The former Minister of Infrastructure, Sevenitiini Tomo‘ua, erupted in fury during a parliamentary session on Wednesday, shouting in the House after Deputy Prime Minister Taniela Fusimālohi questioned the Speaker about the status of Parliament’s Anti-Corruption Committee.
“Ke ke ha‘u fakailifia‘i ‘a hai heni! “Ke ke ha‘u fakailifia’i ‘a hai heni!”, Toumo‘ua repeatedly challenged Fusimālohi in Tongan, saying who are you threatening here.
Fusimālohi appeared calm and never in his statements showed any signs of threatening.
During the livestreamed debate, Fusimālohi told the Speaker, “I want the public listening to know they can file complaints with the Speaker and Parliament against any MP suspected of corruption.”
It follows his initial question for the Speaker to clarify the status of Parliament’s anti-corruption efforts.
He further urged that citizens should be permitted to approach the House under the committee’s authority to demand explanations or information from MPs or other individuals under suspicion.
The Deputy Prime Minister’s remarks appeared to have provoked Toumo‘ua, before Hu‘akavameiliku joined his former minister in attacking Fusimālohi, a reflection of lingering tensions between the former and current governments.
Hu‘akavameiliku had resigned abruptly in December, preempting an expected no-confidence motion that he was unlikely to survive.
Recently, Fusimālohi revealed that he had spotted an Auditor General’s performance report in the queue for bulk approval by the House without debate on its contents. He requested that the report be tabled for discussion.
Millions of COVID fund missing record
The report revealed that the Auditor General found no record of how $60 million in COVID funds was spent. The Hu’akavameiliku government was in power when the funds were dispersed.
The revelation triggered heated debates in the House, which later spilt over into the media. Hu‘akavameiliku claimed the records were held by the Treasury, a claim the Minister of Finance denied.
During yesterday’s exchanges in Parliament, Hu‘akavameiliku challenged Fusimālohi to clarify whether he was accusing him of corruption, saying he could submit a formal complaint with the House, but Fusimālohi seemed undeterred.
Toumo’ua disagreed with Fusimālohi about allowing public complaints to be launched with Parliament, stating that they should take their issues to court or the police instead.
The Minister of Lands informed the House that he chaired the Parliamentary Anti-Corruption Committee and that meetings had been held during its establishment. However, the chief clerk of Parliament advised them to wait until the Anti-Corruption Commission was set up.
At one stage during the heated exchange, both Hu‘akavameiliku and Toumo‘ua rose simultaneously from their seats to criticise Fusimālohi, leading the Deputy Prime Minister to humorously caution them to take turns rising from the seats to avoid colliding.
