The government's gesture to replace electrical appliances damaged by power outages is noble.  However, it is a complex situation open to exploitation, has many loopholes and could cause a serious backlog.

The current status of this assistance according to the National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC) Controller Lealaisalanoa Frances Brown-Reupena is that government entities are discussing a scheme to lessen the burden on replacements for damaged electrical equipment caused by the power outage.

The government has said those affected can apply for assistance and will have to provide paperwork to assist NEOC and government entities in screening the applications. This is going to be very tough. The first question is where do people apply, is it online and are there forms available for people who cannot make online applications?

No direction has been given on how people will go about applying. All that has been stated is what was said above. It is still very vague on how this assistance is supposed to work. It was said that the government is working with development partners to arrange finances for this assistance. Despite the State of Emergency being called, the government knows that assistance from development partners takes time.

This also questions the timeline for the assistance. Will assistance only be given within 30 days of the SOE? We are almost two weeks into the SOE and time is running out if the timeline to seek such assistance is only 30 days. This may not be enough time.

How is the vetting process going to work and will there be an expert on the panel to verify if the claims are genuine? The assistance will be open to exploitation. Past scenarios have taught us well. There will be people turning up from every corner of the country with some damaged appliance seeking a replacement. For some, this would be an ideal opportunity to get a new appliance at no cost.

Will forensic experts be dealing with such claims just as insurance companies have? We know there is no local expertise available. Does this mean that the government will incur extra costs to get people from abroad to carry out this task? How else can the defects in appliances be verified? Word of mouth and some filled forms do not suffice for this case.

Lealaisalanoa pointed out that the Electric Power Corporation has advised that not all areas in Upolu were affected by the power outages. She is not entirely accurate when stating this. Since February, there have been three blackouts in Upolu when the national power grid collapsed. The government also has to consider that it is not only power outages that damage electrical appliances and electronics, it also the power surges.

The Electric Power Corporation and many other power companies would tell you that fluctuations in power supply are common even in developed nations. How do we determine whether the items were damaged by outages and not surges?

The issue is a complex one and there may not be enough time to do it properly. It is easy to talk about the issue but to actually implement it, will be another thing. All the loopholes have to be considered. The assistance has to be done in a manner that is not exploitable.

Similarly, under SOE orders, the tax exemption on the importation of generators and other electricity-related items was announced. While the announcement was done on 31 March, to date, people are unable to access this assistance. Most do not know how to go about doing this and in almost all other cases, the government departments said there were no cabinet directives given to this effect. Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa before making the announcement should have ensured that all ministries involved were notified and the process could come into effect at the earliest. It should never be the case where the announcement is made and then people are waiting because the ministries have not received any instructions.

There are more questions than answers about government assistance during the State of Emergency.