P.M. counters academic

The Office of the Press Secretariat issued a statement from Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, yesterday.

It was in response to comments made by Samoan academic, Dr. Iati Iati. Last week, Dr. Iati urged Pacific governments to slow down the pace of development, particularly land reforms, to prevent the alienation of customary land.

A lecturer in politics at the University of Otago, Dr. Iati said the World Bank and Asian Development Bank are pushing a concerted effort to free up land for investment. Dr. Iati said there needs to be more consultation with landowners before governments lease land to foreign investors.

But Tuilaepa said Dr. Iati’s comments are far “removed from reality.”

This is what he said in verbatim:

Recent comments made by Otago University’s Dr Iati Iati that Pacific Island countries should slow down on development has been described as ‘far removed from the reality in Paradise’.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi this week was asked for a comment, and this is what he had to say;

“Those comments sound very nice when sitting in an office at a university at the ice-covered bottom of New Zealand’s South Island in winter."

“And it would be nicer if Pacific Island populations stayed the same, year-in yearout.

The reality is, our populations are always growing on our small reefy islands which are getting smaller all the time."

“We need to build schools to educate the growing number of our children, build hospitals to treat the growing number of sick people from eating Kiwi mutton and their flaps, build roads to drive right-hand-driven cars, build wharves to accommodate ships and build airports to accommodate airplane traffic which bring home for Christmas thousands of other Iati Iatis from overseas to meet new-born Iati Iatis since the last family reunion eleven months before. So we need to develop, develop and keep on developing till Kingdom come."

“Perhaps it would be good for this Dr Iati to come live in Samoa for a while. Barbecue some bananas, participate in the church, the village fono and contribute to family faalavelave.

Yes, mountains of faalavelaves which make one cherish our most-beloved customs and traditions of sharing where what is yours belongs to everybody else."

“Perhaps then he will truly understand why we need to develop and keep on developing till we drop here in Samoa."

“There are 1,100 Samoans who migrate to New Zealand every year.

“I’m sure they all crave to sit in a nice cosy office at a famous university like Dr Iati, eat steak and legs, and write about what they think is in the best interests of Pacific Island economies to cater for those who choose to stay home and enjoy the sun and the coconuts.”