Samoa

Samoa’s Faleolo Hospital expansion designed to enhance healthcare services

A statement issued by the government said “It signifies another milestone in the U.S. – Samoa as the United States Government officially handed over the newly built Faleolo Hospital Expansion Wing to the Samoan government.”

“The U.S. funded project commenced in 2022, and underlines the strong partnership between the two nations and reaffirmation of the commitment to improving healthcare infrastructure in Samoa.”

Samoa sends a delegation to the WIPO 64th Assemblies in Geneva

Samoa’s delegation was led by Minister of Commerce Industry and Labour, Afioga Leatinu’u Wayne So’oialo, the Registrar, Afioga Pulotu Lyndon Chu Ling and officers from the Registry, and accompanied by Afioga Toleafoa Nella Pepe Tavita Levy, the Permanent Representative and Ambassador for Samoa to the UN and other International Organisations, and Mr. Maselino Enoka of Samoa’s Permanent Mission in Geneva.

Fiji’s Young Kulas qualify for OFC U19 Women’s Championship final after beating Samoa

Sonia Alfred and Timaima Ana scored a goal each for the Young Kulas in the first half while Priya Singh scored the last goal.

The Young Kulas will take on New Zealand at 7pm Saturday.

New Zealand thrashed Cook Islands 5-0 in their semi final.

The winner of the tournament qualifies for the FIFA Women’s U20 World Cup.

     

Samoa’s Ministry of Commerce inundated with price grievances

The Ministry has warned the business community to refrain from price hiking, especially on goods that are scarce.

The Samoa Observer understands some retailers increased the price of sugar in parts of Samoa due to the shortage of the commodity.

     

UN explores use of electric transport in Samoa

The project, funded by Japan, began in June with a visit from renewable energy experts of the UN Information and Technology Management Department.

This team of experts provides technical support for electric vehicles, EV charging infrastructure, and outboard motors.

The visit looked into the EV fleet and charging infrastructure the Electric Power Corporation deployed; and discussed connecting additional charging stations to the power grid.

Meanwhile, Japan has donated small trucks to help Samoa's recycling programme.

Petrol prices drop in Samoa

Minister of Finance, Mulipola Anarosa Ale Molio’o, has advised that the following changes in the Retail Petroleum Products prices will apply from July 1, 2023.

“All products recorded prices decreases by 23.9 sene per litre from $3.40 to $3.16 per litre, Diesel will decrease by 19.3 sene per litre from $3.35 to $3.16 per litre and Kerosene will decrease by 19.4 sene per litre from $2.98 to $2.79 per litre.”

Samoan village council will crack down hard on drug users

The village council of Satapuala has revised its village bylaws to enable it to hand down tougher penalties to anyone found guilty of drug possesion or peddling.

Anyone found guilty will be fined $10,000 tala and if they fail to pay the fine by 4pm the next day, they are to be banished from Satapuala.

The council will also report them to police.

Village mayor Tiumalu Me'i Elia told the Samoa Observer one family was slapped with a $10,000 tala fine last year after a police raid netted a large number of marijuana plants from a plantation.

Samoa and Fiji reach semi-finals of OFC U-19 Women’s Championship

New Zealand’s quarter-final kicks off at 3pm, and a win will see coach Leon Birnie’s team face either Cook Islands or Vanuatu in Wednesday’s semi-final.

At stake is an automatic qualification to the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, a berth that awaits the winner of the OFC tournament being held in Fiji.

On Saturday, Samoa and Fiji won tightly-contested quarter-finals, with Samoa needing a penalty shootout to get past Tahiti.

     

Samoa’s Salua Primary School opens newly reconstructed building

A statement issued by the Japanese Embassy said “The project was largely funded with a grant of $USD 197,313 (approximately $SAT 522,000) through Japan’s Grass-Roots Human Security Projects (GGP).”

“The new Salua Primary School stands as a testament to Japan’s dedication to supporting human security and fostering sustainable development around the world. Through its GGP, the Government of Japan aims to uplift local communities including remote islands and create positive impacts on the lives of people, particularly children at the grass-roots level.”

Samoa records continued increase in visitor arrivals

In its latest report released this week, visitor arrivals rose by 13 percent for May.

That month recorded just over 15,300 arrivals, compared to April's 13,271.

In 2019, Samoa recorded more than 173,000 visitor arrivals, the highest over the past decade.