Apia, SAMOA — American Samoa Power Authority head Utu Abe Malae agrees that American Samoa should be a member of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) but, “if the U.S asks us to be part of the US Delegation, then that is the way to go.”

In an interview with Samoa News, Utu was asked for his reflections on the conference and he pointed out with excitement that Samoa made a very favorable impression on the world at this "exceptionally well organized conference."

“In particular, the young people who performed at the Sunday evening opening of the conference were the talk of the town."

Utu noted, "Transportation was excellent — perhaps we can buy four or five air conditioned buses for American Samoa for when we host regional conferences.”

Asked what he will take away from the SIDS conference, Utu said government should engage in joint ventures with private companies to solve island problems.

”Moreover, government must seek opinions from civil society, women, youth, businesses — but the government leaders are still responsible for making the (informed) decisions.”

“If you want your island economy to advance, then one of the tools to use is to benchmark against world (not just regional) standards in every sector.

“Don't just be self-congratulatory when you think you have done a good job — compare it to standards to prove if it is really good or not,” he said.

Another tool is organizational in nature. “Samoa shortens the honorifics including the invocation without insulting cultural sensibilities.”

Utu also pointed out “the master of ceremony controls the flow of the events and sticks to the program."

“Do the many small to medium size things that make up an action plan. Let the leaders and statesmen deliver high level speeches about general topics such as renewable energy, ocean acidification, climate change, gender gap, cultural heritage.”

Utu said at the end of the day the rest of the people must make things happen.

”The biogas project must produce gas because workers know what they are doing; women owned businesses are successful because of attention to detail; professionally prepared public health video programs are aired relentlessly; effective laws are passed to protect the cultural heritage of the island country, etc.”

Asked as to what stood out in the SIDS conference for the benefit of ASPA, Utu responded that renewable energy (RE) for small islands is best financed through outright grants in order to overcome the high initial cost, and then savings should be passed on immediately to customers.

“The UAE (United Arab Emirates) for example converted their loan portfolio to the Pacific islands to outright grants. As a result, Samoa was able to finance a wind turbine project that was commissioned in August 2014.

”Our islands are small and a little help goes a long way,” he stated.