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Year-long celebration planned for Samoa’s 60th Independence Anniversary

Samoa PM Fiame Naomi Mata'afa
Source: RNZ Pacific

Apia, SAMOA — Samoa will have a year-long celebration for its 60th Independence anniversary starting June 1.

A submission from the Independence Organizing Committee was approved by Cabinet.

The official celebrations will start with local thanksgiving services with the main celebrations to be held in September to coincide with the Teuila Festival, which has been held virtually for the last two years because of the pandemic.

Cabinet has agreed to allocate $300,000 tala under the current financial budget 2021-22 with a further allocation of $1 million tala under the 2022-23 budget for the programmes planned for September.

Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa announced on Monday that international borders will open in August this year allowing Samoans overseas to travel to Samoa under less stringent coronavirus border controls.

She announced that passengers testing negative upon arrival will be allowed to isolate with families and those testing positive would be quarantined for seven days.

"We have to start thinking and planning and also there are a lot of requests from our people abroad who want to come for the 60th independence celebration," she said earlier this year.