So much praise was expressed by delegates to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held here last month for Prime Minister Fiame’s skilful leading of proceedings and her government’s organisation of the event.

Where most of the praise should go is to our people who not only answered the Government call to decorate their villages and show their hospitable side by welcoming the 56 heads of government and their entourage, some of whom did not know where Samoa was before they arrived.

Driving to the airport and around Upolu at times, three months before CHOGM, I saw groups of people who were mostly women and young people in some of our villages, working on the side of the road even at dusk weeding, clearing away the rubbish and beautifying their village. Yes, they understood the significance of foreign visitors taking back with them memorable experiences of our cultural values, clean and green environment and how we as a people live as one family. It must have influenced the delegates who during the various forum meetings often called for the Commonwealth to work as one family.

Former Commonwealth Secretary-General Ms Patricia Scotland was so moved she’s reported by the Samoa Observer (26/10/2024) as saying “I fell in love with people of your country, your beautiful culture and your beautiful singing.” Further, she said she was amazed to see our people working as one family to ensure CHOGM’s success. When she later spoke about the Commonwealth becoming a powerful economic trading bloc raking in two trillion dollars in 2030, she said, “You’ll see our member states working as a family because we care about each other.” Speakers at other forum meetings, as reported by the print media, echoed the same.

I look forward to the day when Australia and New Zealand show real commitment to this whole Commonwealth theme of working as a family allowing more exports from the Pacific Islands into their countries and more importantly, granting us visa-free travel status, as they do to some Commonwealth members like Malaysia and Malta. That’s when I believe that the Commonwealth is working collaboratively and marching in ‘solidarity’ as ‘a family’.

Our people’s hospitality could not be questioned. Visitors were so overwhelmed. Some of them when they left, had even made a tidy profit from the sale of their handicrafts and fashion-designed goods from stalls they were invited to set up at the TATTE Building, like the Tongans did, while we set up ours at out-of-town sites like Maluafou where no one went.

What is little known, however, is how we got to host the CHOGM for 2024.

At the CHOGM meeting in London in 2018 after Rwanda defeated Fiji’s bid to host the 2022 CHOGM – there was a bloc-voting by the African delegates to award that to Rwanda despite Fiji’s emotional plea they wanted it as part of the celebration of their 50th anniversary of independence. Immediately afterwards, Chairperson and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Mrs Theresa May offered Fiji the 2024 CHOGM. That was supported by most members. Mrs May somehow ignored the fact that Samoa’s expressed intention of hosting CHOGM in 2024 made at the Malta meeting in 2015 was already on record. After several of the delegates spoke in support of Mrs May’s decision, Samoa’s then Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, intervened reminding Mrs May of her need as Chair to follow proper procedures by referring to the decision made in Malta.

He also told the delegates that Samoa will have no problem hosting CHOGM in 2024 by reminding delegates of the successful hosting by Samoa of the United Nations’ Third International Conference on Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) in September 2014 which was much bigger and was attended by more than 4,500 officials from UN members countries and organisations.

Fiji’s then Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama sensing that most members, some of whom attended SIDS, would support Samoa, withdrew his bid.

So, praise must also go to former Prime Minister Tuila’epa for, without him, there would not have been any CHOGM here.

For Prime Minister Fiamē, CHOGM’s success is a huge positive that will show up when historians and researchers write about her leadership in the future.

Now that CHOGM is over and some delegates including King Charles III got handed matai titles like they hand out candies on Air New Zealand flights, all we do now is stay quiet like well-trained you-know-what and continue to survive under the FAST Government Choke ‘Em policy.

Travel by Ministers and their entourage continues at huge costs to taxpayers. Selling off government assets by ministers like the Togitogina farmland – have we received any money for it yet? If we did where have they gone? – without Cabinet approval. Building a $25m. regional terminal so that the Minister of Works, Transport and Infrastructure can just fly in empty planes for display at huge costs to the country without proper approval by recognised aviation authorities and wasting millions of dollars in districts that never really benefitted those who need financial assistance most.

Worst still, the cost of living continues to skyrocket while our people suffer and we’re still blaming the Covid, the war in Ukraine and other hot spots. And our Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour is doing nothing.