The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) will purchase a prime freehold piece of land for $4.5 million. This shows the ever-growing demand for the limited number of freehold properties.

In Samoa, the majority of the land is customary, and this land cannot be sold, only leased and comes with conditions. This makes freehold properties more in demand with interested parties willing to pay large sums, even above the market rate. More interest is believed to be from foreign investors.

The cabinet approved this in its meeting on 13 May, allowing the ACC to commence the purchase of the land for development from Vaisala Corporation, the current owner of the freehold land. The commercial land in Fugalei currently has several business establishments on it, such as the Island Grill restaurant, a clothing business and a law firm.

The cabinet also noted other land transactions sought by ACC to purchase Lot 601 and Lot 602 just down the road in Saleufi, where the Maliu Mai used to be located. Although the cabinet approved ACC to purchase the Saleufi land from the Frost Tuigamala family for $3.3 million, it was later withdrawn after the owners decided to sell it to another local business.

Freehold land accounts for about 12 per cent of Samoa's land and is primarily concentrated in Apia and its surrounding areas. The rule of supply and demand here dictates increasing prices for freehold properties, and anyone who offers the most lucrative price gets the cake. The danger with this is the exploitation of real estate prices. This is also the use of public funds that could be used elsewhere, such as improving the health and education sectors.

It is something that has been seen in other Pacific island nations. Foreign interest in home and land ownership in certain parts of Auckland in New Zealand, in the late 1990s, led to a surge in the price of property around certain neighbourhoods. Similarly, in Suva, Fiji, foreigners offered twice the valuation of homes. This propelled real estate prices and often making it hard for locals to purchase properties.

The effects of this can be seen in the local market. Land and residential property prices have risen exponentially. Empty quarter-acre properties are fetching prices of close to a million tala, depending on location. This has caused rental property prices to increase, making housing unaffordable for many. This has led to families settling for substandard housing. This will also cause an increase in informal and illegal settlements where people could start squatting, creating more problems.

The simple solution to protecting freehold properties and having them mostly locally owned is by changing the law. Non-residents should be unable to purchase freehold or state lease land for residential purposes within certain boundaries. Although they could purchase apartments in a strata development or an integrated tourism project.

In addition, if vacant land is purchased or currently owned by a non-resident anywhere, the non-resident must build a substantial residential dwelling to a value of $500,000 or more within five years of purchase.

For people of this nation, the land is identity. People are willing to kill over land, and many criminal cases before the courts are because of land disputes. The Afeaga, Leauvaa and Saleimoa fiasco is enough to remind us how deep land issues can become.

If a change in law is required to protect lands, then that is the way we should be heading. This is also a reminder to the fractured government of how things that require legal amendments are being pushed back. The government needs to get its act together.

There is also a serious need to look at how land prices are being exploited. There should be more scrutiny on overseas interest in local land. A lot needs to be done, and the to-do list keeps getting longer.