Samoa mo Samoa

There is no doubt that government under both the Naval Administration and the Department of Interior has catapulted our small islands, with relatively little natural resources to exploit, into the 21st century. Since the U.S. flag was raised here on April 17 1900, we went from largely fishing and boat building communities to become a mini-city of sorts, fashioned in the image of Honolulu herself.

Establishing local government amongst our people has been no easy task, and for a long time, we looked outside for the expertise we knew we needed to get the job done. Whether it was our own sons and daughters coming back home after receiving education and/or experience from abroad or from folks of non-Samoan descent who had just as much love for our country as we do. Today, we’ve gotten to the point where we can largely self-develop talent within our own shores - to the best extent possible - before looking outside for help.

This progress has been guided by our unofficial motto, "Samoa mo Samoa". A philosophy (with its roots in the Mau Movement) that is less about race and more about ensuring that the treasure of our culture survives.

I am an afatasi, and I am proud of both my Samoan and Palagi heritages. But I can tell you that I am especially proud to see Samoans take the lead in any capacity whether private or public sector, here or around the world. So to have our people in charge of entities such as ASTCA, ASPA, DBAS, not to mention the ASG and all of its departments - it's a point of pride that I will never take for granted.

But what happens when our pride starts to overlook merit? What happens when our pride turns a blind eye to corruption and the rule of law? What happens when our pride starts to devolve into political manipulation, where the handing out of jobs looks more like an effort to cement one's legacy rather than being a sincere act of charity?

At the end of the day, the costs of local government is borne by local residents and businesses. Is the bill we hand to them (ourselves really) a fair and reasonable one? More importantly, can that bill compete with our competitors in the region such as Samoa, Tonga and Fiji?

When you have a government that is fair, transparent, equitable and limited to its essential roles and functions, the questions above are relatively easy to answer. And when we are able to answer these questions in a manner for which we can have true pride, the closer we get to achieving a better "Samoa mo Samoa" that's worthy of the name.