For the second year running, education in Samoa has been impacted, first by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and now by the power blackouts.

During the CHOGM year, the curriculum was rushed through and teachers were called out of school to be part of the various CHOGM logistics groups. This was soon after the pandemic had taken its effect on education. The justification from the government, especially the ministry responsible was that everything was happening according to plan despite the teacher shortage.

In the last few weeks, schools have been closing early, not enough hours have been given to students and on top of that when students go home, they do not have electricity to study at night or complete their homework.

A school teacher said she could no longer afford to take her students’ work to mark at home because of the power outage in the area she was living in. This is true for many other teachers and for some the power outage is just an excuse not to put in the extra effort needed.

The agreed facts are that the national power system cannot support the power demand in Upolu. We are also in agreement that the delay in maintenance and investment has led to a chain reaction of mechanical issues that could have been easily avoided. There is also a failure to properly plan for the increased demand that the future will bring.

Given that we know all this, what are we doing about it? This is the time district councils need to step up. They do not need to make hundreds of thousands of talas of investment into big generators to power villages, but ensure that important locations like schools have the power supply. The district councils can invest in that much because we have seen over the last four years, that very little has been done to support education, the schools and the students need that.

It will also be very concerning if churches start fundraising to buy generators to power up church activity, God will listen to prayers even without electricity. If the church decides to fundraise for a generator then it should be for use of a nearby school as well.

This is also the right time for district councils to look into solar energy that could power at least 100 homes in a village. All that is needed is an area to set up for the solar catchment, a portion to set up the batteries and underground cabling to houses. The Electric Power Corporation can be given control of the system and ensure that homes and schools connected to the system pay half of the usual rate. If such systems are set up in most villages across the nation, imagine the reduction of the demand on the current grid.

The question is what has been holding villages and the EPC back from indulging in such micro-projects that will have a combined positive effect on the national grid. It comes to mind that from such initiatives the only people who will benefit are the common people. Funding for such projects is readily available through the Green Climate Fund and other similar systems. There is no profit to be made in terms of monetary return but there is return in terms of the use of renewable energy and benefit to the people. A minimal fee can be charged for the use of such energy for maintenance.

Just because a corporate entity is not making a profit from such a venture, we do not see it taking off. People are asking if the government has lost sight of why they are there, these are the types of indecision that prove to the many that there is a need for a change. A political cartoonist suggested if the leaders cannot change to get renewable energy then it is time to renew the leaders.