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Dateline Hotel demolition begins

By
Kaniva Pacific
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Works to renovate and refurbish Dateline Hotel in Nuku’alofa has been started with its demolition process beginning yesterday.

It is understood the work on the refurbishment will take 24 months before the hotel will reopen as Tanoa International Dateline Hotel”.

The  new owner, Tanoa Hotel Group, has  10 hotels in the South Pacific countries including  Fiji, Samoa and New Zealand.

The International Dateline Hotel was established in 1966 and became the largest hotel in Tonga. It is located in the capital of Nuku’alofa and  has 126 rooms.

Noble applauds transparency as House debates auditors’ report

By
Kalino Latu
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Former Speaker of the Tongan Parliament, Lord Tu’ilakepa, has praised the government for its transparency after it debated a report that said the former Auditor General had used practises that were open to abuse.

This was the first time Parliament had debated the Auditor General’s report.

The Auditor General gave details answers to questions from the Members of the House.

Member for Vava’u 15, Hon. Samiu Vaipulu, asked about a claim in the report that former Auditor General, Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa used to deposit overtime payments of his staff into a private account.

The report said the use of a personal account by Hon. Tu’i’onetoa opened the door for cheating.

Hon. Tu’i’onetoa, who is now Tonga’s Police Minister, Tourism and Labour and Commerce,   said that in 1986 the auditing of non-government boards was up to four or five years late.

The backlog was huge and civil servants were reluctant to work extra hours because the overtime rates were so low.

He said the then Prime Minister, the late Prince  Fatafehi Tu’ipelehake, ordered that all boards’ accounts must be audited and submitted before fixed dates.

Hon. Tu’i’onetoa said he approached the Prince and suggested that he talk to non-government boards and ask them to set reasonable rates that would encourage civil servants to do overtime.

He said the Prince accepted his idea and the system had been used from 1986 until the present day.

Tu’i’onetoa said the money was then deposited into a personal account under his name before he paid it out to his staff.

He said none of his staff had ever complained or raised any issues with him about their overtime payments.

The  main points

  • Former Speaker of the Tongan Parliament, Lord Tu’ilakepa, has praised the government for its transparency after it debated a report that said the former Auditor General had used practises that were open to abuse.
  • The report said former Auditor General Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa’s use of a private account to make overtime payments to his staff opened the door for cheating.
  • Tu’i’onetoa, who is now Tonga’s Police Minister, Tourism and Labour and Commerce, said the practice was part of an effort to overcome a huge backlog in audits of non-government boards.
  • It had been used since 1986 and none of his staff had ever complained about the practice.

For more information

In May 2014 Kaniva News published a letter in Tongan in which Hon. Tu’i’onetoa attached the cabinet decision that authorise him to exercise the practice.

The former Auditor General’s letter in Tongan can be found here – Fakamahino ‘Atita Seniale Vahe ‘Ovataimi ne fakahu he ‘akauni taautaha

Here is the copy of the cabinet decision made on September 24, 1986.

C.D. No.1373           24 September 1986

“Recommendation approved:

The Auditor General, during the course of audit on non-Government bodies, be allowed to agree with them on special overtime rates to be paid by non-government bodies to audit staff that are required to work over and above the normal official working hours.”

Tongan immigrant deportation order quashed, tribunal told to reconsider decision

By
Kaniva Pacific
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A deportation order against a Tongan immigrant was quashed by the Supreme Court in Auckland on March 26 saying the immigration tribunal failed to take into account his age and New Zealand identity.

But it ordered that Immigration Tribunal has to review the deportation order.

Samuela Faletalavai Helu ,24, has lived in New Zealand since he arrived from Tonga in December 1996 at the age of six.

In April 2003, he and his family were granted residence permits.

When he was 17 years old, the appellant committed the aggravated robbery of a convenience store in Auckland and on 20 May 2009 he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.

As the aggravated robbery had taken place less than five years after the granting of his residence permit, conviction of the offence made the appellant eligible for deportation in the discretion of the Minister of Immigration under s 91(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1987. The Minister ordered his deportation on 17 March 2010.

Helu appealed to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal but the Tribunal upheld the minister’s decision. The Tribunal found that, while it would be unduly harsh to deport Mr Helu, it was not persuaded that it would not be contrary to the public interest for him to remain in the New Zealand.

The appellant has sought judicial review of the Tribunal’s decision. In the Court of Appeal and High Court, the decision of the Tribunal was upheld. The Supreme Court gave the appellant leave to appeal.

The appellant submitted that the Tribunal had failed to take into account article 12(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees that no-one will be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter their own country, and that the Tribunal failed properly to take into account his age.

The court therefore quashed the Tribunal’s decision but said it has to take further consideration of its decision.

Helu and his lawyer Mele Tu’ilotolava could not be reached for comments.

Tonga’s Sunday law was not breached when residents worked on dead whale

By
Kaniva Pacific
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Residents at Kolonga who removed jawbone and teeth from a dead whale that washed up on their shore Sunday 22 did not breach Tonga’s Sunday law, Police said.

The carcass was then cut into pieces to save its bones and the remains were removed from the beach.

Tongan constitution ordered: “The Sabath Day shall be sacred forever and it shall not be lawful to do work or play games or trade on the Sabbath”.

An amendment to the clause was made allowing cabinet discretion to bend the rules for such cases as the emergency landing of aircraft.

Read More: Villagers remove jawbone and teeth from whale washed up on Kolonga beach

After the dead whale was found on Kolonga beach Police received information that bad smell began emanating from the carcass.

Police said it allowed the residents to work and remove the carcass as soon as they can to make sure the smell would not affect people living in the surrounding.

That cannot be regarded as breach of Sunday Law, according to Police.

Tonga’s Police minister Hon. Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa told Kaniva News in a previous interview he as Minister of Police has the authority to allow a person to do business on Sunday if that person has reasonable reasons to do so.

According to the minister taxi drivers, for example, can apply for permit to operate on Sunday but they must give strong reasons to support their applications.

Pātangata residents celebrate after land given to own

By
Kaniva Pacific
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After more than three decades of living in a temporary settlement without a tenancy agreement or land rights guarantee, residents of Pātangata were celebrating last week after the new government of ʻAkilisi Pōhiva made a decision to subdivide the area and distributed it amongst them.

Tongaʻs Ministry of Land and Survey workers who measured and divided the land were entertained and given gifts by the villagers.

The land offer came after a number of eviction and relocation orders were received by the settlers way back in 2001 and 2002.

During the celebration decorated vehicles paraded through the village and women were seen wearing manafau and had covered their heads with garlands and danced to music.

The first settlers at Pātangata were people from outer islands who migrated to mainland Tongatapu bringing their children to schools and seeking employment.

In 2001 the settlers received eviction and relocation order which was followed by others in 2002 after which an appeal was made to the king but it was turned down.

The eviction order was made based on government concerns about the settlers’ health because a significant part of the land was used as a rubbish dump for the capital’s garbage and refuse.

It was unsafe because the rubbish was dumped in the swamp and it was circulating around the settled area by the sea when it was high tide.

This has produced “a pervasive rotten smell that made life unhealthy and unpleasant”.

The eviction and relocation orders were not enforced after the Alouaʻs Water for All project funded by the Japanese government intervened and assisted the village with construction of 900 water tanks which was later replaced by portable fiber glass water tanks.

Villagers were also given sanitation programs that included land-filling and home improvement projects.

Prince Tupoutoʻa starts kidney dialysis foundation in Tonga

By
Kaniva Pacific
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Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa has started Tonga’s first kidney dialysis foundation, a reliable source has told Kaniva News.

The Prince met this week with Tonga’s Health Minister Dr Saia Piukala, Minister for Infrastructure Hon. ʻEtuate Lavulavu, Minister for Public Enterprise Poasi Tei, Former MP and government minister Sangstar Saulala, local businessman Saia Moehau and others  to look at the new initiative against kidney disease that can only be treated by dialysis and kidney transplantation.

Medical treatment for this type of sickness was not available in the kingdom and our source said the Prince understood many patients in Tonga suffered kidney diseases.

No further details on the project were given.

Meanwhile a Tongan former ‘Ikale Tahi flanker, Sione Vaiomo’unga, who moved to Romania on a rugby contract has kidney disease and needs a kidney transplant.

He cannot be returned to Tonga because there was no treatment there for his sickness.

Tongan koloa on display at Miami Convention Centre

By
Kaniva Pacific
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Tongan made handicrafts  known as koloa faka-Tonga were on display at the Cruise Shipping Miami Convention Centre in Miami from 16-19 March, 2015.

These were mats and tapa cloth known as ngatu and they were among 900 stands from 125 countries which were displayed during the conference.

It was an opportunity for the Tongan tourism committee to promote its new manual that contains updated and correct tour guide information about Tonga.

Monalisa Palu, National Coordinator of the Tonga Handicrafts and Cultural Tourism Support Programme said: “Our culture is truly unique and rich and people are awed by our heritage arts so we were delighted to have brought the ngatu all the way from Tonga.”

“We decided to hang it up on our wall in the combined South Pacific Cruise Alliance booth featuring 8 Pacific islands including Tonga. It gave us a point of differentiation from our neighbouring countries and immediately drew the attention of visitors,” she added.

Monalisa  said the Chairman of Tonga’s Cruiseship Steering Committee Steve Edwards presented the ngatu as a gift to Tahiti’s Minister of Tourism during the  Presidents of the Member Cruise Lines Welcome Reception hosted by Tahiti.

“Again, Tonga was promoted here because we laid out the full ngatu and the process and story was explained which made it even more fascinating for the audience and in this highly competitive cruise industry with so many ports and destinations, it is important to be authentic and unique,” Monalisa said.

The conference was also an opportunity for Tonga  to share its “biosecurity requirements and quality assurance manual on handicrafts developed by the Tonga Handicrafts and Cultural Tourism Support Programme which was reviewed and approved by Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries and Tonga’s Ministry of Agriculture & Food, Forests and Fisheries”.

Monalisa said it appeared the information currently given to tourists about Tonga were outdated resulting in lack of buying of handicrafts and local products when cruise ships arrived in Tonga.

She said: “some of them were advised on the ship not to buy and so we worked towards reducing the impediments and providing the correct information thanks to Tonga’s MAFFF, Australia and NZ”.

Monalisa also said: “Last year we met with managers in Miami and realised the issue and since this is where the decision makers come to, we had to ensure we could furnish the right information so last year we made sure we got this manual done and more importantly, reviewed by the authorities and this year for the first time, we were able to share this so that they could then pass on the correct information to their ships visiting our shores.”

The Tonga Handicrafts and Cultural Tourism Support Programme aims to Enhance the Sustainable Livelihood Opportunities for Handicrafts and Cultural Tourism Experience providers.

Tonga, second most at risk country in the world to natural disasters

By
Alpha Latu
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Tonga is the second most-at-risk country in the world to natural disasters and hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and tropical cyclones.

“Most recently, Tonga’s Northern Islands Group of Ha’apai, was hit by Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Ian resulting in loss of one life and displacing almost 70 per cent residents at a cost close to US$48 million at the beginning of last year, 2014,” said Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni during the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (3WCDCC), which was held from 14-18 March 2015, in Sendai, Japan .

“Later in the year, severe drought in most part of Tonga affected some key agricultural export products. The year closed off with volcanic eruptions between the Hunga Islands, only 62 kms away from the capital, Nuku’alofa, which had caused disruptions to international and domestic air transportation”.

“These natural occurrences have increasingly eroded our development gains, and affect the overall level of sustainability of our Disaster Risk Reduction.”

“My Ministry ensures that the limited resources and technical expertise available are effectively and efficiently share and utilized, as part of our effort to building a more resilient Tonga against these risks” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

Tonga is the first country in the Pacific to develop and approve a Joint National Action Plan (JNAP) for the integration of Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, he said.

The Tongan government has also brought Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management departments together under one ministry as part of its attempts to ensure its commitments to its resilience projects.

“Tonga continues to work together with its regional organizations and development partners in addressing its high degree of vulnerability to climate change and disaster risks” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

“We seek greater investment in science and technology to better inform risk reduction activities and improved early warning systems,” Hon. Sovaleni said.

200 disabled benefit from government’s disability welfare scheme

By
Kaniva Pacific
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The Tongan government began paying out a monthly payment in benefits to the main carers of 50 disabled to help them with their living.

Each disabled receives TP$65 a month.

The government selected 200 disabled from an estimated 600 disabled all over Tonga to start with in the first payout it made last week.

From the 200 selected 50 received cheques of $520 each. The amount included backdated payments they entitled to since July 2014.

Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva said his cabinet made the decision to show his government commitment to its Reach Out Support Programs and to share what it has with people in all levels of living in Tonga including disabled.

New recruits to enter police academy

By
Kaniva Pacific
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Tonga’s Ministry of Police took on 30 new recruits Monday, March 23.

The new recruits have completed a six-month basic police training at the Longolongo Police Academy.

Twenty of them were men and the rest were women.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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