POLITICAL REVIEW • POLYNESIA

Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events, I July I989 to 30 June I990

Reviews ofTonga, , and Wallis excise tax. In October 1989 Governor and Futuna are not included in this Coleman introduced a Financial issue because of unforeseen circum­ Recovery Plan, which included a list of stances. various causes of the $18-million-dollar deficit, a projected deficit summary, AMERICAN and proposed solutions to the problem. The devastation wrought by Cyclone He continued to claim that the pre­ Ofa was the most dramatic event of vious Lutali administration was re­ 1989-9°. This was the first hurricane sponsible for the financial dilemma, to affect the entire Samoan archipelago and emphasized the importance of since 1966. It followed only three years cooperation from the legislature (fona) after Cyclone Tusi, which caused in order to avert a reduction in govern­ extensive damage in the Manu'a ment employees' working hours and Islands. Ofa swept through the layoffs. Annual step increments for fis­ during the first week ofFebruary 1990 cal year 1990 had already been frozen, leaving millions of dollars in damage to and it soon became apparent that the property, businesses, and government administration was prepared to services. The Territorial Emergency squeeze the workforce further. On 6 Management Coordinating Office December 1989 the governor immediately began to survey the extent announced that, unless thefana re­ of damage, and within days President pealed the 2 percent sales tax and Bush declared the territory a disaster passed the proposed 3 percent excise area. Fortunately, no lives were lost tax, government employees' working during the hurricane. hours would be reduced to thirty-five Relief from off-island was immedi­ per week. ate and well coordinated. The Federal The fano had already acted on sev­ Emergency Management Agency eral of the administration's proposed began accepting claims on 16 February, revenue-raising measures during the and grants were made available to fam­ November special session called by ilies that did not qualify for loans. The Governor Coleman. Taxes on tobacco, US Navy sent thirty Seabees to assist alcohol, poker machines, and firearms the Power Authority products were raised, but there was no to restore electricity to outlying vil­ movement on the excise tax issue. lages. While the governor's criticism of the Prior to the hurricane, the territory's fona was quite open, he remained financial crisis had dominated local silent when it became known that the political affairs, and there was a con­ director of human resources had ig­ tinuing executive-legislative stalemate nored a general directive and author­ over the governor's proposed 3 percent ized more than thirty thousand dollars THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC· SPRING 1991

worth of salary increases for several and customs offices. Nor has the employees in his department. administration taken appropriate There was strong opposition to the action to reduce government expendi­ thirty-five-hour work week when it tures, especially by cutting back on went into effect on 15 January, espe­ unnecessary hirings and promotions. cially among the public school teach­ Although more than 80 percent of the ers. The teachers were upset that the annual budget is spent on wages and governor's order did not affect employ­ salaries, leaders have failed to recog­ ees who were considered to be provid­ nize that increasing taxes and reducing ing "essential services." The American working hours delay rather than solve Samoa Education Association and the deficit problems. Concerned Parents of American Samoa The race for the territory's seat in organized a series ofmeetings at which the US House of Representatives was various courses of action, including a beginning to take shape at the end of teachers' walkout, were discussed. A the period under review. Two new can­ petition was drawn up and circulated didates, Moaali'itele Tu'ufuli, former publicly while representatives tried to commissioner of public safety, and get legislators to support/ono action to Afoa Moega Lutu, former assistant restore normal working hours. There attorney general, issued the challenge was widespread agreement among the to incumbent Faleomavaega Eni public that workers were being penal­ Hunkin. Congressman Hunkin main­ ized for a financial crisis caused by cor­ tained a sound measure of popularity ruption in government. both within the territory and with con­ On 23 February 1990, in the wake of stituents in Hawai'i and on the US , Governor Coleman mainland, and will be counting on this announced that the forty-hour work support for reelection in November week would be restored, and other 199°· pronouncements concerning the finan­ BILL LEGALLEY cial crisis mysteriously went with the wind. The 3 percent excise tax had finally died in the Senate in the week prior to the hurricane. At the end of the period under review, American Editors' note: The 1988-89 review of Samoans were waiting for further reve­ the Cook Islands published in Volume lations regarding the effectiveness of 2(1) of the journal stated on page 165 the Financial Recovery Plan and the that the Cook Islands Party "won 13 of status ofthe government deficit. the 24 seats" in parliament. In fact, it The present Coleman administra­ won 12 seats. We would like to apolo­ tion, like all its locally elected predeces­ gize to the authors of the review for sors since 1977, has not demonstrated this error, and for any embarrassment prudent financial management. For it may have caused them. example, the 1989 inspector general's audit attributed annual losses of $2 It was generally a good year for the million to mismanagement in the tax government, but not for the opposi-