What really matters

Dear Editor,

 

Re: The reality of politics and life in Samoa

People like you Le Mafa, who are throwing their toys out of the cot, and launching scathing criticism at the education levels of those Samoans who voted for the H.R.P.P just shows the arrogance and sense of smug superiority of Tautua party supporters.

It really is a petulant attitude to take towards people who have exercised their democratic rights to vote for whoever they choose to vote for.

Le Mafa, whether you like it or not, Samoa is still a developing country. Therefore, developments in the villages and districts still matter more to the voters (especially the rural voters) at election time. The things that matter are the basics - water, power, plantation roads, bridges, seawalls, and schools.

The things you want these people to vote on (Officers of Parliament reports, audits of ministries etc) simply have no real relevance to the everyday lives of Samoan people. 

What good is the corruption found in the audit of the S.L.C going to be to these people if they still have to walk 5km in the blazing sun into the bush to get to their plantation every day? 

What good is talk of an anti-corruption tribunal going to be when people are still walking across a ford at their local river rather than walking across a proper bridge?

If the Tautua want to win the next election, they need to connect what they talk about in Apia to the everyday lives of the people out in the villages. 

Talk of high political ideals (transparency; accountability; etc) is all well and good around the dinner tables of polite society in Apia but the people who win you elections live in the villages. 

You won’t win any elections unless those people in the villages can see you Mr. Politician in far away Apia talking about the things those people see in their every day lives in the villages.

The H.R.P.P does a much better job of speaking to the basics of everyday life for the vast majority of these voters - roads, power, water, bridges, seawalls. 

That is why they keep getting re-elected. They speak the language of the rural heartlands of Samoa. These areas will always make up the majority of seats in parliament.

 

PS Jeffrey 



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