A positive development for Samoa

Dear Editor

The Prime Minister’s push for hybrid vehicles is a very positive push not only for the environment but more so for the wallet of the nation. 

It reduces the cost of importing fuel, and anything that helps reduce the strain on foreign currency spending, I need to support.

 I don’t think it’s that expensive. I don’t know the actual cost of a brand new Prius but I don’t believe it’s that expensive. 

The government needs to go further in training workshops to train our engineers in the maintenance side of things and also on tax incentives ie import duty, licensing cost etc. 

I’m not so sure which department of our government deals with the motor vehicle engineering industry or whether we have such a thing as an Association of Automotive engineers but this is an area that is moving at a very fast pace and we really need to be up to speed with it when it does hit our shores. I liked the forward push towards that thinking. 

We should invest as early as we can in the infrastructure and avoid loses in playing catch-up. 

The technology push towards hybrid vehicles is evolving at a tremendous pace overseas in more robust economies as we’ve seen in the hand phone industries. 

I need for the government to really take the leadership roll here ie in a different tariff code for these vehicles and also and in training our local resources in the area of maintenance which is a big deterrent factor in people buying these vehicles. I really hope we follow through with it and not just an empty press conference statement.

 

ASR

Samoa Observer

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