News in brief

Mana (Auckland), Volume 2, Issue 4, 18 May 1978, Page 5

News in brief

The United States mabassador to Samoa and Mrs Armistead Seldon Jr recently presented a Mini Bus to the Alafanua School for the blind at Letogo home. The bus was financed by the wives of the United States embassy in Wellington.

Export earnings from cocoa and copra will be down this year, but earnings from timber will be dramatically up. This is the picture painted in the Department of Economic Developments, “Annual Development Plan 1978” recently released.

Samoas rate of inflation for the year ended March 1978 was 6.2%, the Department of Statistics Consumer price index showed recently. This compares with an inflation rate of 15.4% for the year ended March 1977.

Tonga and Samoa will share a SAI million from Australia’s pledge of $ A 16,400,000 to the Special Action Programme at the final session of the Conference on International Economic Cooperation. The Australian minister of finance said, Australia would allocate $A400,000 to Tonga, and $A600,000 to Samoa.

In the “Annual Development Plan 1978” released recently, predicted the number of unemployment in the Apia area will reach to 5,000 by the end of this year.