By Staff Writer
The Samoa National Provident Fund owned Beach Road for most of Thursday morning with a parade of decorated floats.
Men and women lit up the hushed, heavily overcast morning sky by literally dancing along in the sporadic rain.
SNPF was celebrating 50 years of service and the moment was deserving of a golden celebration.
The fun and joy of the occasion gave a happy glow into the heart of the township.
The laughter and cheerful reaction gave a refreshing and happier mood to the somber tone of forgettable, past political activities on the front lawn of the Government building.
Reverend Afereti Uili touched on the right feeling when he defined the meaning of a golden jubilee as a time to re-set.
His interpretation was intended for the SNPF moving forward but it tagged on the same direction the country needed to move to heal from the politics of shame and shambles.
The COVID-19 pandemic State of Emergency restrictions delayed the happy Thursday parade from the celebrations of the Fund’s Golden Jubilee last year.
Government Ministries and private sector organisations joined the parade with their own floats along with the staff giving lively, lighthearted support.
SNPF has endeared itself to the general public by cashing out $66.7m tala from the interest in contributors savings for the financial year ending 30 June 2022.
The financial payout in three separate installments is at a time when the local economy has come under severe effects from the COVID pandemic and other external factors.
The payout also carry hopes the financial injection will act as a stimulus to help revive the national economy.
SNPF is the first Samoan institution to have assets with a net worth of more than $1 billion tala since it was set up in 1972.
It is a compulsory savings scheme for employees (members) established in 1972 and entrusted with “safekeeping of members’ contributions.
Members and their dependents benefit from their savings during retirement or in the event of earlier death or incapacitation.
Contributions to SNPF are made by employers on behalf of their employees and is 20% of the employee’s gross salary (10% from the employee + 10% from the employer).
There have been suggestions already for the Fund to look into pushing contributions up to 12.5%.
“Salaries are higher now why continue to sit on 10%, why not add 2 and a half percent, it’ll benefit the contributors even more when the time comes,” opposition leader Tuilaepa Sailele reacted to the media as asked for comments about the jubilee celebrations.
“They should also look at allowing contributors to guarantee personal loans on their contributions for children school fees.
“The help is needed at bad times like this but they should limit it to school fees only.”
Tuilaepa complained about the Members of Parliament not getting any benefits from the many payouts made to general contributors.
He felt, in a lighthearted jest, it is the job of the FAST Govt to take it up with the SNPF.
His advice is a gesture of good deed by pushing for a review of Members contributions.
“ At least we can be assured of getting money rather than end up with none like what the districts were offered and not getting any,” he needled.