RHD Will Cost Over $790 million tala:NGOs

Written by Press Release
Saturday, 03 November 2007
PRESS RELEASE : On Thursday, 1 November 2007, a delegation of Samoan NGOs met with the Prime Minister to raise their objections to the proposed switch to right hand drive cars. The delegation said that contrary to Government’s claims, RHD cars will not be cheaper than LHD cars. Members of the Chamber of Commerce have conducted their own market research which shows that the price of cars in Samoa will in fact increase, not decrease after a change to RHD. This will cause enormous hardship to all Samoans. All LHD car owners in Samoa will lose significant amounts of money as the resale value of their cars, buses and taxis plummets. The Chamber’s preliminary research shows that even on conservative estimates, the change will effectively write off ST$290 million worth of assets from the Samoan economy. Samoans will also be paying, on conservative estimates, $500 million for RHD vehicles to replace their LHD cars. At a total cost of $790 million, this is something Samoan families, businesses and the economy cannot afford. “The announcement of Government’s policy has already caused substantial hardship and uncertainty to Samoa’s community, particularly its business people. There was no consultation before the policy was announced and Government has not released any clear supporting evidence of the benefits of a change to right hand drive.” said Mr Daryl Clarke, Executive Member of the Chamber of Commerce. The NGO delegation that met with the Prime Minister included representatives from the Samoa Chamber of Commerce, Samoa Umbrella of Non-Government Organisations, the Samoa Association of Manufacturers and Exporters, Women In Business, the Taxi Association of Samoa and the Rental Car Association. Spokesperson for the delegation and former President of the Chamber of Commerce, Sala Epa Tuioti, said “We are very grateful to the Prime Minister for the opportunity to meet with him to discuss our organisations’ serious concerns. We were very pleased when the Prime Minister stated that our submission would be considered by Cabinet.” Prior to the meeting, the NGOs made a written submission to Government detailing their reasons for opposing Government’s RHD policy. The submission highlights the serious further financial, economic, social and environmental concerns about the RHD policy including: ß substantial increase in the risk of car accidents and serious injury to drivers, passengers and pedestrians, for years to come; ß huge cost of infrastructure changes to roads, signs and traffic lights; ß weakening of business and investor confidence, damaging the Samoan economy and making Samoa a less attractive place for foreign investors; ß significant environmental impact of thousands of cars junked well before the end of their useful life; and ß even greater financial pressures on Samoan families in New Zealand and Australia. There is little information presently available from Government to allay these serious concerns about the basis of the policy and its implementation. The NGO submission calls on Government to: ß withdraw the decision to change to RHD; ß engage in a process of public consultation; and ß release the reports that are the basis for the decision. The NGOs recommend that Government establish an independent commission to investigate the proposed change to RHD and make recommendations to Government before the law is changed. The NGOs are grateful to Government for accepting the written submissions and the Prime Minister for the opportunity to meet with him. Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Email Title Comment

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