The involvement in Tonga’s government by King Tupou VI is a return to the “dark ages” for the kingdom, a long time journalist, author and advocate campaigning for democracy.

The King last month withdrew his support for the ministers holding two portfolios.

Tonga’s Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni has reportedly stepped down from his defence portfolio, with Foreign Affairs Minister Fekita ‘Utoikamanu reportedly doing the same.

Sources in Nuku’alofa have told RNZ Pacific the decision to resign comes following a meeting between Hu’akavameiliku and a cabinet team held with King Tupou VI earlier this month.

Democracy advocate and journalist Kalafi Moala, who is editor of Talanoa ‘o Tonga and the RNZ Pacific correspondent, said the King’s decision to withdraw support is a retrograde step.

“The reform in 2010 was that he [the King] would get out of trying to run the government or to appoint government,” he said.

‘Very bad move’
“And with this King, to me, this is a very, very bad move, and there is a lot of public unhappiness about it.”

Hu’akavameiliku has reportedly sent a proposal to the King, recommending that Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala, a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, be appointed Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs.

An official announcement is expected to be made after a Privy Council meeting that will be chaired by the King on Thursday.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Just days after the appointment of Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola as Tonga’s new Minister of Health, King Tupou VI has withdrawn his consent for two other Cabinet appointments.

An undated memo from the Lord Privy Seal, Viliami Malolo, to Chief Secretary of the Cabinet Paula Ma’u seen by Kaniva News details the king’s refusal to accept the appointments.

“His Majety was pleased by and with the advice of his Privy Council to withdraw His confidence and consent to the appointment of the Hon. Hu’akavameliku as Minister or His Majesty’s Armed Forces,” the royal memo said.

The memo said the king was also withdrawing consent for the appointment of the Hon. Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Tourism.

Several Cabinet appointments have yet to be ratified by the king.

Last year Prime Minister Hu’akavameliku said he had nominated a new Minister to replace former Minister of Fisheries Semisi Fakahau. That nomination has yet to be ratified by the king.

Reports at the time suggested the Prime Minister had also nominated a replacement for the Minister of Police.

The government is remaining tight-lipped about the King’s action.

Kaniva News has asked the Chief Secretary and Prime Minister whether they have received the King’s memo.

‘Repeatedly refused answers’
In an interview with Broadcom Broadcasting, Deputy Prime Minister Samiu Vaipulu did not deny the existence of the memo. However, he repeatedly refused to answer questions about the King’s withdrawal of his consent to the appointments.

He said Cabinet was working on a response and would release a statement later.

Hon. Vaipulu said the Prime Minister was currently overseas.

The PM’s nomination of a new Minister of Fisheries has yet to be appointed.

The King can only revoke a Minister’s appointment if he has been advised by the Prime Minister according to Clause 51 of the Constitution.

Kaniva comments: Hon. Fekita Utoikamanu was appointed from outside Cabinet. It is unclear how she would be affected by the King’s decision. There appears to be no clause in the Constitution allowing His Majesty to withdraw his appointment of any minister after their appointment.

The question is whether Hon. Utoikamanu would remain as Minister despite the king’s withdrawal of his approval.

The fact that the King withdrew his consent following the advice of the Privy Council will also re-awaken concerns raised as far back as 2017 about the role of the king’s counsellors.

The then Justice Minister Vuna Fā’otusia said decisions made by Parliament were sometimes vetoed by His Majesty because of advice from the Privy Council.

He said the members of the council were not chosen by the people.

It is about a decade since lawyer Peter Pursglove said that Tonga’s 2010 Constitution was the poorest among all Commonwealth countries. He made suggestions to improve it, but progress had been stalled.

Pursglove expressed concern about the role and the establishment of the Privy Council.

Republished in partnership with Kaniva Tonga.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Kalino Lātū, editor of Kaniva News

Tongan Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva told his supporters that if he had really wanted to take away people’s land and the royal powers he would have made himself Minister of Defence and Minister of Land at the last election.

Pōhiva made the revelation on Tuesday night when he spoke in front of hundreds of his Tongatapu 1 constituents at the Uaiselē Hall at Sipu Road in Kolomotu’a before Thursday’s snap general election, which boosted the Democrats with a landslide win.

He was rejecting claims by his political opponents that he had a secret agenda to take away people’s rights to their land and give it to the nobles.

Kaniva News was unable to publish anything on his speech immediately because of Tonga’s electoral law which prohibited the publication of any material that could promote a candidate within 24 hours of Thursday’s election.

In his speech, the Prime Minister said he struggled in 2014 to choose a minister for the Ministry of Land and His Majesty’s Armed Forces.

Pōhiva, who was re-elected to Parliament in Thursday’s election, said he lay down at home at night and “thought deeply” about the problem.

-Partners-

‘Fragile’ future
He said he knew how “very fragile” the future of land and the defence services seemed in some people’s minds, especially the nobility and the royals while he – a man who had called for significant changes to the status quo in the past 30 years – was leading the country.

He finally made up his mind to appoint Lord Ma’afu from the nobility to the posts.

He thought the noble’s appointment could show the nation his ambition to bring about reforms that could bring more stability to Tonga.

He said politicians who campaigned against him during the snap election misled the people by telling them he was trying to unnecessarily remove the king’s power.

“That was not right,” Pōhiva said.

Protecting His Majesty
Pōhiva, whose critics accused him of wanting to “become king”, said he understood the way he wanted to protect the king put him and his government in a delicate situation.

The Prime Minister was referring to submissions from Cabinet to amend the constitution, including a proposal to reinstate the former Privy Council structure in which the king met with cabinet ministers in Privy Council.

The move was described by the Minister of Justice Vuna Fā’otusia as an attempt to make sure the king was directly informed first hand about government matters by the ministers because they were the ones who did government’s administration work.

Fā’otusia said the current structure was not secure because the Privy Council was filled with people who were not elected by the people and were not accountable to the public.

Pōhiva explained that amending the law would benefit the king and the people, but unfortunately his critics had twisted and demonised their intentions.

‘Dirty politics’
He described it as “dirty politics” and thanked his followers for helping defeat his rivals in the three decades he had been involved in Tongan politics.

Tuesday night’s meeting was repeatedly interrupted by applause and yells of support from the audience.

As Kaniva News reported on Friday, Pōhiva and his Democratic Party won 14 parliamentary seats which enabled them to form the next government without needing the help of the nobility or the independents.

It is understood Pōhiva and his cabinet were due to meet this weekend, although the line-up of the cabinet has not been announced yet.

Asia Pacific Report republishes Kaniva News stories with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz