The Tongan government has approved five percent cost of living adjustment (COLA) for its public servants.
The CEO for Ministry of Revenue and Customs, ʻAnisi Bloomfield said all public servants will get backpay payments of the COLA starting from July 2015.
Haini Muller died after he allegedly fell off the cliff while his friend who jumped in to rescue him was saved by Tonga Police. Photo/Iva Folaumoeloa (Facebook)
Tragedy struck a Fatai family, their friends and relatives during yesterday’s early hours after  a 24-year-old young man was killed in Hufangalupe beach in an alleged drowning incident.
Haini Muller died after he fell off cliff at the beach, according to family and friends.
Police said the cause of death of the 24-year-old man they found at Hufangalupe beach yesterday was still undetermined. They refused to confirm that the name of the victim was Haini Muller. They said they would release his details later.
Police Search and Rescue team were called to Vaini’s Hufangalupe Beach at about 4am Thursday 26 after recieving a report about the incident.
A friend of the victim jumped into the water in an attempt to save him but it was too late. The rescuer was later saved by Police from the sea.
Friends and relatives have turned to Facebook to post messages of shock, grief and condolences to Muller and his family.
Messages indicate Muller was the person who died at Hufangalupe yesterday morning Thursday 26. His parents were Tonga and Hanisi. The victim went to ‘Apifo’ou College and he was an active member of the Catholic Church youth movement known as Lataki.
Rest in Peace Haini Muller.. Fakatauange ke ‘oatu he ‘Otua ha nonga mo ha fiemalie kia HanisÄ« kae’uma si’i Tonga moe…
Posted by Siniva Finauvala Manu on Thursday, November 26, 2015
Really sad just found out one of my primary school friends Haini Muller have passed away in Tonga ? My only memory of you is when we fight in class 6 haha RIP toko ofa lahi atu!!
Posted by Louis Quirit Ova on Thursday, November 26, 2015
How I wish it’s not true, fly high Susan Helen Marie Muller (Haini Muller) condolences to you Tonga mo Hancy, Mikimila mo e Tonga e famili,
Posted by Angela Vaivelata on Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Rest in peace Haini Muller.. so sad you’re gone, never thought few months ago would be the very last time we speak, it’s sad you had to go this way,Rest easy cousin. Ofa Atu. ??
Posted by Sita Cook on Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Still can’t believe ur gone Haini Muller..last time I talk to u was at da nyt market 2 months ago??? omg stil sounds…
Posted by Iva Folaumoeloa on Thursday, November 26, 2015
A 24-year-old man died at Hufangalupe beach and police were able to pull another man from the water after he jumped to rescue the victim, police have confirmed this to Kaniva News this morning.
Police search and rescue team were called to Vainiʻs Hufangalupe Beach at about 4am after they received a report the man fell into the water, said Telesia Adams, Police Communication and Media Officer.
“I can also confirm that the 24 year old died and our Search and Rescue Team also managed to rescue one other male who also jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue the 24 year old man” Adams said.
Police have yet to inform the family of the victim.
The cause of death has not been confirmed and Adams said “more details will be released later”.
Tongan Police have confirmed there was an incident this morning involving a man who allegedly jumped off cliff at Hufangalupe beach but declined to comment further.
Police Superindent at Nukuʻalofa Central Police Station Tevita Fifita told Kaniva News this morning he heard about the incident on their teleradio and told us to contact the Hahake Police Station as the case was within their juristiction.
An officer at Muʻa Police station said a team of police officers were still at the scene and declined to make any further comments.
The Prime Minister’s media advisor, Kalafi Moala, has launched a stinging attack on Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet Dr Palenitina Langa’oi.
His attack came in the wake of allegations of nepotism made in his newspaper Taimi ‘O Tonga against Dr Langa’oi, which were subsequently denied by the government.
Moala, who has rowed with Dr Langa’oi over releasing e-mails discussing the Forbes magazine scandal, has a part time position with the Prime Minister’s Office Press Unit.
He claimed that Dr Langa’oi had suppressed 17 press releases he had prepared for the Press Unit.
He did not give any details of what were in the press releases, but said it appeared Dr Langa’oi misconceived how the media worked.
The Chief Secretary did not respond to our request to give her side of the story to Kaniva News.
Moala, who no longer involved with daily operation of his paper and now running his own local radio station, claimed that Dr Langa’oi should be dismissed.
He said Hon. Pohiva was trying to make the working of the government transparent, but the Prime Minister’s Office had “closed its doors.”
Moala claimed many questions from the media went unanswered because of Dr Langa’oi.
“The Chief Secretary strictly controls and monitors how information should be released, but she has done it the wrong way,” Moala said.
Moala said Dr Langa’oi called him to a meeting after he released internal e-mails regarding the Forbes saga to Kaniva News. Moala had accused the Finance Minister of being responsible for signing the controversial contract with the magazine.
The e-mails were released by Moala to Kaniva News at the request of the magazine’s editor.
According to Moala, Dr Langa’oi told him he should not have released the e-mails as they were confidential.
Moala asked how the e-mails could be confidential when they had been sent to certain senior officials and copied to others.
Her “perception” about how the media work was wrong, Moala said.
Many questions from the media were left unanswered because they ended up with the Chief Secretary without Hon. Pohiva knowing about them, he claimed.
Moala alleged Dr Langa’oi had withheld most of their press releases and had refused to answer questions about travel expenses incurred by senior government officials.
He accused her of using procedures and administrative processes from the days of monarchical government.
“She is now the only person who advises and consult with the Prime Minister,” Moala said.
Yesterday the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement denying allegations in an article published by Moala’s Taimi ‘O Tonga newspaper.
The paper published an article alleging that there was grumbling among staff at the Ministry of Internal Affairs after they found out a former government officer, Nūnia Mone, who was now living in New Zealand, had been picked by the Prime Minister to become Trade Commissioner for Tonga in New Zealand.
The paper said the former officer was a friend of Dr Langa’oi and the cabinet was in the process of moving to pass the appointment.
The government press release denied the allegations in the article, saying Dr Langa’oi and Mone were not friends and that the Prime Minister had not appointed anybody to such a position.
Taimi ‘O Tonga editor Sione Taukapo told Kaniva News he would not release the names of those in the Ministry of Internal Affairs who gave him the information.
Taukapo said the article was meant to publicly raise the issue before the appointment was passed by Cabinet.
He said the staff at the Ministry were happy the government had not gone ahead with the appointment as they questioned Mrs Mone’s qualifications to hold such an important post.
The main points
For more information
Prime Minister’s office statement on Taimi ‘O Tonga (in Tongan)
Rows over Forbes scandal blows up as Moala and Dr Eke lash out at each other (Kaniva News)
Tongan Police are hunting for a man who wore a hoodie covering his face while threatening an employee at a service station in Puke with a knife.
The incident took place last Friday 20 and the man escaped with about TP$500 of cash.
The owner of the service station Tevita Tuʻipulotu reportedly said the suspect confronted him with what he claimed as a knife while he was inside the service station office at about 9pm.
Tuʻipulotu said he yelled out at the suspect “robber, robber” before he took off.
The man was able to reach out to a wallet and the till and took the money.
Tonga’s Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva has pulled out of crucial international meetings due to his ill health.
The Prime Minister was invited to attend three separate meetings:
Last week the Prime Minister’s office announced Hon Pohiva was in Auckland for a medical check-up.
“The Honourable Prime Minister Samuela ‘Akilisi Pohiva was officially invited to attend all three events but due to the results of his medical check-up last week, he has sent his regrets that he is not able to travel such long distance”, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Statement from the Prime Minister’s Office:
Government of Tonga leaders and representatives will be amongst other regional and national leaders as they participate in dialogue and negotiations at three separate meetings. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will take place in Malta from 24th to 29th November; the 4th France-Oceania Summit will take place in Paris, France on the 26th November; and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Paris, France on 30th November to 11 December 2015.
The Honourable Prime Minister Samuela ‘Akilisi Pohiva was officially invited to attend all three events but due to the results of his medical check-up last week, he has sent his regrets that he is not able to travel such long distance.
The Honourable Minister for Agriculture, Food, Forestry & Fisheries Semisi Fakahau, will lead the Tonga Government Delegation to the CHOGM meeting in Malta. The theme for this year’s meeting is ‘The Commonwealth – Adding Global Value’ which highlights significant impact the Commonwealth has in providing solutions for small and developing states. Hon. Minister Fakahau will be accompanied by Secretary for Foreign Affairs Mr. Va’inga Tone.
The Chief Secretary & Secretary to Cabinet Dr. Palenitina Langa’oi leads Tonga’s delegation to the 4thFrance-Oceania Summit in Paris. This Summit will bring together the Republic of France and Forum countries to dialogue about current political and security, economic, environmental, social and development issues. It will also be an opportunity for Members to reaffirm agreed partnership positions across all areas of interest with France. Tonga’s Permanent Ambassador to the UN, Mr. Mahe Tupouniua and Legal Officer from the Prime Minister’s Office, Ms. ‘Elisapeta Lemoto are members of this delegation and will later join the CHOGM meeting and UNFCCC meeting.
The Honourable Deputy Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni will lead Tonga’s delegation to the UNFCCC, in particular, the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 21) and the 11th session of the Meeting of the Parties (CMP 11) to the Kyoto Protocol. He will arrive in Paris on the 2nd of December and will deliver Tonga’s National statement at the High Level Segment on the 7th of December. The objective of this conference is to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate change. CEO MEIDECC Mr. Paula Ma’u, CEO Finance Mr. Tatafu Moeaki, Solicitor General Mr. Sione Sisifa and relevant government representatives are members of the delegation and will be in Paris this week to be part of important negotiations at this conference.
Lokoua Taufahema (left) was found not guilty Monday of killing his wife, Halaevalu Laionosi Taufahema (right), in 2014
A jury in Nuku’alofa has found a Tongatapu man on Monday 23 not guilty of murder but guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter of his wife Halaevalu Laionosi Taumoe’anga Taufahema.
Lokoua Taufahema, 43, pleaded guilty to his charge for manslaughter but he declared a not-guilty plea in March for his charge of murdering the victim. He will be sentenced by Justice Charles Cato on December 18.
The jury heard a post modem examination found Halaevalu died after her body was doused with boiling cooking oil sometimes in December 26, 2014 before she was rushed to hospital by relatives. Prosecutors accused Lokoua scalded his wife with the hot-boiling cooking oil while she was asleep.
A man who drowned after swimming in sea notorious for dangerous rip tide off Laulea beach in Fatumu Saturday 21 has been named by police.
He was 32-year-old ‘Inoke Mapaleve Mo’unga, a man from Kolonga who had been residing in Kolofo’ou for some time.
He had been visiting beaches in the Hahake area with his wife and friends before ending up in Laulea where he died.
The “cause of death is drowning” and it occurred at Laulea Beach, Fatumu, Sia Adams, Police Communication Officer said today.
His body was recovered from the water by three local divers. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The Tongan constitution does not allow His Majesty King Tupou VI to sack Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva as Minister of Education and Training without asking his advice, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Prime Minister’s Office issued the statement in the wake of an attempt by former Education Minister Dr ‘Ana Taufe’ulungaki and former CEO Emily Pouvalu to persuade His Majesty to remove Hon. Pohiva from his role as Education Minister.
Taufe’ulungaki and Pouvalu led a group who presented a petition to the Palace Office in Nuku’alofa last month calling on His Majesty to revoke Hon. Pohiva’s ministerial appointment and that of acting Minister Hon. Etuate Lavulavu.
The Prime Minister’s Office advised them to take their grievance to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Pouvalu was quoted by local media as saying there was “a clause in the Constitution that talks about how the King can revoke the appointment of a minister on the grounds that he is ineligible for the role – so that’s the ground we are standing on.”
Pouvalu claimed there was evidence Pohiva did not uphold the rule of law and said that some staff at the Ministry were not confident in working under his ministership.
In response, Hon. Pohiva called on Taufe’ulungaki and Pouvalu to let him do his job as Minister of Education and said their time was over.
Hon. Pohiva said there were complaints by parents about the marks received by students who sat national examinations while Pouvalu and Taufe’ulungaki were leaders of the Ministry of Education.
He said they could not resolve the issue, leaving it unresolved until he was appointed as the minister.
The Prime Minister said the first step to resolve the problem was to change the marking system for student exams from using standardisation to raw marks using a software developed by Tongan computer programmer Piveni Piukala.
It has been revealed that Dr Taufe’ulungaki and Pouvalu agreed in 2014 to hire the local office of Indian-based company Triesten Technologies to upgrade the Ministry of Education’s computer assessment programme.
Hon. Pohiva said he was not aware of the deal before he hired Piukala.
What the Prime Minister’s Office said:
“With reference to a petition submitted to His Majesty The King to remove the Minister of Education & Training, Hon. Samuela ‘Akilisi Pohiva and the Acting Minister of Education & Training, Hon. ‘Etuate Lavulavu, on 20 October, 2015, the Prime Minister’s Office wishes to inform the petitioners that His Majesty is not empowered in law to require the Minister to divest himself of the Education & Training portfolio as the Sovereign must act on the advice of the Prime Minister in the appointment of members of the Legislative Assembly to ministerial office or in respect of the Minister’s removal from office.”
The main points
For more information
Petition to remove Tongan PM from education not political, says organiser (RNZI)
