Work to rebuild Samoa’s economy, following its dismantling by the COVID-19 pandemic, began 28 days ago when the country’s international borders reopened after two and a half years.

Tourism, prior to the country’s 2019/2020 measles epidemic and the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, was the country’s top foreign exchange earner and accounted for over 20 per cent of Samoa’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Therefore, the push by the local authorities for the reopening of the borders to enable the return of commercial flights, is totally understandable.

But does Samoa have a smart and competent workforce to drive the various sectors in our economy through a strong recovery post-COVID-19, in order to get this country back on track to a full recovery?

Equally important is the question of whether Samoa’s tourism sector has enough employee capacity at the hotels, resorts and the beach fales to enable the country’s tourism operators to get back on their feet after a calamitous two and a half years?

Now those are million dollar questions that the Government and its relevant Ministries and agencies, such as the Ministry of Commerce Industry and Labour and the Samoa Bureau of Statistics as well as private sector partners have to answer.

And the challenges for Samoa don’t seem to get any easier after a recent study, whose details were published in an article (Study ranks Samoa top for ‘brain drain’) in the Friday 26 August 2022 edition of the Samoa Observer, concluded that Samoa is ranked first on its “human flight and brain drain” global index.

According to the latest figures released by the business and economics website TheGlobalEconomy.com, Samoa has been ranked first out of 177 countries in the world with the most number of skilled people migrating out of the country. 

Samoa received a ten (7) on the list of 177 countries compiled by research site TheGlobalEconomy.com. The index ranks countries based on data collected between 2007 and 2022, with Australia being the least country in the world affected by brain drain, receiving the lowest score of 0.4.  

Global Economy said it arrived at its index indicator for each country by examining available data between 2007 and 2022 from a wide range of sources, including national authorities, the World Bank, United Nations (UN), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

The average for 2022 based on 177 countries was 5.21 index points. The highest value was Samoa: 10 index points and the lowest value was Australia: 0.4 index points.

The irony behind the findings of this study is that we are all too familiar with the story and how true it is. We all know of close or extended family members or friends who moved abroad, either because they were underpaid, or could not find a job that better suited their qualifications.

And for an island economy with a small manufacturing base and export market, we lack enough jobs to go around to get more people employed, so it is a given that a friend or a family member with a university degree is more likely to apply for New Zealand’s Samoa Quota Resident Visa to leave the country due to the plethora of employment opportunities available in Aotearoa.

So where does that leave the country and the Government in its bid to retain the best of Samoa in terms of human resource, if the floodgates continue to stay open?

We have questions about the data that TheGlobalEconomy.com used for its study in order for Samoa to get that top ranking. But it is an issue that the Government should address as debate continues on public forums on the long-term impact of the Australia and New Zealand seasonal workers scheme with a Government initiated Interagency review currently underway.

In March this year Samoa’s two largest retail and wholesale outlets, Ah Liki and Frankie, revealed “significant” losses of their employees to the seasonal work programme. In August last year it was reported that applications by Samoans for the New Zealand-supported recognised seasonal employer (R.S.E.) scheme went over 10,000.

Any attempts by the Government to kick off the country’s post-COVID-19 recovery – without addressing the factors contributing to a steady flow of “brain drain” as Samoa’s highly educated and skilled personnel continue to depart our shores – does not augur well for this nation’s future wellbeing and prosperity.