Acting Prime Minister Taniela Fusimalohi has revealed today that the government has moved to reclaim 26 prefabricated houses allegedly taken by 11 MPs and former Cabinet ministers.
The houses, originally built to accommodate delegates during last year’s Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting, were supposed to be distributed to vulnerable Tongans after the event.
However, Fusimalohi revealed that the previous government had instead allocated some of them to politicians.
These houses must be “returned so they can be given to those in dire need,” Fusimalohi said, though he did not specify how the homes ended up in the possession of officials.
It follows the Auditor General’s revelation that he found no record of how the Hu’akavameiliku government spent $60 million Covid fund.
Former Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku had previously said that the prefabricated homes would be handed over to struggling families once the forum concluded.
Missing reports
The Acting Prime Minister’s announcement follows Public Enterprises Minister Piveni Piukala’s earlier public criticism over the housing project’s lack of transparency.
Piukala expressed frustration over the alleged absence of detailed reports on costs, contractors, and the intended use of the prefab houses constructed from repurposed shipping containers.
The homes were installed across Tongatapu, including 16 on Vaha’akolo Road, 30 on Kausela Road, and over 30 in Sopu. Another 60 units in Popua were meant to later function as hotels to support tourism.
Piukala dismissed the project as poorly planned.
“Most delegates and travellers stayed elsewhere during the forum,” he claimed.
“There has been little benefit from this initiative, and the public deserves answers.”
