Stimulating economic growth

Dear Editor

Re: P.M. hails Airport’s first phase

I don’t understand this argument that “future generations” will be paying the debt.

Who benefits from this airport (and other projects)? It is the current and future generations! So I have no problem with future generations paying through their taxes as well as the current generations.

Take the port at Matautu for example. It was built in 1965. I don’t know if there was a loan for that or not, but if there was and the people in the 1990s were still paying it off through their taxes, then so be it. Without that port, there would have been very limited trade in imports and exports out of the country. That trade has benefited the growth of businesses in Samoa who have employed people and have increased the stock of consumables to the people of Samoa. Maybe a lot of the food that has come in has not been healthy but that is an entirely different argument.

So it is with the Faleolo expansion. The expanded airport facilitates more flights into the country. That means more tourists and visitors flying into Samoa which means more hotels and beach fales to cater for them. This results in more rental car companies and more food to service these hotels and a lot of that food will need to come (although at present it doesn’t) from the farmers of Samoa.

Therefore, infrastructure like this expanded airport facilitates and stimulates economic growth. 

This is the benefit that future generations will be reaping long after Tuilaepa, Galu and Peter Suaniu are buried in the ground.

 

PS Jeffery

Samoa Observer

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