Development Assistance Challenges

Abstract

In the first decade of the 21st century, Pacific Island countries (PICs), with the exception of Samoa and Tonga, are still only a generation away from independence from direct colonialism. Indeed, there are still a number of vestiges of colonial rule present in the region.¹ In the past 20 to 30 years, these countries have sought to develop as peripheral capitalist societies with varying degrees of ‘traditional’ forms of societal organisation and cultures still in existence. Development has meant for their peoples improving material standards of living, greater participation in political processes and access to public utilities such as potable