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Governor Lolo: To boost local economy, gov’t must create jobs

[SN file photo]
Private sector is not the backbone of today’s local economy — canneries & ASG are
fili@samoanews.com

Although the backbone of the local economy relies on the private sector, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga says that is not seen today, in the Territory, and called on his cabinet members to come up with new ideas to boost the economy — create jobs.

Lolo was responding to Commerce Department acting Director Keniseli Lafaele’s presentation during last Friday’s cabinet meeting, on economic development in the Territory, in which the DOC acting director noted that American Samoa’s economy has continued to rely on two pillars — the canneries and the American Samoa Government.

Lafaele’s presentation was similar to that presented to the Chamber of Commerce last week Wednesday, on the Administration’s economic development plans in the next four years. The plans include tourism, fishery as well as information and information technology industry.

In response to the presentation, Lolo told cabinet members, “We need to develop our economy in a way that we can rely on something, going forward.

“Our private sector, cannot produce the jobs that our people need and that’s why we — Lemanu and I — will continue to find ways to employ our people,” Lolo declared. “Giving our people jobs, means giving our people money so our businesses can flourish and grow.”

Over the years there have been much public criticism including those from lawmakers as well as the private sector that the government is employing too many people. Responding to that type of thinking, Lolo told cabinet members, “That’s a fact of life. One of our commitments is to find ways to get jobs for our people.”

He said, “We rely on the private sector as the backbone of our economy, but today, we haven’t seen that. Aside from the canneries, there’s no one business in American Samoa who can employ 200 or 300 people.

“And that’s why it’s very critical that we have to find ways to improve this economy, otherwise its hard,” he told cabinet members. “So let’s come out with new ideas, think outside of the box, and bring in some new ideas so we can at least put something together for our people.”

In a report released last December on the minimum wage for American Samoa, the US Government Accountability Office said the government sector and the tuna canning industry have historically employed the largest numbers of workers in American Samoa.

 In 2014, the government sector employed about 42 percent of the workforce in American Samoa, and the canneries employed about 14 percent.

StarKist Co., officials told reporters last Friday that StarKist Samoa’s workforce at this time is about 2,100 and they have reached the max and therefore cannot hire any more, including the many applicants from the now closed Samoa Tuna Processors cannery. (See yesterday’s edition for details)

In comparison, the ASG’s work force is just over 4,000.