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Tonga rugby league appoints new chairman MP Sēmisi Sika, Speaker Lord Fakafanua as new president

By
Kalino Latu
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MP Semisi Sika has been appointed the new chairman of Tonga Rugby League and Speaker Lord Fakafanua has been elected as the new president taking over from ousted Siaosi Koloamatangi.

Sika, the former president of the sport in Tonga, has confirmed his appointment to Kaniva News this evening.

Local businessman John Paul Chapman has been elected for the role of Finance Director.

It is understood the election took place after an Implementation Committee, appointed by International Rugby League (IRL) to find directors for a new governing body for Tonga’s rugby league, which will then seek to regain membership of IRL.

The election results came after what appear to be conflicting reports yesterday with Kaniva News reporting the Minister of Internal Affairs Vatau Hui saying he has not been made aware of the new board IRL said its Implementation Committee has established and that MP Sika and Lord Fakafanua had been shortlisted as candidates for the new board’s leadership.

Hui said the government has its own proposed new board at the request of the IRL and it will be submitted to the international body shortly. He said the proposed board did not include any of the members of the former controversial boards in Tonga.

Meanwhile, Talaki Online has reported yesterday that the International Court of Arbitration for Sports has ordered IRL to stop any further actions on what it has been doing for Tonga league because of an alleged appeal by the ousted Tonga National Rugby League Board.

RIF reported two international players Will Hopoate and Tonga Captain Sika Manu were new Board members appointed by the Implementation Committee.

“As a part of the organisation’s proposed new governance structure, player representation on the board has been introduced and current international player Will Hopoate and former Tonga captain Sika Manu have been elected by the national team squad to take up those positions,” RIF reports.

“IRL CEO Nigel Wood has also been in contact with Prime Minister, Hon Pohiva Tu’ionetoa, and IRL would like to thank him and his government for their support and encouragement of this process. The government has committed to working closely with IRL to see the restoration of Tonga to the international rugby league community.

Speaker orders House live broadcast turned off to allow MPs to debate response to king’s opening speech; former Education Minister wanted to use words that were “tasty and pleasing”

By
Kalino Latu
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The Speaker of Parliament ordered the live broadcast of the House’s debates to be turned off on Monday to allow the MPs to freely discussed the letter drafted as a response to the king’s speech last week to open the 2020-2021 sessions.

However, later during the session Lord Tu’iha’angana said the debates should have been broadcast live for the public to listen and learn from them.

The Parliamentarians debated the languages used in the letter, taking special care about the vocabulary and grammar.

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Food and Fisheries Lord Tu’ilakepa questioned the use of the word fakamākukanga, saying the king may not understand what it meant.

He said the word was new to him and the word tukupā was normally used instead.

Responding, Vava’u 14 MP Saia Piukala said that in Tongan the word meant faivelenga or tōtoivi and it has been used by the Ministry of Ombudsman in writing their laws and was in the Tongan dictionary.

Minister of Internal Affairs Vātau Hui told the House the vocabulary was old-fashioned and the synonym ‘osikiavelenga could be used, which was simple and understandable.

The Minister, who was also a tutor on Tongan language, warned that using of a comma in the letter appeared unnecessary in some paragraphs and they had to be used correctly.

Tongatapu 9 MP Penisimani Fifita reminded the House of the social classification and usage of the Tongan language in which different words were used for the king, the nobility and the commoners.

The former teacher and Minister of Education said the word fakamākukanga added quality and fitted a letter to the king.

“When we talk about the king we used words that were tasty, pleasing and gratifying,” the Minister said in Tongan.

He said fakamākukanga in English meant to dedicate, commit and do the best.

The House finally passed the letter and the Speaker has chosen Lord Tu’i’āfitu and MP Piukala to take the letter to the Palace.

New Screens Use / Sworn in

The Speaker, Lord Fakafanua, revealed during Monday’s session that new screens had been placed around the chamber so Ministers and Parliamentary staff could see which MPs were taking part in each debate.

New MP for Tongatapu 1 Siaosi Pohiva was sworn in during Monday’s session.

He took his oath and swore to abide by the Constitution and the Law of Tonga and to perform his utmost in the best interest of the public.

He replaced the former MP of his constituency, his late father and former Prime Minister, Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva who died last year.

The main points

  • The Speaker of Parliament ordered the live broadcast of the House’s debates to be turned off on Monday to allow the MPs to freely discussed the letter drafted as a response to the king’s speech last week to open the 2020-2021 sessions.
  • However, later during the session Lord Tu’iha’angana said the debates should have been broadcast live for the public to listen and learn from them.

Vava‘u Town Officer claims authorities flouting food safety laws as heated dispute erupts over dirty buckets of salt beef

By
Kalino Latu
-

The arrival of a shipment of what appears to be dirty plastic buckets full of salted beef in Vava’u without product labels caused disagreements between authorities at the Puatalefusi wharf last week.

Neiafu Town Officer Vāvā Lapota insisted the 18 commercial products should have been confiscated because they did not show expiry dates. He said the fact that the outside of the buckets were covered with dirt could arouse suspicion about the quality of the meat inside.

But they were released after the business owners contacted senior authorities at the Food Division office in Tonga.

Lapota said he was mystified by the way government authorities had handled the long-running disputes and complaints over the sale of expired meat and controversial food products in Vava’u.

He said it was illegal to sell food products without labels on them.

He said he was concerned about the conditions of the beef products after the Food CEO Dr Viliami Manu announced manufacturers had to use proper salt for the production of salted beef and fixed measurement had to be used.

Kaniva News understands the CEO told TBC if the wrong salt was used the beef could be contaminated.

Lapota said the complaints and seizure of expired food in Vava’u had occurred more than a  dozen times and he questioned why the government authorities never applied the three-warning rule and charged the accused.

Lapota said the government’s slack handling of the issue had encouraged certain convenience store owners to continue selling expired food products in Vava’u.

He said he was starting to lose trust in the Ministry.

“It’s a long story,” he told Kaniva News.

Tonga’s Food Act 2014 says:

Every package of food intended for sale in the Kingdom shall contain a label which:

(a) permits its traceability;

(b) sets out such particulars as may be prescribed; and

(c) is in the English or Tongan language or a combination of both.

(2) Where food other than packaged food is displayed for sale, it shall be labelled as prescribed in regulations made under this Act.

CEO Response

Kaniva News has asked the Ministry’s CEO Dr Viliami Manu to respond to Lapota’s statements.

In his response Dr Manu said the responsibility of the Ministry was to make sure the food products could not affect the consumers’ health.

He said it would be an offence if someone sold foods that affected people’s health. They had to be warned three times and if they continued breaking the law they would be charged.

“The accused would face losing their business license or imprisonment for eight years or pay a fine of TP$100,000,” Dr Manu said.

CEO Manu did not respond to Lapota’s complaint about the buckets of salted beef being released from the wharf.

A comment on Lapota’s Facebook page by  a Facebook user who went by the name Isileli Aholelei, and who claimed he was from the Food Division claimed the disputed salted beef was ordered to be released because they could still be consumed.

He said the Department had been working on the “labels of all the meats distributors in Tonga.”

‘Aholelei said this was the same thing they did for some repacked food products including flour, sugar, chicken, salt and mutton flaps.

They were allowed to be sold without labels because the Department was still working to have them ready for use, he said.

Aholelei also said they inspected suppliers on a weekly basis to make sure they maintained hygiene standards.

Food products seized and destroyed

As Kaniva News reported on April 22, a complaint from the Neiafu Town Officer led to the seizure of expired goods from a number of  convenience stores.

We also reported claims that a number of convenience stores in Neiafu hid their expired goods in other places when authority inspected their stores.

Before that incident we reported that around 400 boxes of rotting chicken had been destroyed after authorities inspected a refrigerated container at a Chinese shop in Neiafu in February.

Bags of expired flour and rotting salted beef had been found at this store before the February bust.

In September 2019 authorities destroyed 45 buckets of rotting salted beefs at Kalaka landfill site.

The main points

  • The arrival of a shipment of what appears to be dirty plastic buckets full of salted beef in Vava’u without product labels caused disagreements between authorities at the Puatalefusi wharf last week.
  • Neiafu town officer Vāvā Lapota insisted the 18 commercial products should have been confiscated because they did not show expiry dates. He said the fact that the outside of the buckets were covered with dirt could arouse suspicion about the quality of the meat inside.

For more information

Vava‘u authorities destroy boxes of rotting chicken

Busted again: Vava‘u shops caught selling expired food

PM Tu‘i‘onetoa talks with IRL, optimistic about Tonga League’s progress after Covid-19 crisis

By
Kalino Latu
-

The government had been drafting Bills in a bid to settle down the long-running dispute within Tonga Rugby League and the International Rugby League (IRL) was made aware of what the government had been doing, Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa told Kaniva News during an exclusive interview on Friday.

“I hope after Covid-19 we have a good talk about the Sport. And we have contacted IRL on that and IRL understands the government’s intention,” the Prime Minister said.

In Tongan he said: “Ka oku mau lolotonga ngaue pe kimautolu ‘i he Pule’anga ki he Lao Sipoti oku mau tui te ne fakasi’isi’i a e ngaahi fakavaha’avaha’a i he Sipoti a Tonga, o kau ai a e Rugby League… Ko u tui ko e osi a e Covid-19, kuo tau talanoa lelei he Sipoti. Pea na’a mau fetu’utaki pe ki he IRL ‘i he ‘uhinga koia, pea oku mahino pe ki he IRL a e taumu’a a e Pule’anga.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Internal Affairs Vatau Hui has vehemently denied allegations on Facebook that he has announced the government has set up another new Rugby League Board of its own and proposed it to the IRL.

Hon Hui echoed what the Prime Minister has said saying the government had been working to resolve the issues which have affected the sport for years.

The IRL has expelled the Tonga National Rugby League – which was suspended last October – from membership.

However, IRL later supported processing a new application to reinstate Tonga’s membership.

“As a part of the organisation’s proposed new governance structure, player representation on the board has been introduced and current international player Will Hopoate and former Tonga captain Sika Manu have been elected by the national team squad to take up those positions,” RIF reports.

Will Hopoate stating “I am excited and grateful to be a part of the new Tonga Rugby League board and striving to help the Tongan National team progress as well as building Rugby League in Tonga.”

Sika Manu added “I’m very honoured to be part of the new Tongan Rugby League board and excited to help with the progression of the Tongan Rugby League team and also the development of Rugby League in Tonga.”

IRL Global Operations Manager Danny Kazandjian has welcomed the progress saying;

“The Implementation Committee (IC) has worked diligently and continues to support TMTRL to develop their organisation and to complete their application.

“IRL CEO Nigel Wood has also been in contact with Prime Minister, Hon Pohiva Tu’ionetoa, and IRL would like to thank him and his government for their support and encouragement of this process. The government has committed to working closely with IRL to see the restoration of Tonga to the international rugby league community.

“Despite the world-wide constraints due to COVID-19 we are confident that the implementation committee will be able to conclude this process quickly and the new board representing the whole Tongan rugby League community will take up its position and submit their application for membership of International Rugby League.

“We look forward to seeing rugby league being played in the kingdom and the Tongan national team back in action as soon as circumstances permit.”

Seat belt, texting-while-driving laws proposed, overseas travellers can drive without Tongan driver license

By
Kalino Latu
-

Public consultation has started on the Government’s proposed changes and laws to the traffic and land transport requirements.

Two Bills required all passengers wear seat belts while riding in the front seat, and making it an offense if drivers found texting and looking at their phone while operating a motor vehicle.

The Bills included one that would ban heavily tinted front window vehicles to operate on the road.

Although the seat belt Bills would not cover the back seats, it would be an offense if Police found somebody leaning or hanging out of the windows of a moving vehicles, according to the new Bills.

New Zealand, Australia and the United States driver license holders will be allowed to drive in Tonga without a Tongan driver license if they have a current and valid overseas license or driver permit, one of the Bills said.

It has been revealed the Ministry of Infrastructure is expected to install traffic lights for the first time.

The Bills also included one that will see heavy trucks being restricted from certain roads in Central Nuku’alofa.

Lawmakers also wanted control over road maintenance and upkeeps moved from the Ministry of Land and Survey to the Ministry of Infrastructure.

Mad and murderous or co-operative and alive? Tongan students’ story shows castaways can survive  by working together says Dutch author

By
Philip Cass
-

What would happen if a group of poorly equipped, hungry, frightened and lost schoolboys washed up on a deserted tropical island?

Would they manage to survive or would they revert to savagery?

In 1954 British author William Goldman published his first novel, Lord of the Flies, which has become one of the classics of 20th century literature.

Set during a future world war, it tells the story of a group of schoolboys who are evacuated from England are being flown to safety when their aeroplane crashes on an uninhabited island in the Pacific.

The boys make plans about helping each to survive and find food, but their society crumples as they become hungry, are driven mad by fear and isolation and become convinced the island is occupied  by a  monster they call The Beast. Eventually they begin to worship a rotting pig’s head and murder each other.

Now Dutch author Rutger Bregman has found a story which he says proves that Lord of The Flies’ grim  fiction needn’t be reality – and it all hinges on six Tongan boarding school students who tried to sail to Fiji.

Just over a decade later, in 1965, six schoolboys, fed up with life in a strict Catholic boarding school in Nuku’alofa, took a boat with a plan to head for Fiji or even all the way to New Zealand.

The boys packed very little – two sacks of bananas, a few coconuts and a small gas burner. They had no maps or compass. Author Rutger Bregman identifies the boys by their first names –  Sione, Stephen, Kolo, David, Luke and Mano.

On their first night at sea they fell asleep and woke to find a storm had blown up, with their sail in shreds and their rudder damaged they drifted for eight days, surviving on two sips of water a day until they reached ‘Ata, an island with a grim history.

Once populated, the island was raided by slave traders who kidnapped 140 local people and took them to Peru. It was believed that some eventually made their way back , but the remaining population of the island was moved to ‘Eua.

Once on the island the boys acted in a manner completely the opposite of the Lord of the Flies’ fictional students. Instead of quarreling and killing each other, they drew up a roster for garden, kitchen and guard duty. Each day began with a song and a prayer. Kolo fashioned a guitar from scarps and they tried building a raft, but it fell apart in the surf,

It barely rained that summer, leaving them dreadfully thirsty. They survived on fish, coconuts, and birds, drinking their blood as well as eating their meat and sucking seabird eggs dry. They eventually reached the top of the island which reaches hundreds of metres above sea level and there they found wild taro, bananas and chickens which had been reproducing  since the last Tongans left.

They stored rainwater in hollowed-out tree trunks, built a gymnasium and a badminton court, chicken pens and kept a permanent fire, all, Bregman writes, “from handiwork, an old knife blade and much determination.’

Eventually, on September 11, 1966, after a year on the island, a passing Australian ship skippered by Captain Peter Warner spotted their signal fire and rescued them. When he managed to contact Nuku’alofa by radio to say he had rescued the boys the radio operator exclaimed: “You found them! These boys have been given up for dead. Funerals have been held. If it’s them, this is a miracle!”

Once they were back in Tonga, things took  a turn for the worse when the owner of the boat they had ‘borrowed’ all those  months before pressed charges and had them jailed. Warner solved the problem by using his connections through his father’s electronics empire and arranged to have a film made about them. He paid off the owner and when the king asked what reward he would like he asked for lobster fishing rights, bought a new fishing boatrawler  and took on the boys as his crew.

The main points

  • What would happen if a group of poorly equipped, hungry and lost schoolboys washed up on a deserted tropical island?
  • Would they manage to survive or would they revert to savagery?

For more information

The real Lord of the Flies: what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months 

The strange story of Tonga’s lost island of ‘Ata

New book tells story of slave raiders who took Tongans to South America

Liahona High School student found guilty after Tonga College boy stabbed in head during fight

By
Philip Cass
-

A Liahona High School student has been found guilty of causing serious bodily harm to a student from Tonga College during a fight in February last year.

The Supreme Court was told that on February 16 he stabbed a student during a fight at Kolofo’ou.

In his report on the case, Judge Niu, presiding, said the Liahona student stabbed Wesley in head, the blow penetrating his skull.

The injured student spent two weeks in hospital during which time the wound was drained and the scalp stitched together. He was then discharged and told he had to take care of his health for two years so the hole in his skull would close up.

However, a year later the injured student said he could still feel the hole in his skull . He said that he could still feel his head throbbing when he ran or exercised, and that if he rubbed the spot on his head where the hole was, he could hear it in his ears like the rubbing of a microphone with one’s finger.

The court was told that the accused would not give evidence and would not call any witness.

Counsel for the defence argued that eyewitness testimony only established that the Liahona student chose to be involved in the fighting and was injured when he collided with the accused.

He said it did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused wilfully and without lawful justification stabbed the complainant in the head with a sharp object.

The Tonga College student said he was standing with the witness and another friend under the south mango tree on Digicel Square at the north-eastern corner of Wellington Road and Taufa’ahau Road when the fight broke out on the road between Narottam store and the Chinese restaurant on Wellington Road.

He said that he saw Tonga College boys in the fight and he ran to where the vehicle he had come on was parked. As he ran between those vehicles, the accused was coming from the east side and they crashed into each other. When they parted from each other, he felt blood spurting from his head and flowing down his face. He said he fell down and another boy led him away to the market from where the police took him to hospital,

While he was at the hospital,  the accused also arrived at the hospital to treat a cut which he had sustained to his hand. He said that he told the police the accused was the one who had injured him.

The police then arrested the accused and asked him what he had done to him. He said the accused did not speak, just held up his hand above his head and moved it from the back to the front and then downwards in a stabbing manner. He said that the accused was also mumbling something unintelligible. He said that the police then took the accused away.

He said that he was still wearing the cap and that it had a hole in it where the injury to his head was. The police took the cap with them as evidence.

“Considering all those evidence, I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the complainant received the injury which he sustained when he came into collision with the accused

“Defence counsel did not  question or challenge the complainant about that evidence.

“I must accept it as an admission by the accused that he had caused the injury.

“Accordingly, I find the accused guilty.”

Homicide Investigation launched after Ngele‘ia man dies

By
Kalino Latu
-

A homicide investigation is underway after a 27-year-old Ngele’ia man died in Vaiola hospital yesterday.

Police was called to a residence at Haveluloto on Saturday morning 9 May, where a man was found critically injured.

Police rushed him to hospital, and he passed away on Sunday, 10 May 2020.

A 37-year-old man was arrested from the scene on Saturday and have been charged with murder and is currently under police custody.

This is the first homicide for the year.

Police investigation continues.

Will a domestic airline ever fly again – and how long before it is bankrupt asks Prime Minister

By
Kalino Latu and Philip Cass
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Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa said asking whether the government was going to start its own airline was the wrong question.

“It should be asked whether a domestic aircraft will fly again in the kingdom or not,” Hon. Tu’i’onetoa said.

“And if it flies how long before it is bankrupt just like the airlines in the past?”

The Prime Minister’s statement came after Real Tonga CEO Tevita Palu told Kaniva News the government had confirmed it would operate its own domestic airline.

During his interview with Kaniva News, the Prime Minister did not explicitly deny Palu’s statement.

Hon. Tu’i’onetoa said Real Tonga’s 33-seat Saab 340 had been damaged in a bird strike. He said Palu had told him replacing the damaged engine would cost US$3 million. It would take three months for it to reach Tonga. Palu had asked for the government to guarantee a US$3 million loan from Tonga Development Bank.

The  Y12 and MA60, which were given to Tonga  by China in 2013,  will be returned to the government. Lord Tu’ivakano’s government leased them to Real Tonga which caused Chatham Pacific to withdrew from Tonga.

“At the time it was preached that domestic airfares would be cheaper because of the free aircraft from China,” the Prime Minister said.

“After seven years more problems emerged, worse than before Chatham Pacific left.

“There were no cheap seats and Real Tonga still owes huge debts to government. “

He said there was one aircraft that could fly to ‘Eua, but not  Ha’apai and Vava’u.

“The MA60 cannot be operated because it has been stationary for a long time and Real Tonga cannot afford to pay for its Certificate of Airworthiness to allow it to fly,” the Prime Minister said.

It was estimated it would cost millions before it could fly again. It could not fly in the next 12 months. The Y12 had 18 or 19 seats, but only 11 seats could be used. It needed some parts from Australia  before it can fly. It needed two to three weeks for parts to arrive.

“You asked me what is the government’s plan for its airline?” the Prime Minister said.

“After you look at the conditions I have stated above, do you think someone would be willing to be involved in operating an airline if he had a sensible mind?

“There have been a lot of accusations on the internet, but the fact is this is not a simple issue.

“No one wanted to invest in this operation.

“The government does not want to take away an opportunity that should have been given to someone else. The government has heaps of duties to do.

“From the government’s point of view the domestic service is required for the people, but it has still drowned in troubles since the beginning and it was not just Tevita Palu.

“The government did it before with its Royal Tongan Airline. I was the Auditor General at the time. The first time I saw its balance sheet it was really, really, bad.”

Real Tonga

As Kaniva News reported last week, Real Tonga has asked the Tongan government for financial support after being crippled by the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Prime Minister said a Cabinet committee had been set up to look at the  best option for the future.

The committee had offered two options; one for the government to keep operating Real Tonga either on its own or in partnership with the existing management; or to hand over air operations to somebody else.

Real Tonga is the last in a long line of airlines in Tonga to face financial difficulties.

People are now using ferries to travel between the islands.

Tonga government reportedly “approved to set up national airline,” says Real Tonga CEO Tēvita Palu

By
Kalino Latu
-

The government has reportedly decided to set up its own new domestic airline, Real Tonga CEO Tevita Palu told Kaniva News this morning.

“Cabinet approved to set up national airline as per PM and Ministers,” he said.

The decision comes after senior staff and pilots at Real Tonga had been laid off following a dramatic drop in revenue amid the Covid-19 crisis and its subsequent restrictions.

It also comes after a Cabinet select committee reviewed a proposal by these pilots for the government  to set up an airline so they could have jobs to do.

Palu said Real Tonga’s lease of the government Chinese MA60 is being processed to be terminated.

Real Tonga also leased government’s Y12 and that lease is being terminated, Palu said.

“Both aircraft returning to government,” he said.

He said Real Tonga will  continue to operate the SAA340 and BN2 aircraft.

He also confirmed his engineers were currently fixing one of its aircraft which was forced to return to Vava’u airport Wednesday morning after striking a bird shortly after take-off.

The Prime Minister’s office had been contacted for comment.

As Kaniva News reported last week, the Prime Minister said the government was still reviewing a proposal to set up its airline.

“It is important for the nation to know that the government does not take this lightly,” the Prime Minister said.

“The expense for operating an airline is huge and none of the previous airline operators in Tonga made any profit whatsoever.

“However, the service is required for the people.”

He said after seven years in business Real Tonga still faced problems and had approached the government for help.

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