The Minister of Finance did not give a direct reply to a question from a Democrat MP about whether the Nobles’ access to the constituency fund would give Tongatapu 5 an extra financial benefit.

Tongatapu 5 Democratic MP Losaline Ma’asi said in the House that her constituency had two Noble MPs in Parliament.

These were Lord Tu’ivakanō and Lord Vaha’i.

“Does that mean, Tongatapu 5 will receive a bigger share?” she asked of the government bench.

Finance Minster Hon. Tevita Lavemaau asked the Chair of the Whole House Committee to give him 30 seconds to “enlighten” the situation.

He said this funding was under the control of the Speaker of Parliament.

He said the funding was discussed last year when it was pointed out that Tongatapu had only three MPs representing the Nobles.

Hon. Lavemaau said the People’s MPs and the Nobles’ MPs would work together in using the money.

He said the situation in his constituency, ‘Eua 11, was simple because it had only one MP from the Nobility.

The Constituency Funding

As Kaniva News reported last night, each of the nine members of the nobility in Parliament is expected to begin distributing TP$50,000 among their constituents in the next Parliamentary visit.

Hon. Lavemaau said the TP$1,260,000 package to support the community was an excellent move by the government.

Within the budget an additional TP$306,000 funding had been allocated for the 17 people’s MPs to pay their office staff. This gave each of the MPs another TP$18,000 each.

Another TP$850,000 to be equally distributed among the people’s MPs as an addition to their constituency funding brought each MPs share to a total of TP$250,000.

Conflicting messages

The Speaker of the House, Lord Fakafanua, said the funding allocated for the three nobles in Tongatapu was meant for all of its 10 constituencies (“vāhenga fakalukufua ‘a Tongatapu kātoa.”)

However, the Whole House Committee Chair Lord Tu’i’āfitu , who is from Vava’u 15, explained it otherwise.

He said his TP$50,000 fund was for the whole of Vava’u, which has three constituencies, while Tongatapu Noble MPs funding was meant for the Noble’s constituencies only (“Ko moutolu homou constituency ‘oku ngata pe homou fakangatangata.”)

Noble MPs’ estate first

Lord Tu’iha’angana said in the first year of receiving the money he would use it to help his estate Ha’ano.

Ha’ano is in Ha’apai 13 constituency which included the islands of Nomuka, Mango, Fonoifua, Haʻafeva, Kotu, Tungua, Tofua, Fotuhaʻa, Matuku, ʻOʻua, Fakakai, Pukotala, Muitoa, Moʻungaʻone, Fotua, Fangaleʻounga, Lotofoa, Faleloa, Haʻateihosiʻi, and Haʻafakahenga.

Noble MPs’ not accountable to constituents

During the last administration of the late ‘Akilisi Pohiva last year it was suggested in Parliament  that if the noble MPs were given the money they would not be bound by an obligation to their constituents  because they were not elected by the people.

Opposition

There was not much opposition from the PTOA MPs while the constituency support package was deliberated in the House.

Democrat frontliner Mateni Tapueluelu, who fiercely attacked the noble MPs move last year to get a share of the constituency funding, has given a very muted response about the declaration by the government that all constituencies budget would be increased by another $50,000 each.

The government’s failure to give a logical explanation as to why the funding appears to have been unfairly distributed recalled the comment made by late Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva that if the Nobles’ request was approved it would cause problem.

As Kaniva News reported last night, the Late Hon. Pōhiva rejected the Noble MPs’ request to allow them to access the funding.

He said not every constituency in Tonga had a noble MP to make sure they would have a share of this taxpayers’ money.

Hon. Pohiva said the distribution of the money among the 17 people’s MPs was fair as every constituency in Tonga would have the same opportunity to benefit from the funding through their MPs.

He said if the nine Nobles in Parliament were given an allowance, this would set them apart from other Nobles who were not in the House and would not get the same benefit for their estates.

Kaniva News says:

The conflicting and ambiguous responses from government and its backbenchers regarding the funding make it difficult to determine what is going on and could cause some people to think  that only the noble MPs’ estates would benefit from the money and not the constituencies in which they live.

The government must be absolutely transparent about how the money is spent and under what guidelines the Nobles will  be held accountable for their spending.

Each of the nine members of the nobility in Parliament is expected to begin distributing TP$50,000 among their constituents in the next parliamentary visit.

The Minister of Finance Tevita Lavemaau has revealed the $1,260,000 package to support the community saying it was an excellent move by the government.

Speaker Lord Fakafanua has described the funding as a “new initiative” and said this was part of a budget allocation the government had submitted to Parliament for approval.

Within the budget an additional TP$306,000 funding has been allocated for the 17 people’s MPs to pay their office staff. This gave each of the MPs another TP$18,000 each, the Speaker said.

Another TP$850,000 to be equally distributed among the people’s MPs as an addition to their constituency funding brings each MPs share to a total of TP$250,000.

READ MORE:

• Nobles plea to receive TP$900,000 of constituency funds; gov’t says it’s “problematic,” nobility not elected by people  

An increase of TP$15,000 to the town wardens’ (polisi fakakolo) budget will put their shares from the package at an annual TP$40,000 for each village and town warden.

Opposition 

The revelation in the House comes after heated debates erupted in Parliament last year after the nobility pleaded with the late ‘Akilisi Pōhiva’s government to allow them a budget of TP$900,000 from the constituency fund.

The Late Hon. Pōhiva did not believe the Noble MPs should be allowed to access the funding. He said in the House if the nobles were given the money it could cause problems.

He said not every constituency in Tonga had a noble MP to make sure they would have a share of this taxpayers money.

Hon. Pohiva said the distribution of the money among the 17 people’s MPs was fair as every constituency in Tonga would have the same opportunity to benefit from the funding through their MPs.

He said if the nine Nobles in Parliament were given an allowance, this would set them apart from other Nobles who were not in the House and would not get the same benefit for their estates.

The pleas

Three of MPs who were instrumental in moving for the former government to approve the budget were Lord Nuku, who is now the Minister of Police, MP Samiu Vaipulu who is now the Minister of Trade and Economic Development and Lord Tu’ilakepa who is now the Minister of MAFF.

Tonga’s Education Minister says a special online council meeting may be called to resolve the ongoing dispute at USP.

Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni said he hoped “common sense” would prevail.

In a letter to Pro-Vice Chancellor Winston Thompson posted on the Facebook page of veteran Pacific affairs reporter Michael Field, who has been covering the saga, Hon. Sovaleni criticises Thompson for his “antagonistic attitude towards the Vice Chancellor, Professor Pal Ahluwalia.

“The quarreling  between the Pro Vice Chancellor and Vice Chancellor must end immediately as the [University] Council demands professional behaviour and responsible leadership and management at all times,” Hon. Sovaleni wrote.

The Minister said the Vice Chancellor was responsible to the University Council.

“The Council is therefore duty bound to ensure that it provides and fosters an environment that is conducive to strong leadership and management and high morale for all persons in the employment of the University, including the VCP.”

The Minister said Tonga strongly supported the position of the Samoan Minister of Education to cease the investigation against the VC.

He told Thompson the current situation was “an untimely and ill-conceived attempt to force [the Council] to make impulsive decisions.”

He said the Council was hampered  by being unable to convene a Council meeting because of the ravel restrictions imposed  by the Covid-19 epidemic.

As Kaniva News reported this week, Tonga is one of the Pacific Island nations which has come out in support of Professor Ahluwalia, who commissioned a report which uncovered highly questionable payment and management practices at the regional university, which is based in Suva.

The report, by accountants BDO, found multiple breaches of policy had led to questionable payments worth millions of dollars.

Field said documents also existed relating to an ongoing scandal over allegations that some staff had demanded sex in return for good grades.

Pro-Vice Chancellor Thompson, backed by Fijian interests, has had Professor Ahluwalia suspended and appointed Professor Derreck Armstrong as Acting Vice Chancellor.

Armstrong is one of the USP staff named in the report.

Australia has suspended aid to USP until the university is cleaned up.

The main points

• Tonga’s Education Minister says a special council meeting may be called to resolve the ongoing dispute at USP.
• Siaosi Sovaleni said he hoped “common sense” would prevail.

For more information

USP staff took millions of dollars in questionable payments;  policy breaches rife says secret accountants report

Secret report reveals widespread salary and allowance rorts at USP

The Tu’i’onetoa government has reversed a controversial decision to bury a Vava’u deceased in Tongatapu after strong reactions from the public and a request from her family.

The deceased, Natania Camellia Sanft, died in Fiji but since Tonga declared a national lockdown starting in March her body was held in the neighbouring country weeks after her death.

Sanft’s body had been finally repatriated early this week by His Majesty’s Armed Forces to Nuku’alofa.

Her parents, who were with her in Fiji studying under a Tonga government scholarship prgramme, weren’t allowed to travel with her body because of the Covid-19 restrictions.

The Minister of Health announced the deceased would be taken and buried by relatives in Tongatapu and not in her hometown Tu’anekivale in Vava’u.

The Minister reportedly said the decision was made according to the law which says the only borders allowed for vessels and aircraft from overseas during the Covid-19 lockdown were Fua’amotu in Tongatapu and capital Nuku’alofa.

However, the government went back on its decision and said in a press conference yesterday the deceased’s body will be returned and buried in Vava’u next week.

It said the gathering restrictions for funeral services still stood and the bereaved families were not allowed to mour​n their dead.

Sanft’s funeral services would be all handled by government officials, it said.

The decisions met with mixed reactions from the public online.

Critics asked why the Voea Neiafu did not stop in Vava’u on its way back from Fiji to allow the deceased’s immediate family there to take her body home.

A number of critics said they felt for the deceased’s parents and that the government should have allowed them to bring their daughter home.

Some described the decisions as heart of stone.

However, a number of commenters said the Minister has made the right decision to protect the country as a whole from Covid-19.

An online register has been set up for Tongans stranded overseas who want to fly home.

Only Tongan passport holders, valid residency visa holders, valid working visa holders, and international travellers as approved by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be boarded on such flights and granted entry into Tonga.

All travellers are required to have undertaken a COVID-19 test and a Medical Report done within three days before arriving in Tonga.

While Tonga’s State of Emergency has been extended until July 8, aviation restrictions have been eased for a flight of returnees.

Tonga’s borders remain closed to passenger flights until September 12, but a group of 50 Tongans who have been stranded in New Zealand will be flown home next week, local reports said.

The government regards the flight as a test case.

The first passenger repatriation flight will leave from Auckland on June 16.

If the repatriation works, there will be another flight.

Travellers will have to pay for their CoViD-19 tests before leaving New Zealand.

Passengers on the return flight will be quarantined at the government’s expense at the Tanoa hotel.

Tonga remains free of the coronavirus.

The existing Flight Diversion Order ended today, but has been renewed until September 12. The order affects flights from Fiji, New Zealand and Samoa.

Samoa

Meanwhile, Samoa, which is also virus free, began repatriation flights from Auckland on May 29, with a further flight this week  and others scheduled for June 26 and July 9 and 23.

All passengers will need to take a Covid-19 test three days before travel and have to carry proof of a negative result. They are also required to hold a medical certificate advising fitness to fly and show no symptoms of illness.

On arrival in Samoa, all passengers will be required to enter a 14-day quarantine.

The Supreme Court has ordered that Kulu ‘Anisi Bloomfield, the former CEO of Tonga’s Ministry of Customs and Revenue, be extradited to Fiji to face trial.

Bloomfield, from Neiafu, resigned from his position to stand for  the Vava’u 15 constituency in the November 2017 election.

He was Head of Secretariat Oceania Customs Organisation based in Suva when the crimes of which he is accused were committed.

The Fijian government had asked that Bloomfield be returned to Fiji to be tried for the alleged offences which occurred between 2011 and 2014.

A warrant for his arrest was issued in the Magistrate Court of Fiji on March 27, 2018.

He was accused of using a credit card belonging to the Oceania Customs Organisation to make unauthorized purchases with intent to dishonestly obtain a sum of $161,506.66 from the OCO.

He was also charged with dishonestly obtaining computer equipment belonging to the Oceania Custom Organisation worth $17,757.77.

The application for extradiction was heard before the Magistrate’s Court on February 17, 2020. The Principal Magistrate ruled that Bloomfield be returned to Fiji for trial only on the theft charge.

He held that the charge of dishonesty could not be proceeded with because the alleged offence was committed at a time when the accused had diplomatic immunity because of his position with the Oceania Custom Organisation.

Bloomfield appealed against the ruling on the grounds that he also had diplomatic immunity at the time the alleged offence was committed.

At the same time the Tongan government appealed the decision on the grounds that the matter of diplomatic immunity was matter for the court in Fiji.

The government argued that all that the Magistrate only had to be satisfied that there was sufficient evidence to commit the accused for trial.

Judge Niu said the Magistrate’s decision regarding diplomatic immunity was wrong.

“I uphold the appeal of the Crown and I order that the accused is committed to be returned to Fiji to be tried on both the two offences of which he has been charged,” the Judge said.

Tonga border is expected to remain closed to non-essential travel until next month.

The government has extended its Covid-19 state of emergency until the 8th of July subject to further review.

A nightly curfew now starts at 12am until 5am, while funeral gatherings shall be restricted to a total of 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors with an authorised officer to be present throughout.

Social distancing restriction remains in place.

The Prime Minister said the new announcement for the Covid-19 measure was intended to “prevent or minimise risk and the loss of human life to Covid-19.”

“Therefore I hereby renew the declaration of State of Emergency that was made on 15 May.”

The statement from the Prime Minister’s office comes amidst calls from Tongans stranded overseas for the government to lift its border restrictions.

About more than 4,000 Tongans were currently stranded overseas.

This included a 29-strong squad who have been sleeping on the floor of an Auckland church in New Zealand and surviving off donated food.

The team from Ha’apai arrived in New Zealand on 3 March, intending to spend a month playing club rugby teams around the North Island, before heading home, the Guardian reports.

As Kaniva News reported last week Dr Collin Tukuitonga, who is Associate Dean Pacific at the University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences said Tonga should be a priority in re-opening quarantine free travel.

He said the risk of introducing Covid-19 into New Zealand from the islands was near-zero and when New Zealand had been Covid-19-free for 28 days, the risk to the islands was near zero.

The kingdom has no confirmed cases of covid-19 to date.

Tonga has joined calls by a number of Pacific nations in calling on USP’s pro-Vice Chancellor from pursuing an investigation of Vice Chancellor Pal  Ahluwalia.

The dispute between the two Vice Chancellors has torn the USP campus apart, with many staff and students supporting professor Ahluwalia.

Ahluwalia, a Canadian, uncovered serious governance and management anomalies which led to an external audit by accountants BDO.

As detailed in our accompanying story, this uncovered irregular governance and management issues that predated the current vice-chancellor’s appointment.

Writing in the Samoa Observer, Soli Wilson reported that Professor Ahluwalia was then told by the pro-Vice Chancellor Winston Thompson that he was now being investigated for misconduct.

Professor Ahluwalia has since been suspended.

More than 500 members at USP have signed a petition in support of Professor Ahluwalia, USP Student and Staff Association representative Elizabeth Reade Fong said.

“The biggest victims are the students,” Fong said.

“The council must intervene on students’ behalf and Thompson.”

Islands Business reported that Nauru’s President Lionel Aingimea has called for an end to the attempts to remove Professor Ahluwalia.

He said the moves had been  instigated by Fiji-based members of the university council.

“As the incoming Chancellor of the USP and one of the heads of state who own the University as well as being an alumnus, I am disturbed at the manner in which this matter is being played out,” President Aingimea wrote in a letter that was circulated to all USP  Council members.

Samoa’s Minister of Education has asked for the investigation of Professor Ahluwalia to be dropped.

And that country’s Deputy Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa  has urged the Member Countries of the USP, especially those in Council, to be more vigilant about their role on Council and take responsibilities for the saga in Fiji.

“Hopefully with this issue, the regional representation might wake up and pay some attention to what is happening at USP,” she said.

The main points

• Tonga has joined calls by a number of Pacific nations in calling on USP’s pro-vice chancellor from pursuing an investigation of Vice Chancellor Pal
• The dispute between the two Vice Chancellors has torn the USP campus part, with many staff and students supporting professor Ahluwalia.

For more information

USP students, staff call on council to drop ‘harassment’ of Ahluwalia

Nauru President calls for an end to USP saga

Deputy P.M. says decision of U.S.P. Executive Committee “nonsense”

Tongan borders to open?

The Tongan government will announced its decision on whether to open its borders on Friday.

Tonga has remained free of Covid-29.

Tongans and others who work in Tonga stuck overseas are asking for special flights to take them back into the Kingdom. However, that has been delayed because government has stated it is not ready to cater for the influx of returning passengers.

Some Pacific countries have already started flying their own back into the countries, like Vanuatu, Solomons, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Cook Islands and Fiji.

Tongan workers head for warmer climes

Tongan seasonal workers in Australia have begun migrating to farms in the warmer parts of Australia as the winter season reduces harvests and working hours.

A seasonal worker in Tasmania told Matangi Tonga that more than 30 Tongans were set to migrate to Queensland this weekend.

The Australian government changed the rules governing seasonal workers during the Coronavirus pandemic to accommodate seasonal workers who were unable to return home because of the border closure.

The National Secretary of The Australian Workers’ Union, Daniel Walton said that during the coronavirus lockdown some Tongan workers were completely unemployed and relied on local assistance.

Chinese doctor honoured

A Chinese doctor is being inducted into the ‘Atenisi Institute’s Hall of Critics at a ceremony in Nuku’alofa tonight.

Ai Fen, the head of Emergency Services at Wuhan Central Hospital, was reportedly prevented by authorities from alerting the world about the severity of the Covid-19 outbreak as early as December.

The university dean at ‘Atenisi, Michael Horowitz, said the institute was the first in the world to award Dr Fen.

Dr Horowitz said Dr Fen was regarded as a national hero in China because of her courage and bravery to hold the government to account.

Prizewinning photo taken in Tonga

Brisbane underwater photographer Jasmine Carey has won the grand prize of $172,140 in the Hamdan International Photography award with her image of a humpback whale and its two-week old calf off the coast of Tonga.

The photograph was taken Vava’u in Tonga on July 30, 2019.

The calf was thought to be about two weeks old.

Nurses’ choir praised

World Health Organisation Assembly Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus has  praised nurses from Vaiola Hospital in Nuku’alofa who were due to sing at a WHO event in Switzerland.

“When we originally planned this year’s World Health Assembly, we invited that choir from Tonga — a choir of nurses and midwives — to perform and to mark the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.”

“COVID-19 has deprived us of that privilege,” the Director General said.

The nurses group had sung for the WHO leader during his visit to Pacific last year, sparking the invitation.

The nurses choir had prepared a special song for the Director General, but it’s keeping the details under wraps until they can perform it.

“We are keeping on to the song and waiting on a good time to release it,” she said.

Author “could have done better”

The Dutch historian and author Rutger Bregman has responded to backlash from the Pacific Islander community about his re-telling of a Tongan story, saying that he “could have done better”.

As reported in Kaniva News, Bregman’s latest book, Humankind: A Hopeful History, contains the story of six Tongan boys who were shipwrecked on ‘Ata Island for 15 months, before being rescued by an Australian sea captain in 1966.

An extract of the story garnered millions of readers when it was published by The Guardian and result in a film deal for the story.

Mr Bregman said criticisms of him not including the spirituality, culture, and the background of the boys as reasons why they survived so long on the island were fair.