Vavaʻu 14 MP Dr Saia Piukala said today Saturday 27 he was confident the independent MPs in the Cabinet would vote for Prime Minister ʻAkilisi Pohiva in Tonga’s planned vote of no confidence.
Dr Piukala, who is Minister for Health, was one of the independent MPs who supported Hon. Pohiva in his bid for the premiership.
Seven independent MPs who supported Hon. Pohiva were Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni of Tongatapu 2, Hon. Poasi Tei of Tongatapu 6, Dr ‘Aisake Eke of Tongatapu 7, Dr Saia Piukala of Vavaʻu 14 and Hon. Feʻao Vakatā of Niua 17.
Among the Prime Minister’s supporters was former Vavaʻu 16 MP ʻEtuate Lavulavu. His wife has been elected as his replacement and has publicly announced her support for Hon. Pohiva.
Dr Piukala, who was in Auckland this week to attend the Pasifika Medical Association’s 20th anniversary conference said today the independent MPs in Cabinet talked from time to time about government matters, including the vote of no confidence.
They regarded it as a serious matter that Hon. Pohiva had no “personal agenda” while becoming Prime Minister and that he did not use his power for his own personal benefit.
He said they could see some shortcomings in Hon. Pohiva’s leadership and performance, but they were minor matters that did not affect the public as a whole when compared to the behaviour of past governments and the corruption which led some MPs to court.
“He is genuine and he is different from those who did things only because they knew they would gain personal benefit out of it”, Dr Piukala said in Tongan.
Dr Piukala said the vote of no confidence had yet to be submitted to the House, although Lord Vaea has declared it would be submitted next week.
He said he would continue to support Hon. Pohiva and was confident his co-independents would do likewise.
Dr Piukala said he was aware that Lord Vaea told Kaniva News the opposition had already made a deal with independent MPs in Cabinet to join them in a new government
“They were just trying to stir things up, but that won’t happen” Dr Piukala said.
The nobles had nine MPs, but Lord Ma’afu was appointed Minister of Land and Survey, leaving them with only eight.
The other independent MPs who supported the nobles were MP Viliami Hingano of Ha’apai 12 and MP Samiu Vaipulu of Vava’u 15. As it stands the nobles have 10 MPs while Hon. Pohiva has 15 MPs to support him.
Hon. Pohiva has faced criticism over a number of issues since becoming prime Minister. These have included his decision to appoint his son as his Personal Assistant, even though he said he was paying him out of his own pocket.
Critics said this contradicted his opposition to the nepotism and favoritism he claimed occurred in previous governments.
His decision to change the assessment of students’ exam results from the standardisation to use raw marks also drew fire. Last week a meeting in Nukuʻalofa saw some of Tonga’s top educators declaring that Hon. Pohiva has destroyed a great system of education.
The main points
- Vavaʻu 14 MP Dr Saia Piukala said today he was confident the independent MPs in the Cabinet will vote for Prime Minister ʻAkilisi Pohiva in Tonga’s planned vote of no confidence.
- Dr Piukala, who is Minister for Health, was one of the independent MPs who supported Pohiva in his bid for the premiership.
- Dr Piukala said the vote of no confidence had yet to be submitted to the House, although Lord Vaea has declared it would be submitted next week.
- As it stands the nobles have 10 MPs while Hon. Pohiva has 15 MPs to support him.
For more information
Noble MPs vow to topple government with no confidence motion when Parliament resumes
