Page image

A—4

■others of high educational attainment who may, after a period of service in the Department, be posted to Samoa in a state of greater awareness of the work ahead of them than that possessed by most of their predecessors. The Departmental Structure The work of the executive government is carried on, under the High Commissioner, by a number of Departments. The general work of co-ordination of policy is carried out by the Secretariat, associated in certain matters with the Department of Samoan Affairs. This dualism in the realm of central control is of the usual kind found in territories in which a western system of government is functioning in a society where cultural patterns of non-European origin continue to guide much of the thought and action of the mass of the inhabitants. The Secretariat represents the apex of a modern type of administrative structure ; the Department of Samoan Affairs links the administration with Samoan society. The Department of Samoan Affairs is, like the Secretariat, in direct contact with the High Commissioner in a way in which the functional Departments are not. The Secretary of Samoan Affairs is necessarily, like the Secretary to the Administration, an advisor to the High Commissioner on matters of general policy, and not merely on those matters which relate to his own Department. The structure of the Administration is shown in Appendix 11. The principal functional Departments are the following : Broadcasting, Education, Health, Justice, Lands and Survey, Police and Prisons, Postal, Public Works, Radio, Treasury, and Customs. The work of the functional Departments is discussed in other parts of this report. Here the two Departments concerned with general policy will alone be described. The Secretariat The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary to the Administration. Since the end of the year under review his position as the officer primarily responsible for co-ordinating the executive activities of government has been emphasized by the appointment of a joint Secretary-Treasurer. In his capacity as Treasurer he will be responsible for directing the broad lines of financial administration and for advising the High Commissioner on financial policy, but not for the detailed administration of the Treasury and Customs Department. All correspondence of the Samoan Government with the Department of Island Territories and with any outside agencies is carried on through the Secretariat. Similarly, the heads of all branches of the local Administration communicate with the High Commissioner through the Secretary, and they are required to forward to the latter periodical reports on the work which their offices have undertaken. The Secretariat is responsible for administrative work connected with the Legislative Assembly ; it provides its clerk and the reporters of its debates and arranges for the publication of its proceedings. The office is responsible for the publication, also, of the Western Samoa Gazette and for the production of the daily sheet of press news. It maintains the principal record system of the Government. All questions of personnel are handled by the Secretariat, under the authority of the New Zealand Public Service Commission. The Department of Samoan Affairs The Department of Samoan Affairs is under the control of the Secretary of Samoan Affairs. It has its headquarters at Mulinu'u, the traditional capital close to Apia. Regional and village administration in the island of Upolu is handled direct from Mulinu'u. In Savai'i the Department is represented by a Resident Commissioner stationed at Tuasivi. As the Department is the principal channel of communication between the Government and the people of the villages in political and general administrative matters, its procedure takes close account of traditional Samoan political forms and practices.

19

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert