About the Foreign Investment act review

Dear Editor

If the original intention of the Foreign Investment Act (F.I.A) prohibits ‘retailing’ by foreign investors, then judging from the apparent look of activities, perhaps a review is indeed urgently needed.

Don’t forget there is also the citizenship criteria that might be in dominance here as it could very well be the loophole the foreign investors are using to get around the prohibition clause.

If the alleged practice is true but not corrected, then all local efforts to withstand the competition pressure, will finally fold up, in the not-too-distant future.

Foreigners have a distinct advantage over us in that they have no culture that demands money as compared to us; hence the reason protection clauses in the FIA must be ensured are complied with.

For our part, we can no longer continue to ignore the reality of the present situation. We must take care of our future; now that we realize we are looking at a real threat to what used to be exclusive to us. 

The government might have a different vision for the future.

We must therefore do the right thing. Address particular aspects of our culture to find the answer. If we fail to make an effort then there is no way we can avoid the inevitable.

The government can perhaps take the initiative and address this important issue with the people. 

But we must make an honest effort ourselves into how we can accommodate these aspects of our culture in the context of the ‘business plan’. We must find a solution to this alarming situation. 

My strong suspicion is, many of us are all very much aware of the problem, but due to that pride in our culture, pretend to ignore the problem and not wanting to talk about it. 

There is no other time. 

We need to address the issue now otherwise the fate of our future generations in this industry and perhaps everything else, is more or less decided.

 

Feo.

Lefaga-o-Ali’i.

Safune.

Samoa Observer

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