The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) has added $68 million more to their already $110 million per year election promise. This time, it is an increase in pension payments, the second part of their Poverty Alleviation Project.

When asked where the money for the two projects is coming from, the HRPP leader, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, stated that it will be allocated from the national budget. Yes, the national budget is worth $1.2 billion, but is the money already allocated for the various ministries and ongoing projects? Does it mean that if HRPP comes to power, they will look at slashing other projects? It is clear that if HRPP gets back into power, it will be the end of the district grants, so that is $51 million of the $178 million for the two projects taken care of. Where does the balance come from?

Compared to the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), the Pension Ensuring Lasting Empowerment Golden Age (PELEGA) sounds more feasible and something that was needed. The pension-focused policy promises substantial increases to monthly pensions for elderly citizens, with tiered support based on age brackets. There is a need to increase the pension payouts to the elderly to have them on par with the cost of living. The party has pledged to implement PELEGA within the first 100 days of being elected to government.

COLA, on the other hand, sounds problematic and allows people who are already able to sustain a well-off lifestyle to dip into the cookie jar. It is not a fair system where the wealthy also get a piece of the welfare pie. Instead, a system that looks at a family’s combined household income should be used to implement welfare payments. That would be much fairer. The welfare benefit should be based on a formula that uses the household income and not just a handout across the board.

There is a bigger problem attached to COLA. There will be people attempting to have more children to increase the amount of the handout they receive. The large number of children in some families is already an issue, especially those who have no understanding of family planning or have no access to contraceptives.

The COLA plan is an expensive illusion, a wasteful one-size-fits-all approach that offers no lasting solution to the nation’s economic pressures. It’s the kind of policy we’ve seen fail elsewhere, short-term political thinking with no regard for long-term stability. A long-term solution is needed. The HRPP is the first to come out with its election promises. Other parties are planning their announcement either in the coming week or after that.

From observation, it is safe to say most parties would be offering similar promises that will sound good to the pockets. We will hear more election promises that would put more money into the hands of the voters. It would be interesting to see which of the political parties would address the real issues that are impacting us.

Voters should be able to demand from political parties the changes they want to see and dictate how they feel money should be spent. Free and accessible education, ample teachers, nurses, doctors, better health facilities, better roads, improved power grid, cleaner water in taps, social welfare benefits that help the marginalised, pay increment for police officers, overseas medical care, better laws that address poverty, violence, and sexual abuse, meth, gangs and guns and above all a change that would allow transparency and accountability to be shown, that is what the public need to demand for.

The carrots will be dangled, and baited promises will be made by conniving politicians who just want a ticket into the parliament because, as we have seen previously, once people are in the House, most people act for themselves. Voters need to arm themselves with information and question the candidates about the seriousness of their promises.

Failure to deliver on an election promise is nothing but a blatant lie, told to deceive voters.