Regions and Countries

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p. 3 of 5 BACK | NEXT I. Country Strategy II. Current Development Trends and Issues III. Implementation of the Country Strategy and Program IV. Portfolio Management Issues V. Country Performance and Assistance Levels

Country Strategy and Program Update 2004-2006: Samoa

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III. Implementation of the Country Strategy and Program

A. Progress Toward a Poverty Partnership Agreement

11. Despite successful reform and resulting growth, and steady progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), much remains to be done to address the growing disparities and pockets of hardship in Samoa. ADB’s 2002 participatory poverty survey concluded that the most common aspirations of the disadvantaged include access to basic public services, education, and employment, which are components of the Government's development vision and strategy and have been singled out for major ADB assistance. The Government has formally committed to achieving the MDGs and recognizes in its SDS that doing so will require ensuring that all will benefit from development. Continued public investment is needed in basic services, education, health, and the environment. At the same time, the planned reforms to improve the productive and economic uses of customary land will be vital to reduce poverty. ADB’s program focus is directly linked with the Government’s efforts to achieve the MDGs.

12. Discussions on the proposed poverty partnership agreement are ongoing between the Government and ADB. The agreement is expected to be signed by end-2003.

B. Progress in the Country Strategy and Program Focus Areas

1. Private Sector Development

13. The continuous development of a healthy and competitive private sector has been a pillar of the Government’s development strategies over the past years. Macroeconomic stability, liberalized financial markets, public service reforms, and reduced government presence have significantly improved the private sector business environment. ADB’s private sector assessment for Samoa³ identifies key constraints to sustainable private sector growth and recommends solutions. Findings are in Appendix 3.

14. With ADB assistance, the Government has made good progress in improving micro- and small enterprises’ access to credit, business training, and advisory services. ADB has been helping the Government remove the legal impediments to the economic use of customary land, improve debt recovery mechanisms, and facilitate secured transactions.⁴ Considering the Government’s commitment to, and the momentum of, land-related reforms, ADB will dedicate significant assistance to this area.

15. The role of SOEs should be reviewed and their efficiency improved. Operations should be privatized or contracted out, management performance improved, and regulatory framework and processes enhanced. ADB’s TA has created substantial momentum within the Government, SOEs themselves, and the public to reform SOEs. Their accountability and performance should be enhanced, and ADB will continue to provide assistance in this area.

2. Good Governance

16. A 2002 governance assessment for Samoa noted a number of achievements in public service reforms, improved customs and tax administration and collection, and civil society participation in national economic development priorities and strategies. Deficiencies included inefficient legislative process, which taxes the absorptive capacity of senior public servants, and uneven progress of the reform agenda. In 2003, ADB will help implement the 2001 Public Finance Management Act to ensure that financial management reforms will reflect modern public finance practices. ADB will also support public service reforms while ensuring that the change process is well managed to minimize implementation risks due to inadequate skills, systems, and capacity. Samoa will participate in the implementation of regional technical assistance to prepare a Pacific governance strategy through a national workshop to discuss findings of the country governance assessment, and short-term assistance to develop a governance improvement action plan.

3. Basic Infrastructure

17. Rapid population growth and development have placed increasing stress on the environment and public health. Urban environmental management infrastructure, including water supply ⁵, sanitation, and wastewater and waste management infrastructure services, do not meet environment and public health protection standards. With ADB assistance,⁶ the Government has begun to focus on urban management planning. After many years of unsuccessful efforts to develop proposed large-scale infrastructure investments, the Government has embarked on a successful incremental approach with phased interventions within agreed-on technical, institutional, and financial absorptive capacities. Investments in physical infrastructure need to be accompanied by strong capacity-building and institutionstrengthening components. Private sector participation in public service provision should be strongly supported. This approach is being sustained by the ongoing and proposed ADB program. A draft water development plan is presented in Appendix 3.

4. Improvement of Education

18. The Government has maintained its strong commitment to education. The Government’s sector strategy attempts to solve limited access to senior secondary education, inequitable access to quality education, and poor education outcomes due to low-quality teaching, inadequate facilities and equipment, and outdated curricula. ADB is helping the Department of Education improve the access to, and quality of, primary and secondary education through rehabilitation, expansion, and upgrading of schools. Upgrading will enable the Government to implement a school zoning arrangement that will contribute to equitable access to education. Continued ADB lending and TA support for the sector has been allocated in the program. An education sector development plan is in Appendix 3.

C. Highlights in Coordination of External Funding and Partnership Arrangements

19. The Government has continued to optimize the use of development partners resources through the effective and efficient coordination of donor programs. Before the ongoing public service reforms, bilateral donors, as well as the United Nations agencies and European Union, used to be coordinated by the Department of Foreign Affairs, while the Ministry of Finance used to be the counterpart for World Bank and ADB assistance. The reassignment to the Ministry of Finance of the Foreign Affairs division responsible for donor coordination is expected to further strengthen government-led donor coordination. With the Ministry of Finance, ADB continues to play a strong role in economic planning and management capacity building. Close coordination and cooperation with other donors has been vital in implementing ongoing activities and developing the proposed strategy and program.

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