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Government of Western Samoa Report of the Commission to Inquire into and Report upon the Organization of District and Village Government in Western Samoa

(b) The District and Village Government Board

(b) The District and Village Government Board

29. As was explained in our first report, the Commission is of opinion that it is necessary to provide an effective link between the Central Government and the authorities controlling district and village affairs. It is necessary to provide a means by which the requirements of modern administration and of the law can be explained to the ali‘i and faipule and by which the requirements of the ali‘i and faipule can be explained to the Government. It is necessary also to provide for the working-out in detail of the respective fields of activity of the Government and of the ali‘i and faipule and the most useful forms of co-operation between them.

30. In the opinion of the Commission, a task of this character cannot be satisfactorily entrusted to a Government Department. It requires the pooling of the political experience and judgment of a group of men of whom most, at least, must be in closer touch with the currents of political opinion in the country than a departmental head is able to be. It requires, too, the attitude of mind of men active in politics—constructive and willing to create something new—not the attitude which necessarily imposes itself on most public servants of absorption in the maintenance of an existing way of doing things. For such reasons, the Commission is convinced that these responsibilities should be placed in the hands of a District and Village Government Board.

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(i) The Members of the Board

31. The Commission recommends that the Board be composed of the members of the Council of State and six other members nominated by the Fono of Faipule. It should also have a secretary, who would be its principal executive officer and would attend all meetings.

32. In recommending that the members of the Council of State should be members of the Board, the Commission has not overlooked the fact that both the High Commissioner and the Hon. Fautua already have a great part of their time occupied by attendance at meetings of various kinds. It has reached the conclusion, however, that their designation as ex officio members of the Board would be the most effective, and the proper, way of ensuring that the policy of the Board is fully co-ordinated with Government policy as a whole. In a later paragraph it will be suggested how the work of the Board might conveniently be divided into deliberation on matters of major importance and routine work. The members of the Council of State would not necessarily be present at meetings in the latter class. In this way, the demand upon their time would be reduced to a minimum.

33. The Commission recommends that the remaining members should be nominated by the Fono of Faipule, because that body is directly representative of the districts. They should hold office for the same term of years as a Faipule, except in the case of a casual vacancy brought about by resignation, death, or other cause, when the person appointed should serve only for the remainder of the term of office of the member whose place he had filled. The number of ordinary members has been fixed at six to make the Board large enough for persons of different interests, experience, and age to be represented, while keeping it small enough for the convenient transaction of business.

34. The small size of the Board would also help to emphasize another important point. The Boards' function would be that of carrying out the particular duties with which it has been charged, within the framework of general government policy. It should not regard itself as a policymaking body, or as a body directly representative of the people. The making of policy, and the representation of the people, are the functions of the High Commissioner, the Council of State, the Legislative Assembly, and the Fono of Faipule. The Board's duties would be more limited, and would be subject to decisions reached through these ordinary constitutional channels.

35. The primary consideration of the Fono of Faipule in considering nominations for membership of the Board should be, therefore, not whether a man represented a particular part of the country, but his personal qualifications for the work he would be called on to do. The page 15 importance, and the difficulty, of the problems facing the Board, particularly in its early years, would make it essential that the ablest men available should be appointed. For this reason, the Commission recommends that the fewest possible restrictions should be placed upon the field of choice of the Fono of Faipule. Judges and members of the Public Service should, no doubt, be ineligible for membership, but a member of the Legislative Assembly, a Faipule, a pulefa‘ato‘aga, or a pulenu‘u should be entitled to accept membership of the Board while retaining his other Government office. Any other arrangement might have the effect of denying to the Board the services of men whose experience and capacity would be of great value to it.

36. The Commission has given the most serious consideration to the factors which should govern the choice of a Secretary. Clearly, the success of the Board would depend to a considerable extent upon the calibre of its Secretary. As a full-time officer, he would be expected to prepare the business of the Board's meetings. He would arrange for any necessary advice or information to be available to members to assist them in making decisions. This might involve him in extensive study of files or other documentary material, or in arranging for persons to appear before the Board to give oral evidence. He would also have to pass on, and probably explain, recommendations of the Board to Government officers. Further, he would have the highly responsible task of giving informal advice to district and village authorities on matters within the Board's field of operation. Finally, he would have to organize courses of instruction for various district and village officials.

37. To carry out these tasks successfully, the Secretary would require intelligence, integrity, education and experience. He would have to possess the standing and the personality necessary for obtaining the co-operation and assistance of senior Government officials, and for retaining the sympathy and friendship of the ali‘i and faipule. He should be capable of explaining legal and administrative points to district and village officials in clear but simple terms. It would be essential that he should possess some knowledge of local government in other countries.

38. The Commission gave particular consideration to two ways in which the secretaryship might be filled. First, it considered the suggestion that a European officer with suitable experience and personality should be appointed for a term of three years, with a Samoan assistant, whom he would train to succeed him. Eventually the Commission rejected this suggestion because of the uncertainty as to whether a suitable officer would, in fact, be found. The qualities required are not those which are found in any large proportion of Government officers at present. The Commission is convinced that the appointment as page 16 Secretary of an unsuitable officer from overseas would be the one action most certain to prevent the Board from fulfilling the purposes for which its establishment is proposed.

39. Secondly, it considered the suggestion that a Samoan be appointed as Secretary from the start and that the Board should also have a European Adviser during its first few years of operation. This suggestion presents certain difficulties, but, after the most thorough discussion, the Commission decided to adopt it. At the present time it is unhappily true that no Samoan has the breadth of experience and training needed for the full performance of the duties of Secretary to the Board. There are, however, men with the requisite ability who, with further experience, should be able to fill the position with credit to themselves and satisfaction to the Board. The Commission therefore recommends that the position of Secretary be filled by a Samoan. The man chosen should, if possible, have some experience of Government service, as well as of the work of the ali‘i and faipule. He should be young enough to benefit from any training which he might be able to obtain, as well as from practical experience. As soon as possible after appointment, he should be sent abroad to study local government in New Zealand, Fiji, and, possibly, other countries. No effort should be spared to find the best man available. The status and salary of the Secretary should not, in the opinion of the Commission, be below that of the Assistant Public Service Commissioner. In view of the varied qualities required in the holder of this office, the Commission considers that it would be more suitable for the power of appointment to be vested in the High Commissioner than in the Public Service Commission.

40. A further difficulty in appointing a Samoan to the secretaryship at the outset is that the period in which he would be learning his job would be one of vital importance in the implementation of district and village government policy. In its first few years the Board would be establishing rules of procedure that would be likely to influence it for many years to come. Also, it would be considering proposals put up by districts and villages for the recognition of various type of authorities. The character of its recommendations on these proposals would greatly influence the structure of district and village government in future years. During this period the Secretary would not be able to assist the Board as fully as would be desirable, owing to his lack of experience. For these reasons, the Commission recommends that an Adviser to the Board be appointed for a period of three years. He should be a man with broad knowledge of local-government matters and a constructive bent of mind. He should be able to give the Secretary guidance in training himself for his duties, but be willing to withdraw from the centre of the stage himself as the Secretary gained experience. In other words, his relationship with the Secretary should be that of a counsellor and friend, page 17 not that of an official superior. We emphasize these points because we are certain that they are essential to the successful carrying-out of our proposals. They imply, in practice, that great care must be taken in choosing the Adviser in regard to personality as well as to knowledge and experience.

(ii) The Work of the Board

41. During its first few years the Board would have much of its time taken up in consideration of proposals brought forward by districts and villages for the recognition of various types of local authorities. Such proposals would be drawn up by the district or village concerned, in consultation with the Secretary to the Board. Representatives of the district or village would present the proposals to the Board. They would be carefully examined, in the light of certain general principles which will be set forth in the succeeding sections of this report, and to ensure that they were in conformity with the law. After the making of any agreed amendments, the proposals would become the subject of a recommendation to the High Commissioner. The Board would advise the High Commissioner whether, in its opinion, the stage had been reached when a legally recognized district or village authority should be brought into being by Proclamation, in accordance with the proposals, or whether further study of the situation was necessary.

42. When legally recognized institutions of district and village government had come into existence in most parts of Samoa, consideration of constitutional matters would occupy much less of the Board's time. Such matters would, however, remain important. It is to be expected that experience and changing conditions will make it desirable for amendments to be made in the structure and powers of many authorities. Such proposals for amendment should come before the Board in the same manner as proposals for the original establishment of a local authority.

43. A second function of the Board would be in relation to district and village regulations. In the interests both of the ali‘i and faipule and of the Government, it would be necessary to ensure that regulations which were to possess legal standing were in accordance with the law and with the conception of justice which rules in the Courts. Otherwise, the Courts would not be able, in practice, to enforce them. The simplest method of ensuring this would be to require that each authority which had been given the legal power to make regulations should submit them to the Board in writing. The Board would examine them and, unless they conflicted with the law or with justice, would then formally confirm them. To assist in this work, the Board would probably find it advantageous to draft a set of rules defining the general character which regulations on specific subjects should possess. Such rules would not be intended to impose a rigid uniformity on the regulations made by different page 18 district and village authorities, but they would serve as a general guide to the Board in considering draft regulations submitted. They would, for example, at once make it apparent when a grossly excessive penalty was being suggested for a minor offence. With the assistance of some such rules, the Board should be able to handle the examination of regulations with speed and efficiency. Except when very unusual problems arose, it should not be necessary for the High Commissioner or the Hon. Fautua to be present at meetings at which these matters were being considered.

44. A third function of the Board would be that of advising the Government on requests for financial and other assistance from district and village authorities. In such matters the Board would have to be careful not to offer advice on purely technical aspects of any project under discussion. Such advice would continue to be supplied by the Government Department most closely concerned. For example, a request for financial aid in connection with the construction or extension of a water-supply would be examined from the technical point of view by the Public Works Department. The Board would offer advice on such a proposal, or any similar one, from the administrative angle. From its intimate and continuous contact with the ali‘i and faipule of every district, it would be able to suggest the way in which Government assistance might most usefully be given.

45. In complementary fashion, the Board should be prepared to give advice, through its Secretary, to district and village authorities on the best methods of controlling their finances, keeping their records, and so on. It should also consider the preparation and distribution of standard types of account books, books for the recording of regulations, and registers for the recording of judicial decisions. The development of a standardized system of records should considerably simplify the work of district and village officials, auditors and other Government officers concerned, and the Board itself.

46. A further function which the Board should exercise would be that of arranging instruction for various district and village officials. The Commission is recommending, in a later section of this report, that clerks be appointed to assist pulenu‘u and, in some cases, other officials. These clerks should receive proper instruction before taking up their appointments. It would be the responsibility of the Board to plan suitable courses of instruction and to ensure that the necessary arrangements were made with the Education Department and others concerned. In addition to organizing such formal courses, the Board should take the steps necessary to encourage the spread of information of use to the ali‘i and faipule, and to the people generally, in the management of local affairs. Work of-this kind would extend from the direct preparation and distribution of pamphlets on administrative methods to the making page 19 of requests to individuals or Government Departments that they should prepare broadcast talks on important matters or visit a particular district to give advice on some difficult problem.

47. By carrying out these duties, and others which would inevitably be added in the light of experience, the District and Village Government Board would be providing an effective link between the Central Government and the ali‘i and faipule and thus ensuring the orderly development of district and village government in Samoa.