pursue new opportunities overseas. 

We learned about their successes and challenges and shared a laugh about good old times.

These overseas visits were all rewarding experiences that gave us great ideas on how to improve our nation.

However, when I reflect on all those global meetings and events, I found that the most rewarding meetings were my weekly open-door sessions with our people right here in the Prime Minister’s office in Apia, where appointments were not necessary. 

The other was my weekly press conferences, where I sparred with our local journalists!

Meeting people without appointments is something I still enjoy doing today.

The open-door meetings gave our Samoan people the chance to share their problems and grievances directly with their leader. 

Most importantly, we were able to resolve a lot of their issues, both big and small.

I am often told that many exciting life journeys began in those weekly open-door meetings.

I constantly directed my Ministers to cut their travels and focus more on their duties at home. 

And very often, Fiame grumbled at my love letters as they described my directives.  

I enjoyed reading yesterday’s Samoa Observer’s headline “Only four Ministers in country, 11 overseas”.

The lesson is that you can travel, meet and talk all over the world but your actions at home is what matters. 

Otherwise, it is just all talk, no action.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi

Leader of HRPP

Close to 70 Pacific Public Service leaders and senior officials from 16 member countries are meeting in Apia this week. 

The Fono 2024: Pacific Public Service Leaders’ Conference is a Pacific-led forum to exchange insights and information on public service developments, challenges, and opportunities for reform.

The theme of this year’s Fono is “A resilient workforce achieving public service excellence the Pacific way.” 

In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Samoan Public Service Commission, Mr. Nonu Lemauga Saleimoa Va’ai, expressed his pride in hosting the event, stating:

“The Samoa Public Service Commission is delighted to welcome our Pacific public sector colleagues. 

We are honored to host this important gathering, as it provides an opportunity for us, as leaders in the Samoa Public Service, to showcase our values and bring to life our vision of Public Service Excellence, ‘Talofa With a Smile,’ throughout this conference and beyond.”

The keynote speaker, Prime Minister and Minister for the Public Service, Hon. Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, also welcomed the delegates, emphasising the importance of the conference:

“We pride ourselves as Samoans on our values of service and excellence, and we are honoured to welcome Pacific public service leaders to the Fono.

 This week promises meaningful conversations, insights, and shared learnings. 

By fostering collaboration on regional needs and developing cooperative solutions grounded in Pacific expertise, the Fono 2024 will strengthen relationships among Pacific public service

leaders and advance our shared commitment to public service excellence.”

PSC Secretary, Mr. Kolone Tikeri, outlined the agenda, highlighting the focus on collaboration and leadership development:

“Over the next four days, we look forward to working together to address regional public service priorities identified during the Fale’s recent sub-regional meetings. 

A key focus of this year’s Fono will be shaping future public service leaders and enhancing service delivery in practice.”

A highlight of the opening ceremony was the official handover from New Zealand, the previous host of the Fono. 

Tania Ott, Deputy Commissioner at the New Zealand Public Service Commission and Head of the Public Service Fale, reflected on the legacy of the conference and its ongoing importance in fostering public service excellence across the Pacific. 

Ms Ott said :

“We extend our thanks to the Samoa Public Service Commission and Public Service Leaders from across the Pacific for their work to support the development of strong, transparent, and effective public services locally, and regionally.

 The New Zealand public service has an important role to play as a partner in the Pacific by supporting public sector strengthening initiatives that lift capability and build resilience because as we know, public sector strengthening goes to the heart of regional security, democratic nation-building, and economic development efforts.”

“Pacific Islands Forum Leaders have consistently articulated the importance of good governance for the region and the vital contribution good governance makes to sustainable development and economic growth. 

The Fale’s support to Pacific Public Service Leaders and their agencies to improve integrity and ethics behaviour and implement merit-based, equitable and inclusive management practices directly contribute to these aspirations.”

Fono 2024 is being held at Taumeasina Island Resort and takes place over the next four days.

By Aliona Niculita, UNDP Resident Representative, Samoa

As the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) gets underway in Baku, Azerbaijan from November 11-22, climate finance tops the agenda as the key to unlocking concrete climate actions on the ground.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Samoa is following this with much interest and anticipation as a lot depends on climate financing decisions to be made at COP29, which has been aptly dubbed the Finance COP. 

A lot is at stake for SIDS. The triple threats of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution are causing a huge strain on the world’s economic, environment and social wellbeing, even more so on SIDS, whose environments and resources are struggling under the weight of all this.

Interconnected COPs, Interconnected Crises, Interconnected Solutions

The three major UN COPs – Biodiversity COP16, Climate COP29 and Desertification COP16 – are all happening in this last quarter of the year, within six weeks of each other. This underscores the connectedness of the crises they address: climate instability, biodiversity loss, land degradation, desertification, and droughts. 

Interconnected crises mean there must be interconnected solutions, and for that to happen, the agendas for all these COPs are inextricably linked. They all acknowledge that the key lies in integrated solutions to drive sustainable development. The planetary crisis can only be addressed in an integrated manner, centering nature, climate, and land. 

Financing the Future

COP29 is a stock take of the previous COP’s historic agreement on the operalization of funding arrangements for addressing loss and damage. This is a major issue for resource-constrained SIDS like Samoa.

Finance is critical to addressing the interconnected planetary crises because large-scale investments are needed to transition to a low-carbon, nature-positive and regenerative global economy. Finance is the foundation for addressing these challenges. SIDS need sustainable financing solutions to implement urgent climate action. 

For example, adaptation must be planned, financed, and implemented at a scale that matches the worsening climate crisis. Adaptation to climate change safeguards people from higher temperatures, rising seas, fiercer storms, unpredictable rainfall, and other climate impacts. When planned and implemented right, with risk-informed approaches and backed by adequate funding, adaptation saves lives and livelihoods.

Building Resilience 

UNDP Samoa has been working with the governments of Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, and Tokelau to support their resilience-building efforts, but a lot remains to be done, subject to the availability of finances.  

In Samoa, our work under the Climate Action Pathways for Island Transport (CAP-IT) Project is helping the country achieve its decarbonization goals. With the support of the Government of Japan, UNDP is working with the Government of Samoa to transform the land and marine transportation sectors.

We are also working with the Tokelau Government to advance its Blue Economy ambitions, which has led to the recent launch of the country’s first Blue Economy Strategy, with financing from the Joint SDG Fund. This work is critical in supporting this remote atoll to sustainably manage its marine resources for current and future generations.

In Niue, we worked with the Government to accelerate renewable energy and energy efficiency applications under the AREAN Project. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the project has helped Niue achieve low carbon energy access, sustainable energy, and green growth targets.

We also partnered with the Cook Islands Government to implement another GEF-funded project, the Ridge to Reef (R2R), a multi-focal area programme that helped enhance the country’s capacities to effectively manage its protected areas and sustainably manage its productive landscapes at local scale.

All this work needs finances to scale it to the next level to achieve optimal impact. To continue to be sustainable, we need money, as well as easy access to that money. 

Current financial flows for climate change mitigation need to increase at least three times if we are to limit global warming to 2°C or below and achieve the Paris Agreement targets. Investments in climate action, nature protection, sustainable use and restoration can yield results that dramatically outweigh the upfront costs. 

Looking Ahead

Whilst the situation seems dire on many fronts, the COPs also present us with a unique opportunity to tackle our most pressing issues together. It recalls a Samoan proverb: O le upega e fili I le po, e talatala I le ao. The net that becomes tangled at night is untangled in the morning. This speaks of a fresh start and an opportunity to start again, but better informed this time, with valuable lessons learnt from the past. It speaks of foresight, vision, and the need for sound planning. As the world convenes for the COPs, this maxim sums up the process and why it needs to happen.

The hope is that negotiating countries can agree on a path forward that safeguards the planet, ensuring no one is left behind, and guarantees that people can live with dignity and prosperity. 

Opportunity cost is a concept which put simply, describes the potential gains we’ve lost by making one decision over another. 

Since 2021, Samoa has been living in a never-ending cycle of lost opportunities.

Samoa had the opportunity to build on the work of previous governments for the benefit of the nation. 

The never-ending obsession to re-write history and erase many projects already in the pipeline has cost Samoa billions and decades of development progress.

Visionary leadership is about Samoa’s development, culture and its people. 

It is not about political parties and individuals; those will come and go.

The most glaring lost opportunity is flying over our blue skies every week. 

Fiji Airways, Air New Zealand, Qantas and Virgin are flying planeloads of Samoans and visitors every day, making millions of dollars in profits. 

The lost opportunity to get Samoa’s share of this market occurred when the present authority decided to cancel the most favorable lease arrangements for Samoa Airways to fly its own jets on these profitable international routes.

When Samoa Airways was operating those international routes, our people had a cheaper option and miraculously the cost of tickets on those other airlines dropped! 

Samoans were flying back and forth to Auckland for fa’alavelaves, happy family reunions and watch international rugby games!

The cancelled Vaiusu / Vaitele wharf project would have increased our capacity to import and export goods, host tourist ships and create employment for our locals. 

This international wharf would have been an international transshipment port that operates all year round in all weather conditions and berth multiple ships, not like the current one-boat wharf at Mata’utu that is frequently battered by powerful ocean swells during the cyclone season.

It would have ensured a constant supply of goods and bring down the cost for our people. 

It would have given our local producers and manufacturers the opportunity to expand the export of our produce and goods.

Cancelling the Tiavea Airport project and investing in a $25 Million Tala “Regional Airport,” is another economic fiasco. 

Ti’avea Airport would have easily handled the so-called “regional air traffic” as well as current services to the dangerous Fagali’i Airport.

Samoa is now dealing with the many ill-informed decisions to restrict and politicize our participation in the Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, Pacific Australia Labour Mobility, and the Pacific Engagement Visa programs. 

This sudden decision by Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi party government, without any immediate and viable replacement plan, has cost our struggling families employment opportunities, a chance for an education and career for their children in Australia, and has dropped the level of remittances. 

Every day, Samoans are constantly facing non-stop electricity disruptions, poorly maintained hospitals and roads, violent crime, drugs epidemic, overworked hospital staff, under-funded police and unpaid contracts.

These are just a few examples of the lost opportunities that our Government’s negligence has cost Samoa.

The continuing boast of managing national debt levels by cancelling these projects shows a lack of foresight when one realizes the billions that the nation has lost in opportunities to serve current and future generations of Samoans. 

Major economic investments and development strategies can never be achieved with wheelbarrows, crates of beer, and packets of cigarettes distributed to buy votes while the leader and most of the Ministers are away today, asking for donations from our people in Alaska, Seattle etc., etc.

It will take us years to rebuild and start all over again. 

We have done it before and will do it again, God willing.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi

Leader of HRPP

Notice is given that the above company incorporated under the Samoa International Companies Act 1988 is in voluntary liquidation.

Any creditor claims against this company must be submitted in writing before November 21^st   2024  to  Terrence Betham  liquidator at “BDO” offices at Lalovaea Apia Samoa or email terrence.betham@bdo.ws.

Terrence Betham

Liquidator

If you missed it on your first look, slow down for a second one..  

The two small flags pictured here will raise a knowing eyebrow if you take your time to study it slowly.

So the small flag on the left hangs straight down unlike the one on the right flying in the wind.  Easy enough!

The two flags are raised at the same location but at different times. Why would that be?

Good on you if you do know.

For those of us still grinding up the waking call to those sleeping memory cells, the clues are in matter of health and heart.

Still not clicking?

The red flag was as far back as the COVID disease warning in 2020.  Remember that? 

For the fluttering flag on the right! This was as early as a few weeks ago towards the end of last month  October.

The flag is still where it is along with the hundreds of similar ones seen practically everywhere.

The flags are part of history in Samoa as hosts of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting CHOGM.

More significantly, the royal visit by the British Monarch as Head of the Commonwealth, King Charles III and Her Majesty Queen Camilla.

There it is! The story of the two red small flags on a family roadside rubbish stand. 

By Caroline 

(SSLC Student CHOGM Essay )

From the crack of dawn to the dead of night, I would hear loud sirens in the colors of authority, in the speed of emergencies, men and women in blue rushing along the road before the sun rises. 

Ensuring that leaders and foreigners are bounded by protection and citizens are in safe hands. 

This all happens while we rest well in bed, assist by blankets when it rains and enjoy the peace of mind unconcerned about harm, knowing these policemen are keeping us under their feather of protection. 

As time crashes, weather seems to change, while we are kept under the warmth of shelter during inclemency period, I see brave soldiers racing along heavy rainfalls, fighting the current of strong winds without any company to keep them warm and protected, this is where brave and resilience is noticed.

As we wake up in the warmth of the sun, the sweet breeze of the wind, these people are adding time after time of sleepless nights and ongoing shift changes and then I wonder, are superheroes those with capes and powers or are they men and women who continuously puts their lives on the line each day for

the safety of communities.

 As we pass along roads, numerous police officers in blue either under the hot sun or heavy rain authorizing cars so that people wouldn’t come across pain or harm, this is love of service that these courageous officers are emphasizing and this is why these very people deserve all the respect that we show. 

It is the work that these people do that contributes to the lives of people, the late night rescue to unexpected emergencies so that no one is in danger and for families to not worry and wonder in the pain of death.

These peoples families are truly honored to have such courageous soul to be part of their lives. 

They sacrifice quality time with families and their well-being for their calling, this is called service of heart.

Many times the work of these people go un-noticed, day in and day out, they put themselves in harms way to serve and sustain the law, demonstrating bravery and resilience. 

Their hard work not only protects communities but encourages us young youth with a Samoan proverb, “Ole ala i le pule ole

Tautua”. 

The unwavering sacrifices these police officers do will never be lighten in sight, these brave men and women are the real heroes of today.

 Words of gratitude could only express our appreciation

for these heroes service.

 Faafetai faafetai faafetai Tele lava.

The news that Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi Party members are again overseas in the United States etc., raising funds for themselves from our diaspora is further proof that the party has lost its way. 

The pursuit of money has overtaken the call to duty and service to the people of Samoa. 

The FAST Party was appointed by the Courts to lead the country in 2021 in a tumultuous decision that rocked Samoa to its very core. 

In a moment that could have torn our nation apart, the leadership of the Human Rights Protection Party decided that it would be best to hand the beloved child over to the mother who claimed it was hers to keep, and not cut in half and divide.

Sadly, the last four years has shown that the FAST Party had no plan for the development of our nation. 

They have never switched from campaign to governing mode. 

Its members are more preoccupied with making money for both political and personal gain. 

The FAST Party has become a money making and spending machine.

The various infrastructure projects that they have launched were either carried over, or quickly put together for show such as the overpriced “Regional Airport,” which is now a national embarrassment. 

Located next to our international airport and flooded with the rising of the Palolo.

The scale of the FAST Party money making is huge but simple.

On one hand, they fly overseas to convince the diaspora to part with their hard-earned money. 

At the same time, they hand out a Million Tālā to each district for struggling families to use that money to buy inflated goods and services. 

The FAST Party then sits in the middle and collects from both sides.

None of these Millions of Tālā make their way back to long term investments in Samoa’s development.

The pressure on the diaspora is taking its toll as those families have their own financial commitments to meet. 

Our local families are also struggling to deal with the high cost of living, worsening electricity services, poor hospital facilities, increasing crime, and under-resourced police who are fighting hard against the methamphetamine epidemic.

All while, the FAST Party are flying first class all over the world raising money and refusing to be accountable to their people.

The Bible tells us that we cannot serve both God and Money. 

Through their actions, it is becoming clearer which master is the priority for the FAST Party.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi

Leader of HRPP