A woman died in hospital she was allegedly hit by a car in Idlewild Avenue, Mangere, South Auckland at 7.12am yesterday morning 29 March.
Emergency services attended the scene and the victim was taken to hosptial in a serious condition.
Unfortunately the woman died at 8.30pm last night.
The Serious Crash Unit continues to investigate the incident.
Police said their thoughts go to the victim’s family and friends at this time.
The president of the Tonga Dialysis Foundation (TDF), Said Moehau, has defended an amount of TP$50,000 which the organisation’s financial statement said it owed him.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry claims that the TDF is using out of date and incorrect data to boost its argument for the establishment of a private dialysis clinic in the kingdom.
Moehau said he spent his own money researching for cheapest dialysis treatment that could be established in Tonga.
In Tongan he said: “Koe ‘uhinga hono faka’asi he financial statement Ke faka tokanga’i e
fakamole ne fai ki mu’a pea fokotu’u e TDF. Oku te’eki ai fai ha feinga pa’anga ‘Ae TDF ka
koe small donations pe mei he kau memipa oku fakalele’aki e ngaue.”
This translates into English as: “The reason why it appears in the statement is to make note of the expenses made before the TDF was established. TDF has yet to raise fund but the work is run on small donations from members.”
He did not respond when Kaniva News asked for details for the spending he had made with
the TP$50,000.
Kaniva News has obtained a copy of the Foundation’s Statement of Revenue and Expenses
from December 2014 to October 2015, which describes the TP$50,000 as an “in-kind
contribution.”
Two other notes on the statement said the money was spent on “Research & overseas conferences” and “USA & China, President of TDF.”
The statement said because the TDF’s financial position was weak at the time the president’s money, as agreed by the organisation, had to be reimbursed.
Two other major in-kind donation in the statement were $50,000 made by the LDS church and $30,000 by the German government with a note on it saying “submit proposal to Hon.
Counsel.”
The statement said $23, 301 cash had been collected from the following donors:
MBF Bank: $5000
Tonga Power: $3000
Tonga Airport Ltd: $1500
Moki and Vini Sika: $1000
Committee contribution for launch: $500
British American Tobacco: $5000
Tonga Telecommunications Corp: $500
Tonga Airport Ltd: $1500
Ports Authority: $1000
From December 2014 to October 2015 the statement said TFD spent $3,509.50, leaving its
account with cash of $19 791.71.
It said $5093.71 was deposited into MBF bank and $14,698 was deposited into PIC bank.
Financial reports not audited
Moehau said TDF accounts were not audited.
“We do not have an audited financial report as yet, but every penny spent from the TDF
account is pre-approved by the TDF Board,” he said.
This required two signatories, the treasurer and secretary, with the president as alternative
signatory. Most operational costs were paid for by board members outside of the TDF
account.
As Kaniva News reported last month, the Ministry of Health has refused to support a move
by the TDF to establish a national dialysis unit in the kingdom.
Health authorities said the Ministry could not support the project because TDF had failed to
provide requirements to conduce an approval.
This included requiring a financial plan for TDF to be able to address issues of financial
transparency.
Moehau said TDF had provided all requirements by the Ministry, something the government
health authority denies.
Active members
The Ministry claimed some members left TDF because they were dissatisfied with the way how the organisation was run.
These members included a former treasurer for the organisation as well as the Minister of Labour and Commerce Dr. Tu’i Uata. Dr. Uata did not respond to our request for comment.
The issue was also raised with Moehau asking if he could tell us about the number of TDF active members.
He did not respond to the question which was sent to him by email. But in his responses to our other queries he said he cc’d them to former MP and government minister Sangster Saulala and TDF treasurer Mishka Tu’ifua.
Corrections of patient numbers
The Health Ministry has disputed figures used by the TDF to support its campaign to
establish a dialysis unit in Tonga.
The Journal of Diabetes reported in 2016 that an error had occurred when international
health authorities were testing for diabetes in Samoa, Fiji and Tonga. This led to figures
being doubled.
Dr. Sione Latu told Kaniva News the original report based on this research said there was a
34.4 percent prevalence of diabetes in Tonga, but this was revised down to 17.7 percent.
Dr Latu said ABC radio in Australia had quoted the Ministry’s CEO, Dr. ‘Akau’ola, as saying
about 200 people were diagnosed with chronic kidney failure in Tonga.
But Dr. Latu said he thought Dr. ‘Akau’ola should have been given a chance to double check
the story before it was aired as it was misleading.
Chronic kidney failure or chronic renal failure (CRF) were patients with kidney disease
requiring some form of kidney support called renal replacement therapy (RRT) of which
dialysis was one option and a transplant the other, Dr Latu said.
“It doesn’t make sense that 200 people have CRF and only a third need dialysis. The figure of 200 probably means those with chronic kidney disease.
“There are five stages of this disease. Those with Stage 5 are called chronic renal
failure or end stage renal disease (ESRD) and often requiring RRT.
So 200 refers to the total number of patients with varying degrees of kidney disease and around 66 patients, or a third, are in Stage 5, requiring RRT. This 66 is close to current projections.”
He said the idea that there were 200 patients diagnosed with Stage 5 CKD requiring dialysis every year was wrong and contradicted worldwide figures.
Dr Latu said the number of people with ESRD / Stage 5 CKD was stable and it was almost
impossible to say there were 200 deaths in one year from ESRD.
“I think TDF is running a cumulative total of 200 every year needing dialysis and we now
have 10,000 needing dialysis with 200 annual deaths,” he said.
“Samoa has 117 patients on dialysis with a population of 190,000 so how can we have
10,000?”
He said only a fraction of diabetics developed kidney disease needed dialysis.
For more information
Ministry says no promise to open dialysis unit in Tonga, can’t endorse private clinic
Health authorities demand Tonga Dialysis Foundation prove project viable
An armed robber has had his sentence reduced after a successful appeal in the Court of
Appeal.
In 2008 Samuela ‘Alatini pleaded guilty to charges of robbery, armed robbery and
conspiracy to commit armed robbery, causing grievous bodily harm and various firearms
charges. He was originally sentenced to 15 years in jail.
A suspended sentence of three years was activated, extending his sentence to 18 years.
In February this year the Lord Chief Justice granted the appellant leave to appeal out of
time.
The robbery took place on March 20, 2008. ‘Alatini, accompanied by ‘Opeti Fekau, followed a vehicle until it stopped at a shop. ‘Alatini threw the victim out and got into the driver’s seat.
Fekau got into the front passenger’s seat. They drove off with a bag containing cash of $6000, recharge cards to the value of $1000 and a digital camera valued at $400.
The armed robbery took place six days later. ‘Alatini, Fekau and three rented a car and
changed its appearance.
The following day they staged a robbery outside the Westpac Bank
at Kolofo’ou. ‘Alatini and Fekau, who were armed with shotguns, tried to take a handbag
from a girl, who resisted.
One of her colleagues tried to help her and ‘Alatini shot him in the
thigh.
The robbery netted the thieves $3000 and a mobile phone worth $375.
When they were arrested, all five pleaded guilty. ‘Alatini was sentenced to 15 years and an
existing suspended sentence to his sentence to 18 years.
‘Alatini’s appeal against his sentence was considered by a panel of three judges. In their
report the judges said they considered the sentence of 15 years was too high and that a
starting point of 10 years should have been used to determine the length of sentence and
that ‘Alatini’s guilty plea should be considered.
This reduced his basic sentence to nine years and nine months.
With the addition of the three years suspended sentence, the judges ruled that ‘Alatini
should serve 12 years and nine months.
Education Minister Penisimani Fifita has refused to back down over his ban on girls boxing or playing rugby at Tonga High School.
And now he is blaming female anatomy for his stance.
“You know that there are some female parts – I think I don’t have to go on,” he said.
Fifita claims any disagreement with his views is based on cultural differences.
“So you are talking from a different culture to a different culture,” he told Radio New Zealand International..
“Here is what we have looked at. Only the girls at Tonga High School are not permitted to play rugby and also to engage in boxing.”
Penisimani Fifita said the ministry also planned to stop all sports at all government schools for the rest of the year so that students can catch up the time lost because of Cyclone Gita.
He said he would take a paper to Cabinet to explain his position.
As Kaniva News reported on the weekend, Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva disagreed with the Minister’s decision.
He said the decision was not in line with his government’s policy.
“It is the Government’s responsibility to provide opportunities for all the students to participate in all sports,†the Prime Minister said.
“It is for the individual students and their parents to decide whether or not they should participate in a particular sport like rugby and boxing.â€
Meanwhile, the Tonga Commonwealth Games Association has confirmed female boxer  Magan Maka as Tonga’s Flag Bearer for the XXI Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.
Miss Maka, who is coached by her father, Fili, will compete in the female 69kg division.
This will be the first time female boxing has been featured in the Games.
Tonga Boxing and TASANOC are also worked to secure her release from New Zealand Boxing and approval from the International Federation (AIBA).
Prosecutors said further charges would be considered against former Prime Minister and Speaker Lord Tu’ivakanō who was accused of numerous offences relating to passport fraud, bribery and money laundering.
The king’s noble will face additional counts relating to unlawful possession of a firearm, the Magistrate Court was told yesterday Monday 26.
Lord Tu’ivakanō appeared at the Fasi Magistrate court before Magistrate Sālesi Mafi and he was ordered to reappear in court on April 26.
Crown prosecutor ‘Aminasi Kefu requested the delay to allow additional information to be prepared by Police.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Internal Affairs and her husband former cabinet minister ‘Etuate Lavulavu appeared before Magistrate Mafi.
They were charged after irregularities uncovered in a 2016 audit of the ‘Unuaki ‘o Tonga Royal Institute, of which Mrs Lavulavu was a director.
‘Etuate was the founder of the school.
They were ordered to reappear in court on May 26.
The Court of Appeal has allowed Tokaikolo church members to reoccupy and own a land and properties in Kolomotu’a.
This means members of the Mo’ui ‘Ia Kalaisi fellowship who broke away from the church in 2014 have to move out within 21 days.
The decision last week came after a dispute over the ownership of a church and other buildings at Kolomotu’a and entitlement to a lease of the land on which they stand.
As Kaniva news reported, a Land Court decision in 2017 has awarded Mo’ui Foʻou ‘ia Kalaisi Fellowship the lease of lands at Kolomotuʻa which have been the subject of a protracted battle between its members and members of the Tokaikolo church.
The Tokaikolo Church wanted a declaration that the land on which the church stands, the church itself and its furnishings and two houses were the property of Tokaikolo and an order that vacant possession of the same be given.
In his ruling in the Land Court in 2017, Mr Justice Scott said he made his judgement based on the fact that the majority of fund raising, physical work on the land and church building had been done by local people and by members of the Fellowship who now worshipped there.
The Court of Appeal however overturned Mr. Scott’s decision and allowed Siasi Tokaikolo’s appeal finding that it has the better right to a lease and, since the fundraising for the buildings was done in its name, it is their own.
It said the fundraising was authorised by the Church and done on its behalf for the purpose of obtaining a lease and constructing the buildings, which was duly done.
Procedural irregularities within the Church and a failure to comply strictly with its Constitution cannot mean that the Church did not become and remain the owner. Nor do changes in the practices and doctrines of the Church prior to the time of the fundraising entitle the members of the Fellowship to claim title.
Donors must have been well aware of those changes when gifting their money and labour to the Church.
An alleged doctrinal departure by the President of the Church since the dedication of the church building has not been established.
The Court of Appeal has ordered that a lease mistakenly registered in the former name of the Church, for which Cabinet approved was cancelled, should be removed from the register and that vacant possession of the land and buildings must be given to Siasi Tokaikolo within 21 days.
The Court has also said that there would appear to be no reason why a lease should not immediately be issued to Siasi Tokaikolo by the Minister of Lands in accordance with a decision of Cabinet on 5 September 2007.
Tongasat has won its appeal against the decision by the Supreme Court allowing an appeal by the Ministry of Revenue and Customs over a dispute tax assessment.
The Court of Appeal’s decision came after the Supreme court reversed the decision of the Tax Tribunal and restored the Minister’s amended assessment of $T17,931,141 .27 for consumption tax to be paid by Tongasat.
“The Tribunal held that these services in Tonga could not support the assessment and in our judgement it did not err in law in doing so,” the Court of Appeal judges said.
The assessment was based on Tongasat’s half share of the gross revenue it received from third parties who had contracted for the use of orbital slots allocated to Tonga by the International Telecommunications Union, an organisation under the auspices of the United Nations, the court of appeal said.
The Government was entitled to the other half of the gross revenue, and the Company had to pay Tongan income tax on its net profits
The Consumption Tax Act 2003 imposed a tax of 15% on the value of a taxable supply of services in Tonga by a taxable person.
The Tribunal had found that the services Tongasat supplied to the Government in obtaining contracts for the use of Tonga’s orbital slots were supplied from its place of business in Hong Kong and for this reason were not taxable.
It also held that the reporting and similar services supplied by Tongasat to the Government in Tonga for which no separate payment was made could not support the assessment
The Minister’s appeal to the Supreme Court was allowed by Justice Scott who held that the reporting and similar services supplied by the Company from its place of business in Tonga supported the assessment.
The Court of Appeal has restored the decision of the Tribunal which had found that “most of the work” that earned revenue was performed from the Company’s place of business in Hong Kong
The Court of Appeal noted that there was an air of unreality about the case because the Act intended the burden of the tax to fall on the recipient of the services, which in this case was the Government.
It seemed that if the assessment had been upheld the Company could have recovered the tax from the Government
Three container loads of building supplies from Fletcher Building South Pacific are set to arrive in Tonga to assist in rebuilding cyclone-damaged homes of people most in need.
Aside from assisting with residential repair work Fletcher Building’s South Pacific business is involved in rebuilding commercial buildings and infrastructure in Tonga. The business employs 20 people in Tonga, and 650 in the South Pacific.
Several Fletcher Construction employees in Tonga were among those who lost their homes in the storm.
The division’s South Pacific business unit leapt into action to help, asking around parent company Fletcher Building’s New Zealand building product distributors and retailers for building materials they could give at short notice to help employees and the Tongan community.
South Pacific General Manager Brent Leach says, “We wanted to make sure our teams and their communities are looked after while they rebuild their lives after this catastrophic storm.”
Fletcher Building also has employees in New Zealand with families back in Tonga who have been affected by the cyclone.
“We’re in a unique position to help being in the business of building and building products. We wanted to get a container across to Tonga as fast as possible and the response from our business managers was incredible,” Brent says. “Within a day of picking up the phone, we had 20 tonnes of donated roofing iron, which is enough to help repair around 25 homes.”
The donated supplies collected to date fill three 40-foot containers which contain roofing from Dimond Roofing and ply, timber and fixings from PlaceMakers to rebuild residential houses.
Tonga Branch Manager, Josh Collins says there’s still a lot of work to do. “With the damage to homes, schools and infrastructure the rebuild will take months if not years for some. Tongatapu and ‘Eua were the worst hit, with almost every building suffering some damage.”
The National Emergency Management Office (NEMO) will be coordinating the distribution of the donated supplies as they arrive in Tonga. The Shelter Cluster (made up of international aid organisations), which supports people affected by disasters, will be distributing the materials to assist the most vulnerable people in making repairs to their houses first.
“We’re very grateful for Fletcher Building’s kind donation. Directly receiving building materials will speed up repairs and enable the NGOs who are repairing houses to spend money on other things,” say Graham Kenna of NEMO.
The first of the 40ft containers is set to arrive in Tonga on March 28.
Fletcher Construction has worked with a wide range of clients over the last 70 years to help build thriving island nations and is now permanently based in Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa and American Samoa, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.
With head offices in Auckland, the South Pacific business unit delivers commercial and civic buildings, transport infrastructure, utility and energy infrastructure as well as tourism and entertainment facilities.
Police Commissioner Steven Caldwell’s position is largely paid for by New Zealand.
The Tongan government pays a relatively small portion of the costs.
If the Police Minister goes ahead with his threat to stop Mr Caldwell’s pay it is unclear whether he means the Tongan contribution to his pay or whether he intends to block the New Zealand component as well.
The Tongan Government has already told New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern that it no longer wants Mr Caldwell, but it is unclear how Wellington would react if the Police Minister carried out his threat.
It is believed that Mr Caldwell is receiving substantially the same package as his predecessor, Grant O’Fee, who left his position six months early.
Total annual costs for salary and administration were NZ$270,000.
Under this contract Tonga paid about NZ$33,000.
Miscellaneous travel, medical and other costs were also funded by New Zealand.
During his term in Tonga, O’Fee sacked, jailed or investigated 10 percent of the police force for dishonesty, brutality or bribery.
When he was leaving he warned: “We still have, let’s not fool ourselves, a long way to go.”
The main points
For more information
The Minister of Police Māteni Tapueluelu said he would put a hold to Police Commissioner Steve Caldwell’s pay today (Monday, March 26) if the Privy Council approves a recommendation from its committee to extend his contract.
It is expected the king would make its final decision today.
As Kaniva News reported, the Privy Council’s Judicial Appointment and Discipline Panel has extended the Police Commissioner’s contract.
But the extension depends on the king’s approval.
The Minister of Police claimed he had the power to withhold the commissioner’s pay under Clause 51 of Tonga’s constitution.
The move could trigger an action to resolve two apparently contradictory laws.
One law gives the king the power to appoint the Police Commissioner and another gives cabinet ministers power to pay the government commissioners and civil servants.
The move could also be seen as the final attempt by Minister of Police in his fights to dismiss Caldwell.
Caldwell’s contract will end next month.
The law said the commissioner could hold office for a period, not exceeding three years and is eligible for re-appointment for one further term only.
It also allowed the minister to give a written direction to the commissioner about the overall administration of Tonga Police, policies and priorities of Tonga Police for — the prevention of crime; community safety and public order and general law enforcement issues. But he cannot interfere in any decisions by the commissioner about members of Tonga Police
Tapueluelu told Kaniva News he was not satisfied with Caldwell’s leadership.
As Kaniva News reported earlier, Hon. Tapueluelu, has openly sided with a number of suspended officers protesting about their treatment.
The Police Commissioner’s position is largely funded by New Zealand.
The government told New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Tonga recently it did not want the Police Commissioner’s contract extended.
Last month a Police spokesman from Caldwell’s office said officers had been suspended for “very good reasons.”
“The Commissioner is confined by what he can say publicly on individual criminal and disciplinary cases currently under investigation,” the spokesperson said.
Tonga’s police force has a troubled history of corruption and abuse.
It also has a history of New Zealand police officers working in Tonga being faced with entrenched opposition from police opposed to attempts to clean up the force.
For more information
