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Covid-19 update:74 new community cases today, one death reported

By
Kaniva Staff
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By RNZ.co.nz and is republished with permission

There are 74 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today.

No caption
(File image) Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said the new community cases are in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua and Canterbury.

There were also 15 new cases of Covid-19 in the Taranaki township of Eltham which will be officially added to the case figures tomorrow.

“The cases are self-isolating and initial interviews suggest they are all linked to the Eltham case reported on Sunday – with links to four of these new cases already confirmed.

“Investigations are also underway to identify, isolate, and test any close contacts and determine any locations of interest. People in Taranaki are asked to monitor the Ministry’s locations of interest page, which is updated regularly.”

The majority of these new cases are in pupils from a school in Eltham, which is now closed for the summer break.

There were 56 new cases reported in Auckland today, seven in Tauranga and nine in Waikato, which includes five in Te Kūiti and four in Hamilton.

There was also one new case in Canterbury and one in Rotorua.

The number of community cases in the Auckland region decreased for the third consecutive week, with 22% fewer cases than the week prior. This decline is mirrored across all three Auckland Metro DHBs.

Health and welfare providers are now supporting 1,971 people to isolate at home, including 474 cases.

There are 61 cases in hospital, including three in intensive care.

One person with Covid-19 has passed away in Tauranga Hospital, the Ministry has confirmed.

There were also two cases in managed isolation today.

There have now been 9963 cases in the current community outbreak and 12,773 cases since the pandemic began.

Vaccines and testing

Counties Manukau DHB has now reached 90 percent fully vaccinated, bringing all three Auckland Metro DHBs to 90 percent or more fully vaccinated. Auckland DHB is now sitting on 95 percent and Waitemata DHB is on 92 percent.

New Zealand is now 7417 doses away from being nationally 90 percent fully vaccinated.

There were 2485 first doses; 7877 second doses; 869 third primary doses and 9229 booster doses given yesterday.

Today is the first day of Auckland’s border restrictions being lifted after the Delta outbreak began in August.

It is also the first day that rapid antigen testing for Covid-19 is available at approved pharmacies for unvaccinated and asymptomatic travellers over the age of 12.

While the ministry has dispatched 250,000 tests across the country, some in Auckland have told RNZ they have only received a small number, or none at all, and may have to turn people away.

In its statement today, the Ministry said iy was aware that some people were being tested unnecessarily or at the wrong places.

“Unvaccinated people require a Covid-19 test for some travel including to leave Auckland. These people need to get a supervised rapid antigen test from a pharmacy, within 72 hours of travel.

“This testing is only for people over the age of 12 years and 3 months, who are not fully vaccinated and do not have any Covid-19 symptoms.

“The location and hours of pharmacies offering rapid antigen tests is available from Healthpoint. We ask people getting a rapid antigen test to be patient and kind to pharmacy staff while the system is fine-tuned.”

The Ministry also said the majority of the 70,000 people with overseas vaccinations or incorrect data who were emailed a temporary exemption letter from the My Vaccine Pass have now received their pass

But it said it was also issuing a further temporary exemption letter today to some people whose applications are still being processed.

“About 5000 people are getting a week-long exemption while their requests for My Vaccine Passes are cleared, while 20,000 people vaccinated overseas will get an extension to 17 January 2022 while their vaccinations are verified.”

ANALYSIS: Only magic will do: Can the nobility MPs breach their self-serving minority political interest and vote for popular candidate Siaosi Sovaleni?

By
Kalino Latu
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ANALYSIS If we look at the history of Tonga’s premiership elections since 2010 it is hard to believe the popular candidate Siaosi Sovaleni will win the premiership election.

Dr ‘Aisake Eke (L), Siaosi Sovaleni

This is because the nobility MPs always side with the minority group of people’s MPs when the majority of them fail to get the numbers to win the premiership election themselves.

Tonga’s apparently designed-to-fail system of democracy should be blamed for this. And the Nobles’ representatives and the minority group of people’s MPs have always taken advantage of this to steal the power that was meant for the faction with the most MPs elected by the people.

Self-serving minority 

The nobility are only interested in their affairs and what benefits them if they get the power such as their lands which is estimated to be 30 percent of all land in Tonga. This includes the controversial laws which treat them differently from the commoners as well as their rights to their cultural and traditional entitlements.

They did not care about the people or respect what is known in democracy as people’s rule or majority rule based on the highest number of votes cast by the people on elections day. They told the public they wanted the people’s 17 MPs to unite so they can form the government. What they did not tell the people was that, if the 17 MPs cannot unite the nobility will join the minority and form the government.

After Tonga’s first democratic election in 2010 there was an expectation the new government would be led by the majority of the people’s MPs. It did not happen because the nine nobility MPs aligned themselves with the five minority group of people’s MPs and formed the new government.

After the following election, the late ‘Akilisi Pōhiva successfully urged the minority group of five independent MPs to join his PTOA Party’s nine MPs and form the government.

The snap election of 2017 after the king dissolved parliament saw the first time in history the PTOA MPs were able to get the number and formed the government by themselves.

However, in 2019, after the death of ‘Akilisi, the Noble MPs struck again and managed to urge interim PM Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa and two others from the PTOA Party and they formed the government.

Unity

The members of nobility are renowned for their unity and collaboration, especially when it comes to national politics.

Some of them might appear in the media and public and say things which might lead people to think they were supporting the people and acting differently from the other nobles, but at the end of the day the nobility still sticks together.

The withdrawal of Lord Fakafanua from the premiership candidacy was democratically promising but reports said the nobles were heavily involving in horse trading with the two blocs apparently in a bid to give them ministerial posts.

There is a strong sense that Sovaleni will win the premiership elections because he has managed to unite 12 MPs with him, while Dr Eke only have five. Sovaleni only needs the votes of two more MPs so he can win.

There are also reports that the king has advised the nobility to votes for the candidate with the most MPs.

There are also reports the Nobility is already split, with two MPs have already confirmed their votes for Sovaleni.

But we will see.

Sex crimes offender Penisimani Ta‘akimoeaka loses Supreme Court appeal, NZ

By
Kaniva Staff
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A man, who has been in and out of jail for sex offences against two young women, has lost his appeal against his five-year extended supervision order set to start on December 2020.

Supreme Court. Courts of New Zealand

Penisimani Ta’akimoeaka, 38,  was convicted in 2005, when he was 17, of serious sexual offending against a 16-year-old young woman after entering her house without consent.

He was sentenced to six and a half years’ imprisonment for that offending and released in October 2010.

In 2013, five months after the expiry of his release conditions, Mr Taakimoeaka climbed through a window of a house in Picton, South Island where two 16-year-old young women were sleeping and sexually assaulted one of them.

He was sentenced to concurrent sentences of seven years and six months for assault with intent to commit sexual violation by rape, five years and six months for sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and 12 months for each of the three charges of indecent assault.

The sentencing Judge said Mr Taakimoeaka had come “perilously close” to being sentenced to preventive detention.

Mr Taakimoeaka, who was reportedly living in Canterbury,  argued that the two incidents of sexual offending fail to reach the “pervasive pattern” threshold.

He believed the Court of Appeal placed too much weight on the views of the health assessor in concluding there was a pervasive pattern. He also said that the Court of Appeal erred by deciding that there was an intense drive and a predilection for serious sexual offending on the basis of his prior offending alone as opposed to undertaking a current assessment of the individual.

The Supreme Court judge in a judgement released on Friday December 10, 2021 said, “The matters Mr Taakimoeaka seeks to raise are essentially issues related to the particular facts of this case.

“No point of general or public importance arises. His challenge to the imposition of the ESO was carefully considered by the Court of Appeal and nothing raised suggests that the Court’s analysis may have been wrong.

“There is thus no risk of a miscarriage of justice. The application for leave to appeal is dismissed”.

Unsuccessful premiership contender Tu‘i‘onetoa expresses bitterness at being abandoned; continues falsely attacking Democrats

By
Kalino Latu
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Interim Prime Minster Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa has complained about being dumped by his own interim Cabinet Ministers, saying he just found out after the general elections that their unity in the past four months was fake.

Dr Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa. Photo/Kalino Lātū

He said their union was heart-warming and they worked side by side.

He described the basis of their unity as a pledge and sacred oath “fuakava toputapu” with the people.

Tu’i’onetoa said he trusted the situation and they had looked forward together with the nobility to welcome the new MPs.

“Unfortunately, it never happened, as after the general elections on November 18 some of the Cabinet Ministers left with their plan to form the new government on their own,”  Tu’i’onetoa said in Tongan in a post on Facebook this afternoon.

He said the Tongan saying was true – “Kehe lea he hifo’ mei he lea he hake” which can be translated into English as two faced people.

He confirmed that he has supported premiership candidate Dr ‘Aisake Eke. He said he wanted to hand over the work he had started during the past two years  to Dr Eke and train him for it.

Stinging attack

The Interim Prime Minister then launched a stinging attack against the PTOA Party and its three MPs who supported premiership candidate Siaosi Sovaleni.

The former PTOA MP and Cabinet Minister said any ministerial posts for the PTOA MPs should  be given to the nobility MPs.

He falsely accused the PTOA of plotting to create a government without the involvement of the nobility. He never gave any evidence to support his claim.

He also reiterated his ongoing misleading attacks against the Democrats to make them sound like they have a plan to dethrone the king. He referred to the raft of six Bills pushed by the late ‘Akilisi Pōhiva’s government in Parliament to support his claims. Former Acting Attorney General ‘Aminiasi Kefu previously advised the public during consultations on the Bills there was no such agenda.

Tu’i’ometoa supported the Bills 

Apart from failing to provide any concrete evidence to support his claims Tu’i’onetoa was the Minister of Finance under the ‘Akilisi government when the Bills were re-submitted to Parliament in February 2019 after they were first introduced into the Legislative Assembly by Lord Tu’ivakano’s government in 2014.

He supported the Bills when they were debated in Parliament. Tu’i’onetoa also raised his hand up in support of a majority vote in Parliament at the time when the Speaker placed the Bills on the ballot to be taken for public consultations, according to Hansard of March 11, 2019.

When Tu’i’onetoa took over as Prime Minister after ‘Aklilisi’s death, he told Kaniva News that he had put aside the six Bills because “his government did not have enough time to do it”.

In a video clip seen by Kaniva News during the lead-up to the November 18 election, Hon. Tu’i’onetoa said he had left the PTOA Party because of their alleged plans to dethrone the king with the six Bills. This was untrue.

The real reason why he left PTOA, was that he was disappointed in what he described in a previous interview with Kaniva as some in the PTOA Party attempting to challenge the plans ‘Akilisi left for the party’s leadership. However, some critics believe Tu’i’onetoa left the PTOA after he had talked with the Nobles about forming his own government.

PTOA response 

Hon. Tu’i’onetoa, who has been accused of repeated misleading the public and the media, has faced a public backlash from the Democrats on Facebook.

“You are full of crap,” a commenter responded to Tu’i’onetoa’s post.

“He is behaving like a woman,” another wrote.

“Karma. This was what you did for the PTOA you betrayed the Party and what goes around comes around,” one wrote in Tongan.

“You are dead.”

Some supporters of Tu’i’onetoa came to his defence and said he had done a good job while he was Prime Minister.

King’s noble Lord Ma’afu dies in Auckland hospital

By
Kaniva Staff
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UPDATED: Lord Ma’afu, an interim Cabinet Minister and former nobility MP, has died aged 66, the Prime Minister’s office has confirmed this morning.

Lord Ma’afu. Photo/Tonga Parliament

“It is with profound sadness that the Office of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga announces the untimely death of the Right Honourable Colonel, the Lord Ma’afu-Lord Minister in Waiting to His Majesty in Privy Council, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, and Minister responsible for His Majesty’s Armed Forces”, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.

“His Lordship passed away in the early hours of Sunday, 12 December 2021, at the Auckland City Hospital, New Zealand.

“His Lordship has held Ministerial office for four consecutive Governments, with an exemplary and esteemed career in service to the Monarch and the Royal Household, as well as public and military services to His Majesty’s Government, spanning over 40 years”.

Lord Ma’afu was the interim Minister of His Majesty Armed Forces and Lands and Survey before he died. However, he was not re-elected when the 33 noble families went to the polls on November 18 to elect their nine representatives from within their own ranks.

Lord Ma’afu’s wife Princess Tāone died in 2018. They had two children Hon. Tevita ‘Unga and Hon. Fangaake Veikune.

Cocker’s denial of Lulutai sale plan reveals ongoing inconsistency between Chief Secretary and PM’s statements  to the media and public   

By
Kalino Latu
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Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet Edgar Cocker has vehemently denied reports the government is planning to sell the Lulutai airlines to a private company after we reported the Prime Minister said the airline was available for sale.

Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa and Chief Secretary Edgar Cocker. Photo/Kalino Lātu (Kaniva Tonga)

Cocker described the reports as a dreaming while sleeping “mohe misi” and wishful thinking “fakatuputupulangi”, the Kakalu ‘O Tonga newspaper reported.

He said he was the one who was in charge of the Lulutai airlines and anybody who wanted anything regarding it must come through him.

Absolute conflict

His denial was in absolute conflict with what we have seen in e-mails that appear to have been between interim Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa and a Fly Niu airline spokesperson Semi Halanukonuka.

In an e-mail in Tongan purportedly sent from Tu’i’onetoa to Halanukonuka on November 2, 2021, seen by Kaniva News, the Prime Minister confirmed to Halanukonuka that if the Fly Niu airlines wanted to buy Lulutai that was the best option.

He said if Fly Niu could take over the airline the government would cease its involvement.

He also told  Halanukonuka that it would not matter if his government was replaced after the general election.

Tu’i’onetoa said what the government was looking for was a buyer who could operate the airline successfully, unlike all previous failed operators who went bankrupt. He also mentioned in his email that he had previously asked Fly Niu to send him its business plan.

In Tongan the Prime Minister wrote:

“Pea ko e taha kapau te mou fakatau a e Lulutai ka mau malolo mautolu ko e toe sai taha ia. ‘oku ikai ke matter ia pe kohai oku government he koe service eni ia oku essential ki he fonua. Ko e me’a tepuu ha taha te ne fakalele pea vakai atu a e pule’anga ‘e ikai toe bankrupt o hange koe all others ka e safe and secure a e services. Koe uhinga pe ia na’a ku kole atu ai a e business plan ke vakai kiai a e government”.

Tu’i’onetoa said the history of airlines operated by Tongans showed no operators made any profits out of it.

In-principle agreement 

As Kaniva News reported last month, the government has reached an in-principle agreement to sell the national airlines to the privately-owned Fly Niu airlines.

We said the agreement was subject to an assessment of the Fly Niu proposal by the new government.

Halanukonuka told us at the time they were working to fulfil what Tu’i’onetoa wanted to process their purchase application.

Last year, Cocker publicly supported statements by the Prime Minister regarding the appointment and sacking of Lulutai’s CEO, which were later called into question by documentary evidence.

When asked by Kaniva News whether former Lulutai CEO Maikolo Faasolo had held the position, Cocker said no. When e-mailed the copy of the contract which showed Fa’asolo was indeed the CEO of Lulutai before he was forced to resign, Cocker said nothing.

Cocker and Tu’i’onetoa muddles

There have been growing concerns over the Prime Minister and his Chief Secretary  providing conflicting statements to the public.

In October, the Prime Minister’s office told the media in a press release the Government had  approved a major upgrade for the Vava’u international airport.

It said the proposed US$121 million project would be led by a registered British company known as Raw Mana Ltd. It said Raw Mana’s involvement had been referred to the Tongan Government.

However, the following day, Cocker told local Matangi Tonga Online  that a full proposal has not been received and that the Prime Minister’s office’s press release did not mean that Government had granted approval for the Raw Mana Ltd to undertake the project.

The following week, Tu’i’onetoa corrected Cocker during his Radio FM 87.5  official livestream show. Tu’i’onetoa said his office’s press release still stood and whenever His Majesty was informed of such important event there was no need to change such information.

Cabinet decision

In 2019 the Prime Minister corrected a Cabinet decision signed by Cocker which was leaked to media.

The resolution was meant to revoke a decision to allow a public consultation on growing hemp in Tonga, but the wording included the phrase “approved as amended”.

When Kaniva asked Cocker for clarification he insisted the wording  “approved as amended” meant the consultation application was rejected by Cabinet. We insisted that the phrase “approved as amended” could mean it was approved.

Tu’i’onetoa later said the wording of the cabinet decision was vague.

He said it should either said it was “deferred” or “not approved.”

We recently reported that Cocker was involved in an encounter with Prince Tu’ipelehake in a bar in which he was shown in a video to have fallen to the floor. When we asked Cocker for his version of the incident, he said he had been praying and was asking the Prince to kneel down so they could pray together.

Cocker’s version of events appeared to contradict the evidence of the video and reports by witnesses on news and social media.

OP-ED: Tu’i’onetoa’s sudden drop out of premiership race should compel kingmaker noble MPs to elect the popular premiership candidate

By
Kalino Latu
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OP-ED The withdrawal of interim Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa from the premiership race because of an apparent lack of support from MPs could be the biggest upset in Tonga’s parliamentary election history.

Dr Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa. Photo/Kalino Lātū

It came after his election on November 18 and his return to Parliament filled his supporters with pride.

But now there has been sudden change of mood and a lot of disappointment among his supporters, mainly because his promises of more economic and social developments in his constituency if he was given a further term as PM did not happen.

The fall of Tu’i’onetoa

The fall of Tu’i’onetoa could be a clear sign of his unpopularity in terms of his failed leadership and his controversial, biased development and economic policies and unfair distribution of the country’s opportunity and wealth.

He played peacemaker and pretended that he could treat everybody equally under his call for unity “counting two as one policy” but he did not. In most of his public statements, especially in the lead up to the November election Tu’i’onetoa’s credibility and integrity were seriously called into questions because of what his critics described as misleading and unfounded information used by the religious leader to attack opposition MPs and the Democrats.

He appeared to have twisted the truth about the raft of controversial bills pushed by the late ‘Akilisi Pōhiva’s government to look as if it was an attempt by the Democrats to dethrone the king while in fact the bills were based on the Pursglove report which was endorsed in 2014 by the Lord Tu’ivakanō government but never implemented.

Fear the history might repeat 

The shocking and unexpected dumping of Tu’i’onetoa by all his interim Cabinet Ministers except for Niua MP Vātau Hui in the premiership contest should be the perfect indication of his shortcomings. It appeared his Ministers were just working silently without questioning his leadership before the November election, but they did not accept his ways.

Tu’i’onetoa was the first Prime Minister since the political reform of 2010 to have publicly announced his desire to take revenge on his political enemies and allies as well as their constituents by excluding them from the government’s development and economic policies.

There was fear that Tu’ionetoa’s support for a Dr ‘Aisake Eke’s government could continue to promote this type of unacceptable and unpopular precept.

Nobility must be fair

If the support for the premiership candidates stood as it was today, December 12, with 11 MPs in total for Interim Education Minister Siaosi Sovaleni and six MPs supporting Dr ‘Aisake Eke than the potential winner would be Sovaleni.

However, the majority rule votes for Sovaleni faces a formidable hurdle – the nine minority elected nobility MPs’ votes must decide the winner. The Nobles must choose which candidate to support to give him the 14 votes necessary for victory.

No longer a secret ballot

In the previous premiership elections, the MPs’ supports for the candidates were not made public until the results of the secret ballots were announced. But this year it was different because Sovaleni had already revealed the MPs who were supporting him before the election day. He should be credited for making such a milestone contribution to Tonga’s endeavour to uphold transparency amid its very new and complicated system of democracy.

The Noble MPs must do the decent thing by either abstaining from voting to allow a people’s majority rule to elect the new prime minister or they must vote for the candidate with the support of the most MPs.

It is the rule of the majority and the rights of the minority that are the core values of democracy.

Former Tongan deputy principal laid to rest: ‘No doubt we will feel the loss’, says Auckland’s McAuley HS tribute

By
Kaniva Staff
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 The body of a beloved Tongan teacher who taught at McAuley High School in Ōtāhuhu, Auckland was laid to rest at Manukau Memorial Gardens yesterday December 11.

Soane Malia Kauhalaniua (R) and wife Soana. Photo/Supplied

Soane Malia Kauhalaniua, 49, died after being recently diagnosed with lung cancer.

He was described as “very active” and “one of the fathers of the school”. He had previously taught at ‘Apifo’ou College in Tonga and became the school’s deputy principal.

“It is with great sadness that our school whānau announces that our dear friend, brother, teacher and colleague, Soane Malia Kauhalaniua, has gone to God yesterday morning after a short battle with lung cancer,” says a tribute by the McAuley High School which was posted to Facebook shortly after Kauhalaniua’s death.

Kauhalaniua arrived in Auckland with his family before teaching at the school. He  headed the accounting department over the last few years.

“Some notable highlights over the last couple of years include Soane composing our most recent tau’olunga for the Tongan group in 2020; preparing our students, together with his wife Mrs Soana Kauhalaniua, to take their sacraments this year; and the passionate lectures he would give to his classes and the Tongan students about living out our faith and cultural values at school and making the most of every opportunity McAuley had to offer them”, the school said in its tribute.

“Soane embodied Tongan values in his everyday life. He lived a life of service, not only in our McAuley community but also in the Catholic community in Tonga and at his parish of St Luke’s, Flat Bush.

There is no doubt we will feel the loss of Soane, a man who gladly shared his gifts and talents with us, often rocking a tupenu and boat shoes, accompanied by his guitar”.

Kauhalaniua is survived by his wife Soana and their two daughters and a grandson.

ANALYSIS: Will government led by Dr Eke be another version of former PM Tu’i’onetoa’s contentious administration?

By
Kalino Latu
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ANALYSIS The most popular and widely discussed topic among Tongans online is who should be Tonga’s next new Prime Minister.

The debate heated up after it was confirmed only two candidates are now contesting the premiership after interim Prime Minister Pohivia Tu’i’onetoa pulled out when there were doubts over whether he could find enough support to nominate and support him as a candidate.

Dr ‘Aisake Eke. Photo/Tonga Broadcasting Commission (Facebook)

The only two candidates now are the interim Minister of Education Siaosi Sovaleni and returned Minister of Finance and MP Dr ‘Aisake Eke.

It is understood Dr Tu’i’onetoa was supporting Dr Eke with four other MPs while 10 MPs gave their support to Sovaleni.

Binding patterns

In the latest twist we can see what appears to be patterns of binding cultural, administrative and political connections between Tu’i’onetoa and Dr Eke.

Dr Tu’i’onetoa promoted the culture of faka-Toloa while being the Prime Minister, the culture of seniority at high schools in which the young students were taught to respect the older ones wherever they were even when they were not at school. Dr Eke and Dr Tu’i’onetoa went to Toloa, also known as Tupou College, where Dr Tui’i’onetoa was older than Dr Eke.

In the lead up to the November election  Dr Tu’i’onetoa told Radio FM 87.5 he and former Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva had a fall out after he sued late ‘Akilisi while he was the Opposition Leader. He said later on ‘Akilisi asked him to run as a candidate from Tongatapu 10 for ‘Akilisi’s PTOA Party. Tu’i’onetoa said he accepted ‘Akilisi’s request because that’s how the culture of faka-Toloa came into play. Whenever the seniors told them what to do they did it.  ‘Akilisi was at Tupou College and he was older than Tu’i’onetoa.

This high school cultural practice was common to all high schools in Tonga and it was treated seriously by some schools, including Tonga College known as ‘Atele. It was the young ex-students’ proud boast that they obeyed what the older alumni wanted them to do no matter what.

The Tonga Power Board saga

Dr Tu’i’onetoa appointed Dr Eke as the new chairman of the Tonga Power Board. After Kaniva News reported in July that Dr Eke did not tell the truth in court after he stood witness in the Lavulavu fraud hearings, the former Tonga Power Board CEO John Chapman demanded  Dr Eke tender his resignation.

Chapman told Dr Eke  the judge’s comment was ”reflective of poor leadership and that, I have experienced under your Chairmanship”. Dr Eke refused to resign.

However, two days after Chapman demanded Dr Eke’s resignation, Dr Tu’i’onetoa threatened to fire Chapman as director.

Interestingly, Tu’i’onetoa’s letter to Chapman on June 11, 2021, raised issues from previous years, including a claim that  Chapman had failed to advise the TPL Board about the Trust’s decision on December 17, 2020.

After the e-mails between the Prime Minister and Chapman were leaked to media the Prime Minister remarkably changed his tune.

Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa. Photo/Kalino Lātū (Kaniva Tonga)

In a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office the following day, Tu’i’onetoa said Chapman had asked to resign for personal reasons due to his intended overseas travel to his family.

Tu’i’onetoa and Eke vs Lavulavu saga

Tu’i’onetoa was heavily criticised for his repeated refusal to do something against Lavulavu from when she appeared in court up to her sentencing. The other person who strongly supported the Lavulavus in court was Dr Eke.

What was common in Dr Eke and Dr Tu’ionetoa’s support for the Lavulavus was that they both appeared to have criticised the presiding judge after he sentenced the couple.

In an e-mail to Kaniva News Tu’i’onetoa likened the judge’s decision to the script in the Holy Bible which said no one was perfect but only God.

After the judge’s remarks saying that Dr  Eke “was not desirous of telling the truth” Dr Eke told the media he stood by his statements.

Tu’i’onetoa’s punishment policy

Tu’ionetoa is said to have been chosen as Minister of Finance if Dr Eke is elected Prime Minister. It could be that his withdrawal from the premiership election and support for Dr Eke comes with a high price we will discover later.

However, there is a highly possible scenario in which, if Dr Eke becomes Tonga’s new Prime Minister, he will deliver the same controversial policies created by the Tu’i’onetoa government.

This might include Tu’i’onetoa’s policy of penalising those MPs who did not vote for him in the premiership election by excluding their constituencies from the government’s development projects such as roading, providing water supplies, building new wharves, building new weaving houses and sealing of roads with tar.

It could also include the Tu’i’onetoa policy of offering the government multi-million pa’anga contracts to only government and family members with close ties to the government. This would be a breach of the government law about conflict of interest.

Malia Li jailed after leaving disabled husband to die in his own waste

By
Kaniva Staff
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The Tongan woman who was found guilty after leaving her disabled husband to die in his own waste has been jailed for five years and seven month’s imprisonment. 

Malia ‘Unalotokipea Li (L), Lanitola ‘Epenisa (inset). Photo/Supplied

In  October  2 2016, the ambulance officers arrived at the victim’s Mangere home and confirmed that the prisoner’s husband Lanitola ‘Epenisa was dead. The police were then notified. ‘Epenisa’s body  was found in the La-Z-Boy chair in the bedroom. 

The police conducted a preliminary examination. They smelt urine and faeces in the bedroom, the court was told.  They observed a stench of urine and decay when they moved a mat on the floor and a wet stain on the floor. A mouse ran out of the La-Z-Boy chair when it was moved. 

In sentencing Li Justice Wylie said the family at the time was impoverished. Li and his  husband and their two daughters shared the same bedroom in the Kivell Close house. There were others living in the house and still more people living in the garage. The house was poorly maintained. 

Li wrote  a heartfelt letter to the judge and  expressed remorse. 

The judge said: “You accept full responsibility for your actions and tell me that you accept in full the jury’s verdict. You ask for forgiveness”. 

Justice Wylie recognised Li’s remorse and took time off her sentence for her health conditions and recognition that prison would be particularly difficult for her. 

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