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Supreme Court issues declaration on legal status of main points in Tongasat case

By
Philip Cass
-

The Supreme Court has issued a declaration regarding the long running legal battle over the Tongan government’s payment to Tongasat of millions of dollars of Chinese money.

As Kaniva Tonga reported last month, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of ‘Akilisi Pohiva and the Public Service Association who had fought a five year battle against Tongasat over what it claimed were illegal payments to the company.

The Supreme Court ruled that the payment of the money to tens of  millions of dollars of Chinese money to Princess Pilolevu’s satellite company was illegal.

Lord Chief Justice Paulsen has now issued a declaration on the legal status of the  main points of the claims made in the court case.

The judge said a declaratory judgment was a formal  statement  by  a court  pronouncing  upon the existence or non-existence of a legal state of affairs.

He said the remedy of a declaration of rights was ordinarily granted as final relief in a proceeding. It was intended to state the rights of the parties with respect to a particular matter with precision and in a binding way.

Lord Chief Justice Paulsen declared his agreement with the following points raised by Dr Rodney Harrison, QC, on behalf of the Public service association and ‘Akilisi Pohiva:

“The first tranche payment of US$24.45 million in aid  grant funds  received by the first defendant (the Kingdom) from  the People’s Republic of China on  September 4, 2008 (the first tranche payment) was a ‘grant’ and accordingly ‘public money’ within the  meaning  of  the Public  Finance  Management  Act,” the judge said.

“Following its receipt by the Kingdom, US$20,985,667 of the first tranche payment was paid to or for the benefit of Tongasat pursuant to a purported agreement between the then Prime Minister of Tonga, Dr Feleti Sevele  and Tongasat.

“The payment of US$20,985,667 of the first tranche payment to or for the benefit of Tongasat was expended in breach of section 9 of the PFMA and accordingly unlawful and invalid.

“To the extent that the first tranche payment was expended to satisfy pre-existing liabilities of Tongasat that expenditure was in breach of section 30 of the PFMA and accordingly unlawful and invalid.

“The purported agreement between the then Prime Minister and Tongasat  was in breach  of the PFMA and  in excess of  Dr Sevele’s lawful powers and authority as Prime Minister and accordingly unlawful  and invalid.

“Tongasat was not entitled to payment of the first tranche payment or any part thereof under either the Agency Agreement or the Agency Termination Agreement.

“The second tranche payment of US$25.450 million in aid grant funds received by the Kingdom from the People’s Republic of China on June 9, 2011 (the second tranche payment) was a ‘grant’ and accordingly ‘public money’ within the meaning of the PFMA.

“Following its receipt by the Kingdom, the second tranche payment was paid in its entirety to or for the benefit of Tongasat pursuant to a purported agreement between the then Prime Minister of Tonga, Dr Feleti Sevele and Tongasat.

“The payment of the second tranche payment in its entirety to or for the benefit of Tongasat was expended in breach of section 9 of the PFMA and accordingly unlawful and invalid.

“To the extent that the first tranche payment was expended to satisfy pre-existing liabilities of Tongasat that expenditure was in breach of section 30 of the PFMA and accordingly unlawful and invalid.

“The purported agreement between the then Prime Minister and Tongasat  referred to in para 8 above was both in breach of the PFMA  and  in excess of  Dr Sevele’ s lawful powers and authority as Prime Minister and accordingly unlawful and invalid.

“Tongasat was not entitled to payment of the second tranche payment or any part thereof under either the Agency Agreement or the Agency Termination Agreement.”

The main points

  • The Supreme Court has issued a declaration regarding the long running legal battle over the Tongan government’s payment to Tongasat of millions of dollars of Chinese money.
  • As Kaniva Tonga reported last month, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of ‘Akilisi Pohiva and the Public Service Association which had fought a five year battle against Tongasat over what it claimed were illegal payments to the company.
  • The Supreme Court ruled that the payment of the money to tens of millions of dollars of Chinese money to Princess Pilolevu’s satellite company was illegal.

For more information

Tongasat case “of national importance” says judge as he declares payments were illegal

Two injured after shots fired at Tongatapu gas stations, four male and female suspects arrested

By
Kalino Latu
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Police have arrested two male and female suspects after gun shots were fired during two separate armed robberies in two different gas stations this morning in Tongatapu.

An attendant at Luna Eva gas station in Veitongo was still in hospital in a stable condition after he received multiple gun shot wounds, Police said.

A security guard at the Konifelenisi gas station in Fanga received an injury to his left arm. He was medically treated at Vaiola hospital before he was released.

Police said both shootings had been conducted by the same suspect.

Police said that at around 3am, a masked man approached the Konifelenisi Gas Station at Fanga, and open fired into the building.

The man, armed with a .22 semi-automatic rifle, demanded cash before fleeing the scene in a stolen vehicle that was parked at the station.

At around 4am the same masked man approached the Luna’eva Gas Station in Veitongo.

He was armed with the same rifle, demanded cash from the 31-year-old male station attendant.

During this incident the suspect and the station attendant got into a fight where the suspect shot the station attendant four times, before fleeing the scene leaving behind the firearm as well as his disguise.

Police arrested all four suspects from Sopu an hour later and have secured the firearm used in these crime.

Police Investigation continues.

Mate Ma‘a Tonga matches against Kangaroos and Kiwis announced

By
Kalino Latu
-

Tonga will face the Australian national rugby league team in Auckland it has been confirmed tonight, with a showdown against the Kiwis next year also expected to be announced.

The NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said in a statement on Tuesday night confirming the match that the Australian Kangaroo will take on Mate Ma’a Tonga for the very first time in an end-of-session test on October 20 at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland.

“This is a fantastic result for all fans of rugby league and the continued growth of the international game,” NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said.

“Many people have worked tirelessly right around the globe to ensure this match takes place.

The news came following reports that Australian players are prepared to take a massive pay cut to make sure the game goes ahead.

The official Australian Rugby League site, NRL.com, quoted Rugby League Players’ Association boss Ian Prendergast as saying the players had agreed in principle to the match.

“We’re still working through those details but it may be that the Australians receive a very smaller match payment, the same as the Tongan boys and that’s something that they’re willing to accept on a one-off basis to get this game across the line,” Prendegast said.

The Tonga v Kangaroos match will be the weekend after Australia meet New Zealand at the same venue.

The Kiwis look set to take on Tonga on June 22 next year during the standalone representative weekend.

The Australian team members have agreed to take AUS$5000 instead of their usual $20,000 for the match.

Mate Ma’a players would be paid the same.

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga said he was looking forward to his side being tested by the fourth-ranked team in the world in Tonga.

“This will be a great occassion and it is something I know the players are excited about.

“This will be an important game not only for the Kangaroos, but for the international game.”

Tickets for members will start from $20 for adults, while general public tickets will cost from $25 each.

The NZRL was initially against the Tonga v Australia match as they felt it would detract from their own test.

“There are ongoing discussions and we’ve had discussions over several months about that,” Peters said last month.

“Our overall position is that we want to give prominence to New Zealand versus Australia.

“We have bounced around a number of scenarios with [NRL chief executive] Todd [Greenberg] and his team and there are ongoing discussions, but we haven’t landed on a fixed position yet.”

Peters said they were keen on playing Tonga at some stage.

“We also want to ensure that we have in our calendar a match against Tonga, as well as the Australians playing Tonga,” he said.

“That’s part of that consideration and if there is a possibility of that match going ahead, we would want to ensure that we were also announcing a match against Tonga at the same time.”

NRL.com reported New Zealand Rugby League chief executive Greg Peters and NRL GM elite competitions Jason King would make the announcement at a press conference on Wednesday following months of negotiations.

Desire for love forces a great punake to start composing in her teens

By
Kalino Latu
-

One of Tonga’s greatest female singers and composers, Tu’imala Kaho said her thirst for romance when she was 18 forced her to start composing love songs on her own.

Her mother, ‘Anamalia Kaho, was a poetess and Tu’imala said she did not want her mum to compose her love songs.

Tu’imala, 76, said the environment she grew up in was poetic. Apart from her mother her uncle, ‘Anamalia’s brother Vaisima Hopoate, was another great poet and musician.

Hopoate was sent by the late Queen Sālote Tupou III, who is regarded by many as the greatest punake of modern Tonga, to compose and teach Tongan lakalaka compositions and performance for the queen’s kāinga at Kanokupolu.

“I learnt while I was young about the language to be used when referring to nobility and royalty,” Tu’imala told Kaniva.

She said this was vital in composing Tongan songs and music.

“You have to make sure that you do not mix the language and use words for commoners to royals. That’s disrespectful,” Tu’imala said.

“It is not an easy task. There are too many changes and thinking involved before you get a good song and music,” Tu’imala said.

The first song she composed was Taumaiā Ke ke ‘Iloa, a song she composed to a man she knew. She fell in love with him when he left to work in Vava’u as a Police Inspector.

Tu’imala said she composed the song and asked her cousins, who were brought up together with her to practice and record it.

Figure of Speech

Tu’imala said the most fragrant flowers in Tonga were classified as Kakala ‘Eiki or chiefly flowers. These included nukonuka, tuitui, pipi, ahi, fa, heilala, mohokoi and maile.

The less important flowers and plants, such as mo’osipo were kakala vale, would be used in songs if the composers were referring to commoners.

Tu’imala said when she became seriously involved in singing and performing,  songs were strictly scrutinised by a national music committee before being passed to be aired on the national radio.

She said on one occasion the king attended the committee while scrutinising some songs and in one song a composer referred to his lover as heilala.

The performance was stopped and one of the committee scrutineers, Taimani Fotu, asked the composer to explain his usage of the plant heilala in his song.

After the composer confirmed he was referring to his lover, the song was rejected and the composer was told to go back and correct that part of his song.

Tu’imala said the king appeared to have felt for the composer and suggested that the song should be aired because she was referring to his lover. However, Fotu insisted that if they passed the composer’s song than they were allowing something wrong to air.

Her musicianship

Apart from the talent being in her blood and family, Tu’imala said she was schooled in musicianship by the Roman Catholic nuns at ‘Ahopanilolo.

“The nuns loved my songs and they encouraged me to sing regularly and sing in front of them. I thought that was unimportant, but I later realised this was really important for my career,” Tu’imala said.

She also learnt music and how to sing professionally from the late Professor Futa Helu.

She said she helped Professor Helu in many concerts held to raise funds to help build the ‘Atenisi Institute.

Her first husband was a former Roman Catholic priest who taught Tu’imala some Latin music and songs.

Her second husband was the late Lord Ma’afu Tukui’aulahi who was a Seventh Day Adventist.

“When I had to lead prayer services at church I used to sing them,” Tu’imala said.

She also composed many religious songs.

You may also like these:

Song reveals struggle to bear criticism Tu‘imala received after her daughter married prince

Song reveals connection between Tu’imala and King of Ukulele, Sione ‘Āleki

Nauru authorities detain TVNZ Pacific reporter for interviewing refugee

By
Kalino Latu
-

By RNZ Pacific

New Zealand journalist Barbara Dreaver has been detained by authorities in Nauru while covering the Pacific Islands Forum summit, reports Television New Zealand.

TVNZ said Dreaver was conducting an interview with a refugee when detained by police early this afternoon.

READ MORE: TVNZ reporter released after being held 4 hours

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was with Dreaver but TVNZ reported that it was unsure of her whereabouts.

The Nauru government had limited the journalists covering the summit and placed restrictions on those who got approval to go, limiting who they could talk to and what issues they could discuss.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) was also banned from covering the Forum summit after the Nauruan government accused the public broadcaster of “continued biased and false reporting” about the country.

This article is republished under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.

Tongan man whose toddler son fatally shot self with illegal gun escapes prison time

By
Kaniva Staff
-

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 25, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A Tongan man facing as many as 22 years in prison has been sentenced to 90 days in jail following the accidental shooting death of his 2-year-old son.

Tasman William Alexander Maile, 28, was charged after his toddler son accessed a gun at their West Valley City home, and shot himself on May 26 of this year. The boy died later at Primary Children’s Hospital.

Maile told investigators that he had been asleep, with the gun within arms reach and the safety off, when his son took the the firearm and fired it.

On July 13, Tasman Maile pleaded guilty to reduced charges of:

  • Criminal homicide, negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor
  • Obstructing justice, a third-degree felony
  • Three charges of purchase, transport, possession or use of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony
  • Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor

At a sentencing hearing on Friday, Judge Todd M. Shaughnessy waived Maile’s prison time, and sentenced him to 90 days in jail, with 10 days credited for time served. He also sentenced Maile to three years of probation.

Tongan man arrested and charged in USA after body found

By
Kalino Latu
-

BOUNTIFUL, Utah — A Tongan man was arrested and charged in the United States with murder and vehicle theft after another man was found deceased in Bountiful Sunday.

According to a press release issued by Bountiful Police Wednesday, police responded to a residence near 1400 East Lakeview Drive Sunday.

A family member who had not seen their loved one in several days found 50-year-old Rand Hatch deceased. Police say there was evidence to indicate trauma and noted Hatch’s vehicle had been stolen from the residence.

The investigation led police to 22-year-old Taniela Siale Lopiseni Salakielu, who was identified as a person of interest. After interviewing Salakielu, police say the man admitted to arguing with Hatch at Hatch’s residence.

A witness told police Salakielu physically assaulted Hatch in the room where the body was later found by officers.

Salakielu was booked into the Davis County Jail and faces charges of homicide and vehicle theft.

Police ask anyone who may have information about the crime to call Bountiful Police Detectives at 801-298-600.

Struggling to get a wedding ring leads a dishwasher to own a popular restaurant

By
Kalino Latu
-

A Tongan man who overstayed his visa and struggled with his fiancé to get money to pay for their wedding ring now owns a popular restaurant in South Auckland.

Freddy Tu’akalau first got a break in his struggle after a friend who was about to return to Tonga asked if he could cover up a job he did as dishwasher in 1994.

The job was at the Mikano Restaurant and Bar, one of the top venues in New Zealand at the time.

Tu’akalau gave the job to his wife because her visa was still valid. He said he later could tell the job was too much for her and they swapped.

He was paid $7 an hour and after the three days he worked for the Mikano during the weekend he received $70.

They used the money to pay for a wedding ring so he could marry his wife.

He said the path they followed appeared to be easy at first, but was hard most of the time.

“I did my best every time I did this job especially when my managers asked if I could cover for a worker who could not work on Sunday,” Tu’akalau said. “I never said no.”

Dishwashing / Cooking

While doing the dish washing he was asked by the Mikano’s managers whether he would like to become a cook.

After he agreed, Mikano sent him to the Auckland Hotel and Chefs Training School.

They also sent him to the AUT in 1996 where he completed a certificate in cooking.

“They just wanted me to get the certificate as I already had the experience,” Tu’akalau said.

The opportunity to study gave Tu’akalau another huge break.

He said Mikano paid for his study while he was overstaying his visa and gave him money he thought was huge at the time.

“I was lucky because at the time Immigration New Zealand was not so tough when immigrants enrolled in these courses,” Tu’akalau said.

He said his wages rose from $9 per hours to $18 an hour after his study.

Head chef

Tu’akalau said after he completed his education a vacancy for a head chef was advertised by the MKOP My Kind of Place and Time and Again, Xtreme in Botany. He applied and got the job.

“I was in charge of the restaurant for two years,” he said.

Tu’akalau said while he was at the top job he was happy, but at some stages he still struggled with English.

“My wife really knows this. I struggled to a point I felt I would quit,” Tu’akalau said.

“But I thought if I quit the job there was nothing else that could give me a living.”

His experience and profession included years of work at Government House in Epsom and the Hammerheads restaurants.

The Eight Roses

Now he owns the restaurant known in South Auckland as Eight Roses Cafe & Buffet, which stands for his eight children.

He said he was still working for the Mikano on a contract that will end in 2020 while his wife Katokakala looked after and managed their restaurant.

“The business was for my children. I thought I should have this because if I die the business should help them,” Tu’akalau said.

The difference between Eight Roses and Mikano was that Eight Roses had a buffet and Mikano had fine dining.

His restaurant at 13/225 Great South Road in Ōtahūhū was popular with Samoans, Fijians and the Tongans.

“Princess Pilolevu Tuita regularly dined here and some of the royals and nobility,” Tu’akalau said.

“Church leaders and Tongan MP Jenny Latu Salesa visited us and dined here.”

He said Eight Roses provided good island food with high quality but low prices.

He said comments from customers were encouraging.

“There is a problem with buffet dinner because I have to prepare the food and put them there and if no one turns up it was a loss to the business.

“But we are busy and that’s keep our financial position strong from time to time,” Tu’akalau said.”

Business Council signs memorandum with Tongan government

By
Philip Cass
-

The New Zealand Tonga Business Council Trade Mission has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tongan government.

NZTBC Chairman Sione Taufa signd the MOU with Hon. Tevita Tui Uata, Minister of Commerce, Consumer, Trade Innovation and Labour.

The signing took place at the New Zealand High Commission residence in Nuku’alofa.

“We the NZ Tonga Business Council believe that using trade as a vehicle will improve the lives of people of NZ and Tonga,” Taufa said.

“We truly believe that co-operating with our partners is the only way to move forward.

“The need for an MOU started a few years ago, because while everyone had a relationship with some of the ministers and CEOs we felt the need to formalize the relationship bring everyone to the table, have a document that is transparent to move forward with trade.”

Pacific Cooperation Foundation CEO Craig Strong said he looked forward to the projects that are set to emerge from this relationship.

NZTBC Chair Sione Taufa told Kaniva earlier this year more help from New Zealand businesses was needed after the devastation caused by Cyclone Gita in February.

He said a number of successful Tongan business people in New Zealand were beginning to identify Tonga in the wake of the Pacer Plus agreement.

For more information

Tonga and New Zealand Tonga Business Council signed an MOU last night

Graduates from Australian-funded training programme take their wares to market

By
Philip Cass
-

A group of 15 men and women who took part in an Australian funded training programme have put their wares on the market.

They attended a workshop run by the Women’s Economic Empowerment Foundation on running a small businesses with new skills learned like tapa and textile printing.

The workshop was held in Kolonga and was intended to help people on the eastern district develop skills to earn a living.

It was funded by Tonga Skills, an Australian programme aimed at developing inclusive business opportunities.

Last week participants from the workshop sold their products at a Women in Sustainable Enterprises market in Nuku’alofa.

Participants sold t-shirts, tupenu, shirts, curtains, pillow cases and tapa cloth they had printed.

The workshop was run by Tevita Pola’apau.

Earlier this year Tonga Skills was involved in the development of a new plumbing training program at the Tonga Institute of Science and Technology.

For more information

High Commissioner Launches New Training Program

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