Samoans will still have to pay
Dear Editor,
Re: Aid galore in Samoa
It is too easy for the authorities to call their increasing debt to China “Aid”, but when they get called out on this, they then call it “Concessionary Loans”, but in fact the concessions are:
1. No payments for the first 5 years of a 20 year loan, all the while accumulating interest and
2. Relatively low interest rate of 3%.
Please own up to the fact that all this Aid and Concessional loans are nothing more that Loans that have never been forgiven by the Chinese EXIMBANK in the many third world countries where they now control ports, airports, natural resources and the government through this crippling debt.
Samoa’s current debt levels are sustainable, so long as we can cash in on this infrastructure, creating industries that employ Samoans and produce products and services that bring much needed export revenue into the Samoan economy.
It has gone all quiet now, but we were being told how the Tui Cable would enable all these benefits to flow to Samoans, yet we haven’t even seen any sort of significant drop in internet access costs since it went live.
T$20 per GB is still way too high for the average Samoan to enjoy all but a small amount of what the internet can deliver.
Bonus plans that give double or triple the data till midnight don’t cut it either.
K.H.