Tonga’s Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni Hu’akavameiliku has resigned as Minister of Defence in order to appease King upou VI, says a senior government official.

The Tongan Independent reports that the Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister ‘Utoikamanu had resigned from their portfolios.

Senior sources within the Tongan government have told Kaniva News they believed reports that the Prime Minister has resigned.

Kaniva News has contacted Prime Minister and Chief Secretary for confirmation of the report and was waiting for a response.

The Independent has adopted a strongly anti-Sovaleni tone, criticising the government’s involvement in Lulutai Airlines, claiming he was too ill to serve and that he and Utoikamanu were trying to usurp King Tupou VI’s authority.

It is understood that the Prime Minister had flown to Niuafo’ou to meet His Majesty

Relations between the Prime Minister and the throne have been tense since the king issued a memo saying he no longer supported Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku as the Minister for His Majesty’s Armed Forces and Hon Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Tourism.

King’s memo ignored
The Prime Minister ignored the King’s memo.

As we reported earlier, the nobles responded by demanding that the Prime Minister and Hon Utoikamanu resign immediately in order to assuage King Tupou VI’s disappointment.

The nobles circulated a letter which described the Prime Minister’s refusal to accept the King’s show of power as “very concerning” and “intimidating the peace” of the country.

“We are the king’s cultural preservers (‘aofivala). Therefore, we propose that you and your government respect the King’s desire,” the letter read in Tongan.

“The king has withdrawn his confidence and consent from you as Defence Minister as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism Fekitamoeloa ‘Utoikamanu.

“We urge you to resign immediately from the Ministry of Defence as well as Fekitamoeloa ‘Utoikamanu to resign from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism”.

This is not the first time the King has directly interfered in the workings of a democratically elected government.

Heavily influenced
The King is said to have been heavily influenced by some of his Privy Councillors, including Lord Tu’aivakanō, who advised him to dissolve the government of the late ‘Akilisi Pohiva in 2017.

Lord Tu’aivakanō justified his behaviour by claiming that Hon Pohiva’s government wanted to remove the Privy Council’s role in appointing positions like the Police Commissioner and Attorney-General.

As we wrote at the time: “Lord Tu’ivakano said it was clear the government was trying to wear away the powers of the King and Privy Council, which he could not abide.”

Pohiva’s government was re-elected.

Lord Tu’aivakanō is said to have signed the noble’s letter criticising the Prime Minister.

Asia Pacific Report collaborates with Kaniva Tonga. Republished with permission.,

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

EDITORIAL: By Kalino Latu, editor of Kaniva Tonga

Tonga’s nobles have demanded the Prime Minister and his Minister of Foreign Affairs resign immediately in order to assuage King Tupou VI’s disappointment with their ministerial roles.

The letter, which was purportedly signed by Lord Tu’ivakanō, described Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku’s refusal to accept the King’s show of power as very concerning and intimidating the peace of the country.

“We are the king’s cultural preservers (‘aofivala). Therefore, we propose that you and your government respect the king’s desire,” the letter read in Tongan.

“The king has withdrawn his confidence and consent from you as Defence Minister as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism Fekitamoeloa ‘Utoikamanu.

“We urge you to resign immediately from the Ministry of Defence as well as Fekitamoeloa ‘Utoikamanu to resign from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism”.

The letter demanded a response from the Prime Minister no later than February 27.

The letter came after the King said earlier this month in a memo that he no longer supported Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku as the Minister for His Majesty’s Armed Forces and Hon. Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Tourism.

PM still confident
Responding, the government said the Prime Minister was still confident in the Minister of Foreign Affairs and that the King’s wish clashed with the Constitution.

While the King’s nobles are free to express their opinion on the issue, some people may think that the lack of references to the Constitution to support their argument in their letter was more provoking and inciting than what they allege Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku has done.

This is because the Prime Minister said he was responding according to what the related clause in the Constitution said about His Majesty’s concerns. It is the Constitution which ensures that those who make decisions are making them on behalf of the public and will be held accountable to the people they serve.

Some people may see that the nobility’s departure from the constitution and citing the Tongan practice of faka’apa’apa’i e finangalo ‘o e tu’i (respecting the King’s wish) means the nobles are urging us to dump Tonga’s Constitution and live by the law of the jungle in which those who are strong and apply ruthless self-interest are most successful.

Our Tongan tradition of faka’apa’apa (respect the King no matter what) has no clear system of rules, limits and boundaries for us to follow, which leaves the door open for the powerful to practice immorality and unlawful activities.

Since the King’s memo was leaked to the public, some have argued that it was explicitly unconstitutional. There is nothing in the Constitution to say that the King has to show that he gives his consent or has confidence in a ministerial nominee proposed by the Prime Minister before he appoints them.

However, some argued that there was nothing wrong with the King expressing his wish as he did to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The problem with this kind of attitude is that it urges the King to publicly show his disagreement with the Constitution whenever he wants.

Breaching royal oath?
The King could be seen in such a situation to be breaching his royal oath which, according to the Constitution, clause 34, says: “I solemnly swear before Almighty God to keep in its integrity the Constitution of Tonga and to govern in conformity with the laws thereof.”

The word “integrity” included in the Constitution is worth mentioning here.

It is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as: “The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change”.

Some people may believe that for the King to have integrity in the constitution, he must have a strong sense of judgment and trust in his own accord.

To keep the Constitution honest the King must desist from saying things to the public which are not written in the Constitution and may cause concern and confusion.

The best example was his memo. It has caused a stir among the public but what was most concerning is that no one knows what was the reason behind the King’s withdrawal of his consent and confidence in the Prime Minister and his Minister of Foreign Affairs.

We have previously seen His Majesty make several wrong decisions which are said to have been influenced by his Privy Councillors or his nobility members, including Lord Tu’aivakanō’s abortive advice to dissolve the government in 2017.

Do the right thing
The nobility must do the right thing and advise the King according to the Constitution and not our old fashioned cultural practices.

It was the Tu’ivakano government which hired Commonwealth Legal Consultant Peter Pursgloves to review our 2010 constitution, which he said was the “poorest written Constitution” among all Commonwealth countries.

The Tu’ivakanō government vowed to follow Pursglove’s report and made significant changes to the Constitution which was said to have been agreed by the King in 2014.

When the ‘Akilisi Pohiva government ousted the Tu’ivakanō government in late 2014 they processed the Pursglove report and submitted it to Parliament through six new bills to be approved. However, it was the same people in the Tu’ivakanō government who strongly opposed the submission from the Opposition bench. They went further and falsely accused Pōhiva of secretly trying to remove some of the King’s powers.

Critics argued that this was because of the nobility’s long-time hatred against Pōhiva because of his tireless campaign to remove the executive power of the King and give it to a democratic government.

The nobles later apologised and withdrew their accusation against Pōhiva in the House after months of debates and public consultations. They finally said they wanted to support the submission after Pōhiva revealed in the House his government  has lodged an application for a judicial review of the decision made by Lord Tu’ilakepa to block the new bills.

That submission has yet to be approved by the House and the nobility has a duty to push for it to be approved. This would bring Tonga a more democratic system that would help keep the King and the government at peace.

The nobles must refrain from using cultural practices to resolve our constitutional issues as that would send us back to the dark ages.

This editorial was published by Kaniva Tonga on February 29 and is published by Asia Pacific Report with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Lack of backup satellite and cable links in the wake of Tonga’s volcanic eruption at the weekend reignites debate over the government’s plans to secure communications.

Communication with Tonga remains intermittent after the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption and tsunami severed the kingdom’s undersea cable connection with the rest of the world.

The crisis has renewed debate over previous government decisions which have been the subject of controversy and court cases.

It could be weeks before services are fully restored.

The 827km cable between Tonga and Fiji was cut when the volcano exploded. The break is located 37km from the capital, Nuku’alofa.

A cable connecting Tongatapu to other islands in the archipelago has been severed about 47km from Nuku’alofa.

A submarine cable repair ship is expected to sail from Papua New Guinea in the next few days.

Some communication with Tonga is possible via satellite. It is understood some people have been able to use the University of the South Pacific’s satellite connection to contact New Zealand from Ha’apai.

A New Zealand resident in Mangawhai, north of Auckland, has been in contact with his colleagues in Tonga via satellite text phone, 1News reported today.

However, Tonga Cable Ltd chair Samiuela Fonua said the lingering ash cloud was continuing to make even satellite phone calls abroad difficult.

Fonau said Tonga had been talking with New Zealand about establishing a second international fibreoptic cable, but any long-term solution was difficult.

The Kacific controversy
The government of the late prime minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva believed the best option was for Tonga to spend its money in building a satellite back up service.

The Pohiva government had made a 15-year deal with Kacific to establish a satellite backup link, but this was cancelled by the Tu’ionetoa government.

As Kaniva News reported in June last year, Kacific Broadband Satellites International Ltd provided emergency broadband services to Tonga when the undersea cable was severed by a ship’s anchor in 2019.

The Tongan government and its subsidiary Tonga Satellite Ltd later signed an agreement with Kacific for the supply of satellite broadband for a fee of US$5.76 million, which was due on June 15, 2019.

The fee was not paid and the company took Tonga to court in Singapore to enforce payment of the debt. The government then tried to take TSL off the kingdom’s company registry. This was overturned by the Tongan Supreme Court.

“We came to Tonga’s aid during its hour of need,” company CEO Christian Patouraux said at the time.

“It is deeply disappointing that Kacific has to undertake legal proceedings.

“The Tongan Government has benefited from millions of dollars of payments from international aid and infrastructure agencies to fund e-government initiatives and strengthen digital access over the last 10 years.”

The Hawaiki deal
The current Prime Minister, Siaosi Sovaleni was at the centre of a controversial deal with internet provider Hawaiki when he was Minister of Environment and Communications.

Sovaleni signed a TOP$50 million (NZ$32.5 million) contract.

Tonga paid TOP$6 million (NZ$4 million) so that the Hawaiki cable connecting New Zealand and Australia to Hawai’i and Los Angeles was connected to the Vava’u fibre cable in Tonga.

However, in 2019 Tonga Cable Ltd (TCL) director Paula Piveni Piukala and Minister of Trade and Economic Development Tu’i Uata were sent to Auckland to seek advice on the deal.

Uata said TCL had questioned whether the large sums being paid from taxpayers’ money were justified.

Piukala said at the time it “did not make sense” to pay such a large amount of money just in case the cable might be damaged in the future.

Tonga also had an agreement with French company Alcatel for the provision of a fibreoptic cable system connecting Nuku’alofa and Vava’u with a branch to Ha’apai.

The World Bank
The World Bank has funded $50 million for Tonga’s high-speed internet cable which was launched in 2013.

Tonga asked the bank to also fund a back up, or redundancy, cable but the bank said it was not financially viable.

Kalino Latu is editor of Kaniva Tonga. Asia Pacific Report collaborates with Kaniva News.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A group of Tongan missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Papua New Guinea has gone into hiding in a church in Lae as unrest and violence erupted in the country yesterday.

The chaos came after days of mourning following the death on Friday of the nation’s longest serving Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare.

Somare, 84, known as the “father of the nation,” died after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. He was a key leader in wresting the Pacific nation’s independence from Australia.

Police faced a mob at what appears to be a road in front of the LDS church in Lae, a Facebook live video seen by Kaniva News showed.

Shootings were overheard as hundreds of people fled the scene before they stopped and attempted to reorganise themselves.

It was alleged the shootings came from police who were trying to disperse the mob.

The crowd were attempting to rob a nearby Chinese shop, it has been claimed.

Looting in Gordon
The lootings and chaos in Gordon as well as in Eastern Boroko in Poprt Moresby were also caught on camera and shared on Facebook.

Tongan president ‘Isileli Fatani of the LDS Mission in Lae, the second largest city in PNG, who was in a building few metres away from the scene, said the situation “was terrifying”.

Sir Michael Somare, 84, died on Friday. He was Papua New Guinea’s prime minister for a total of 17 years.

Fatani said he had just arrived at their accommodation after driving down the road seeing people looting shops and businesses and fighting in other parts of the country.

He was overheard telling one of the missionaries to lock the gate.

He said they were hiding inside the church property while he was livestreaming the incidents.

He was also overheard asking one of the PNG missionaries at the property whether it was safe for them to leave the church and move to town.

Motive behind the chaos
Fatani claimed the motive behind the attacks was a reaction by the locals after the death of Somare.

“He was a prime minister they loved most,” Fatani said.

His video had racked up 1300 comments and 1400 shares within 10 hours after it was published to Facebook yesterday.

In a post on Facebook by the PNG government current affairs an administrator said the operations of the Asian businesses during a public holiday set in memory of Somare disappointed the locals.

“If all the PNG citizens can [whole]heartedly respect the great loss of our Founding Father Grand Chief Sir Michael Thomas Somare and the Prime Minister of the Day through NEC Declare Public Holiday today, which government law or order will these so called Asians be following or governed by?” the post read.

“I would suggest let there be a looting. Police must not deter any looting because these Asians must respect PNG law, respect our country’s Father’s mourning.

“Permitting looting will put a complete stop for any shop to operate.

“Let’s all respect our legendary father for the last time because he will never be seen again till we meet again in paradise.”

Agence France-Press reports that PNG security services called for calm as the incidents of rioting and looting followed the death of Sir Michael Somare.

Police Minister William Onglo warned officers would “step in to fully restore order” after disturbances in Port Moresby and the second city of Lae.

Several stores were reportedly ransacked during a national day of mourning for Sir Michael.

Kaniva Tonga reports are republished by Asia Pacific Report in partnership.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Tonga has fallen five places to lie 50th in this year’s World Press Freedom Index.

In last year’s index, compiled by the Paris-based media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), it was 45th out of 180 countries.

Tonga’s highest ranking was in 2016 when RSF placed it 37th.

READ MORE: Tough coronavirus controls threaten Pacific, global media freedom

Its lowest position was 66th in 2013.

The RSF report said Tongan politicians had not hesitated to sue media outlets, exposing them to the risk of heavy damages awards.

Some journalists said they were forced to censor themselves because of the threat of being bankrupted. In an effort to regulate “harmful” online content, especially on social media

Suspension of 3 workers
Earlier this year, the Pacific Freedom Forum said the suspension of three workers from the Tonga Broadcasting Commission had sent a chilling message to journalists at the public broadcaster.

RNZ reported that Setita Tu’ionetoa, Salamo Fulivai and Vilisoni Tu’iniua had been suspended over allegations they attempted to incite distrust in the government.

Forum co-chair Ofani Eremae said the suspensions would dissuade journalists from questioning the government.

“The message that is being sent to the workers or the journalists at Tonga Broadcasting is that ‘if you say something or do something that seems to be against the Tongan government you’re going to get suspended or you’re going to get sacked’,” he told RNZ.

Of Tonga’s closest neighbours,  Samoa is at 21st (down one place). However, RSF has warned that Samoa is in danger of losing its status as a model of regional press freedom.

The RSF noted that Parliament had reinstated a law in 2017 criminalising defamation. It said this had been used by  Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi to attack journalists who criticised his government.

Fiji remains below Tonga at 52nd, unchanged from last year.

RSF said Fijian media were operating under the draconian 2010 Media Industry Development Decree, which had been turned into a law in 2018. Journalists who are judged to have violated the law’s vaguely worded provisions face severe penalties.

‘Keep fighting’
Professor David Robie, director of the Pacific Media Centre at Auckland University of Technology and a leading advocate of press freedom, said in a weekend World Press Freedom Day message it was vitally important to have free media across the region at this time of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Even in good times there is a tendency for Pacific governments not to understand role of media and how important it is to have good, reliable information,” he told the ABC’s Pacific Beat.

LISTEN: Pacific Beat talks to David Robie

“That’s the antidote to rumours on social media.”

Professor Robie said the 2020 RSF report is based largely on developments and information gathered over the previous year.

He said almost all countries in the region, including Australia and New Zealand, had dropped in this year’s RSF rankings. Australia was down five places to 26th (one place below Samoa) and New Zealand had slipped two places to ninth.

“Overall its looking bleak,” Professor Robie said.

He urged journalists to keep fighting for press freedom.

Media educator Dr Philip Cass is an adviser for Kaniva Tonga.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Kalino Lātū,, editor of Kaniva Tonga

Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa announced today the Pacific kingdom of Tonga is now in a state of emergency, effective at 8.30pm tonight until 17 April 2020.

He said the declaration was subject to further review.

Tu’i’onetoa said Tonga had closed its borders to everyone but citizens and residents in an attempt to stop the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

READ MORE: Al Jazeera’s coronavirus global updates – Italy overtakes China’s death toll

The government banned indoor gatherings of more than 20 and outdoor gatherings of more than 40 people.

Weddings, funerals, concerts, kava clubs, nightclubs and sports are also banned.

The measures did not apply to churches and schools.

Tu’i’onetoa made the announcement during a news conference this afternoon.

He said all travelers from overseas would have to undergo a 14-day quarantine except doctors, nurses and other health care workers who will arrive in Tonga to help with the crisis.

Tu’i’onetoa said there had been no confirmed or suspected cases of Covid-19 in Tonga.

The state of emergency means many closures and restrictions are now required to be followed by law.

“It is clear that this is a public emergency in Tonga. I therefore satisfy [sic] that Covid-19 is a public health emergency and is imminent and will threaten and endanger lives of people in Tonga,” the Prime Minister said.

“Therefore this requires a significant and coordinated response.

“The powers under sections 30 and 37 of the Act shall be invoked to prevent and minimise illness and loss of human life.

“I therefore issue this declaration of a State of Emergency to be applied all over the land and sea areas of Tonga commencing from 20hrs of 20 March until 17 April 2020, unless further review.”

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre with permission under its partnership with Kaniva Tonga.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Philip Cass

“It’s like crabs being stuck in a bucket scratching each other to get out.”

“It’s like rubbish dumping.”

Those are two views about the crisis facing Tonga as countries like the United States, Australia and New Zealand deport criminals to the kingdom.

The first comes from a deportee who talks about how it feels being sent back to struggle for a living in a country with which he and other former prisoners are often barely familiar.

The other is from Tonga’s former Commissioner of Prisons, who wants Western countries to take more responsibility for the people they deport and stop treating Tonga – along with Samoa and Fiji – as dumping grounds for people they regard as “rubbish”.

READ MORE: Responses to Gangsters in Paradise

They are, he reminds us, human beings.

The two views come from a hard-hitting documentary, Gangsters in Paradise – The Deportees of Tonga. A regular contributor to Kaniva Tonga news, photographer Todd Henry, acted as associate producer for the Vice Zealandia documentary.

Talia’uli Prescott … permanently banned from NZ – “I loved being a bad guy, but now I want to be a good guy,” Image: Vice/Kaniva News

Statistics show that the United States deported 700 criminals to Tonga between 1992 and January 2016, an average of 29 criminals a year. However, police figures show that up to 40 percent of the criminals deported to Tonga have come from New Zealand.

Most of the deportees are men between 25-35 years and have usually done time for assault, robbery, burglary, theft and drug offences.

20 years absences
Most have lived outside Tonga for 20 years.

Last year former Deputy Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said about 400 Tongans had been deported from the US, Australia and New Zealand since 2012.

More than half had partners or children living overseas.

Gangsters in Paradise is not comfortable viewing. It begins with an interview with a deportee who admits to having been jailed when he was barely out of childhood for shooting another boy four times in the stomach.

Violence played a big part in his upbringing, as it did in the lives of other deportees. For others, migration and re-migration provided a disturbed and unstable childhood.

Talia’uli Prescott talks about joining the King Cobras in New Zealand. They were aiga he tells the camera, explaining that it is a Samoan word for family.

“When you don’t have a family, they give you one,” he explains.

Permanently banned
He is permanently banned from New Zealand.

“That’s the only world I know,” he says.

“It’s very sad.”

By good fortune he has a job at Queen Salote wharf and says that he doesn’t want his legacy to be as somebody who was deported to Tonga.

“I loved being a bad guy, but now I want to be a good guy,” he says.

Other deportees have had a harder time fitting in.

As American deportee Sione Ngaue says: “We’re judged before they even get to know us. We have a red ‘X’ against us.”

Family land
Some deportees, like Ngaue, have staked a claim to family land. He works 6 hectares after a dispute with his uncles.

While some of the interviewees regard their time in prison as a chance to rethink their lives and gain a different perspective, others have brought nothing but trouble to Tonga.

Tonga is in the midst of a methamphetamine crisis and some deportees have gone back into the drugs trade.

One scene in the film shows a dealer preparing methamphetamine for sale, boasting that he can make TP$5000 (NZ$3200) from his Sunday night trading.

And sympathetic as he might be to their plight, Prisons Commissioner Sione Falemanu says deportees have brought more crime to the kingdom and sparked a wave of robberies.

With the Tongan diaspora spread between Sydney and Salt Lake City, this issue is clearly not going to go away. After a public screening of the documentary in Auckland last week, members of the audience who spoke during a talanoa, were sympathetic, but others warned that the deporting countries would also have to take note of what was happening.

“In all honesty, this is an ongoing issue, and believe it or not, it won’t be resolved in the near future. We’re going to have a lot of deportees. And to be honest, we need to start removing the [negative] perception around deportees,” one audience member said.

However, another warned: “If New Zealand does not actually pay attention to what we are seeing, it’s going to backfire on New Zealand. We’re already seeing it.”

Dr Philip Cass is an editorial adviser for Kaniva Tonga.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Kalino Lātū, editor of Kaniva News

A businessman, Dr Tu’i Uata, who was not elected by voters to Tonga’s Parliament has been named by Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva as his Minister of Labour and Commerce, according to a lineup list leaked to local news media.

The Prime Minister may appoint no more than four cabinet ministers from outside Parliament, according to the constitution.

Pōhiva has chosen Tongatapu 2 MP Sēmisi Lafu Sika as Deputy Prime Minister when his 12-member cabinet lineup was submitted to the palace office yesterday.

The submission was made after King Tupou VI appointed Pōhiva as Tonga’s Prime Minister until 2021 after the November snap election resulted in a decisive win for Pōhiva’s Democrats.

“In accordance with Clause 50A of the Constitution of Tonga, His Majesty King Tupou VI has appointed the Prime Minister-Designate, Honourable Samuela ‘Akilisi Pohiva, as the Prime Minister of Tonga, with effect from 2 January, 2018,” the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.

The Prime Minister has the power to nominate his cabinet lineup before recommending the king to appoint them, according to the constitution.

-Partners-

Lord Ma’afu has been chosen from the nobility by Pōhiva to be his Minister of Land and Survey.

Defence Ministry moved to PM
The Ministry of Defence, a portfolio the noble held in the Pōhiva government before the election, has been removed and brought under the control of the Prime Minister.

The Ministry of Custom and Revenues has been brought under the control of Minister of Police Māteni Tapueluelu.

Four of Pōhiva’s Democratic Party team who were elected in the snap election on November 16 do not have portfolios.

They are Tongatapu 5 MP Losaline Mā’asi, Ha’apai 12 MP Mo’ale Fīnau, Ha’apai 13 MP Veivosa Taka and Niua 17 MP Vātau Hui.

The Minister of Justice, Vuna Fā’otusia, has confirmed the lineup list obtained by Kaniva News.

He said it had yet to be officially announced because it was being submitted to the king.

Legislation changed
Fā’otusia said some of the legislation regarding government portfolios had to be changed to allow movements of some of the ministries, such as Sports and Information.

The Ministry of Sports which is currently under the control of the Minister of Internal Affairs was planned to be be returned to the control of the Minister of Education.

The Ministry of Information was also intended to be attached to the Prime Minster’s portfolios.

Fā’otusia alleged corruption existed in the Ministry of Custom and Revenues and that was why the portfolio was being given to the Minister of Police.

The new lineup:
Samuela ‘Akilisi Pōhiva – Prime Minister of Tonga; Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs

2. Sēmisi Sika – Deputy Prime Minister; Minister of Tourism and Infrastructure

3. Sēmisi Fakahau – Minister of Agriculture & Forestry and Food

4. Dr. Pōhiva Tuionetoa – Minister of Finance and National Planning

5. Penisimani Fifita – Minister of Education

6. Poasi Tei – Minister of Energy, Environment, Information and Climate Change (MEIDEEC)

7. ‘Akosita H. Lavulavu – Minister of Internal Affairs and Sports

8. Dr Tu’i Uata – Minister of Labour and Commerce

9. Dr Saia Piukala – Minisiter of Health and Public Enterprises

10. Lord Ma’afu – Minister of Lands and Survey

11. Sione Vuna Fā’otusia – Minister of Justice and Prisons

12. Māteni Tapueluelu – Minister of Police & Fire Services; Customs and Revenue

Asia Pacific Report republishes Kavini News articles by arrangement.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Philip Cass

The general election tomorrow is crucial for the people of Tonga, says Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.

Baroness Scotland said the elections would strengthen the democratic process in Tonga.

A Commonwealth Observer Group is in Tonga to monitor the election.

The team was invited to observe the elections by the Tongan government.

The group is being led by former New Zealand Attorney-General Margaret Wilson.

Other members of the commonwealth team include Nauru’s Electoral Commissioner Joseph Cain, Fiji’s Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem and a human rights lawyer from Swaziland, Lomcebo Dlamini.

-Partners-

The team will remain in country until November 20.

Forum, US observers
Observers from the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the US Embassy in Suva will also be watching the election.

Meanwhile, the kingdom’s Supervisor of Elections, Pita Vuki, has told Radio New Zealand he hoped the election results would be announced on Thursday night.

Polling booths will open at 9am and close at 4pm.

Polling officials from ‘Eua, Tongatapu, Vava’u, Ha’apai and the Niua have been trained on what to do on election day and election materials have been sent to the outer islands.

Vuki said the final electoral roll, containing about 59,000 names, had been printed.

At the last election voter turnout was 79 percent.

Thursday’s elections were called after King Tupou VI dissolved Parliament in August and sacked pro-democracy Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva but kept him on as caretaker prime minister.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz