The clock is ticking as Samoa counts down to its hosting of the 27th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Apia in 2024.

And as the saying goes, time waits for no man, including many of us who reside in this part of the world.

An article (Officials visit to check on Samoa’s CHOGM Preparations) in the Thursday 10 November edition of the Samoa Observer confirms how fast things are moving at the Commonwealth Secretariat.

A team from London comprising Claire Wolstenholme and Chantal Sciberras visited Samoa from 17-21 October to check on the country’s preparations for the week-long Commonwealth leaders’ conference.

They met with the Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as well as members of the Samoa Government’s National Taskforce that is overseeing the preparations for the global summit, according to the Press Secretariat.

They also visited several venue and accommodation options, and discussed security, accreditation, transport, protocol and several operational matters related to the meeting.

The mission last month is the first of several planned by the Commonwealth Secretariat and other countries, as Samoa prepares to host the first Pacific SIDS gathering of the Commonwealth family.

Samoas’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (M.F.A.T.) will lead the taskforce that will liaise closely with the Commonwealth Secretariat on all the preparations. The decisions on the dates and venue for the Samoa CHOGM 2024 will be finalised before the end of this year, according to the article.

The last CHOGM was convened four months ago in Kigali, Rwanda that Prime Minister Fiame attended, her attendance also marking her first as the head of the Samoa Government.

While we are sure other Commonwealth nations that played host to CHOGM in previous years were on the radar in the lead-up to the conference, the next one in Apia has a lot of significance for various reasons.

The biggest one is that CHOGM 2024 is the first one in the post-Queen Elizabeth II era, which means King Charles III as the head of the Commonwealth will travel to Samoa in two years time to officially open the conference.

With the next CHOGM being his first as the British monarch, we don’t see him turning down the opportunity to visit the islands, especially when he and the Queen Consort are already confirmed to visit Australia in 2024 for the bicentenary celebrations of the New South Wales Legislative Council.

Representing the Queen at the CHOGM in Rwanda in June this year, King Charles had his first taste of the biannual gathering, which unites the heads of government from 54 nations with historical ties to the realm. 

Samoa will also become the first country in the Pacific (outside Australia and New Zealand) to host a CHOGM, which means a lot of responsibility has now been placed on the Samoa Government, to ensure the week-long conferences run smoothly and the comfort of its guests are assured.

To give you an idea of the magnitude of the event, at the 26th CHOGM in Rwanda a total of 26 meetings were held during the week, with 29 heads of government and over 6,000 delegates in attendance.

So do we have enough hotel rooms to cater for the CHOGM delegates who fly into Samoa for the conference in 2024? 

We ask this question being aware of the sale of the Orator Hotel, Manumea Hotel and Vaea Hotel which the Development Bank of Samoa (DBS) advertised last month and hopes to recoup SAT$16 million to cover the hotels’ outstanding debts with the bank. With about 20 months left before the delegates start travelling to Samoa, the Government as the owner of the DBS might want to begin discussions with the bank and the debtors on a temporary bed and lodging arrangement specifically to cater for the delegates coming in for CHOGM.

There is no doubt finalising accommodation for the delegates will be a top priority for the National Taskforce together with venue, security and accreditation.

At the bilateral level, we are sure Samoa’s long-term partners Australia and New Zealand would be more than happy to assist the country, especially from a security perspective and these could include elite training for members of Samoa’s Police Service.

Nonetheless, Samoa’s hosting of CHOGM in 2024 shouldn’t just be “Government-led” but rather also be “community-led” to really give the week-long event that island experience.

This international conference in two years time can be a success that we all can be proud of if everyone works together.