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Three Tonga Broadcasting Commission journalists suspended, reports say

By
Kalino Latu
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Reports said the Tonga Broadcasting Commission’s Station Manager Sētita Tu’i’onetoa, television anchors Vilisoni Tu’iniua and Salamo Fulivai have been suspended this morning.

Tu’iniua reported their suspension in a Facebook chat group, seen by Kaniva news, but he did not respond to our request for confirmation.

He told the group they were looking for a lawyer.

He alleged a new PTOA (Democrats) party special TV programme launched on Television Tonga yesterday may have contributed to the reasons for their suspension. The programme was hosted by Mrs Sētita, Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa’s sister-in-law.

During the more than 20 minutes show Mrs Sētita mentioned to former Acting Prime Minister Sēmisi Sika, the chair of the party, a status he posted on Facebook against the government’s multi-million New Road Project Policy.

They discussed the status during the show.

The status on January 12 read: ” The two CEOs , Infrastructure and Finance, must step up and advise baldly. Ringo [and] Balwyn […..] take action. We are at a crossroads in this community road project. A crucial decision must be made before this turns into a national crisis. We fully support upgrading roads and to move and act quickly on it but it must be delivered wisely.”

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Former Police Minister Māteni Tapueluelu told the host the party was challenged by the Prime Minister to hold a debate on why Hon Tu’i’onetoa defected the party and joined the nobility.

MP Tapueluelu said he had contacted the Prime Minister after the party assigned him for the debate but had yet to receive a response.

When asked for comment this afternoon, the Chief Secretary Edgar Cocker told us to contact TBC general manager Solomone Finau.

Attempts to contact TBC authorities were unsuccessful. The details of the journalists’ suspension are still unknown.

As Kaniva news reported last year, the Prime Minister has advised TBC former chair Piveni Piukala to investigate the journalists after he received complaints from the public against them.

At the time, Hon. Tu’i’onetoa said the part of the investigation process which was taken by his office against one of the trio had been nearly completed.

The Prime Minister said he believed the process could take longer than expected, but he did not explain why.

He said it was the duty of Piukala to process the complaints after they were lodged with the government, the main shareholder of TBC.

“If he did not do that than that’s another issue to be addressed,” Hon Pōhiva told Kaniva news in Tongan.

The government finally terminated Piukala’s contract in November last year.

An official statement sent to media outlets read: “The grounds for the termination are incompetence; failure to assist the Public Enterprises to act accordingly with its principal objective; acting in bad faith, and failure to follow the due process in appointing of CEO for Tonga Broadcasting Commission.”

One dead, two injured after boat capsizes in Auckland’s Manukau Harbour

By
Kalino Latu
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One person has died following a boating incident at Manukau Heads, Auckland, this evening.

Two others were transported to Middlemore Hospital with minor injuries.

Police were alerted around 9.05pm.

Initial indications suggest the boat overturned, Police said.

The deceased died at the scene.

Police are working to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.

MV Onemato’s ramp seen open and hanging in water near Nāfanua wharf; details still unclear

By
Kalino Latu
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Photos circulated on social media appeared to show the MV Onemato’s loading ramp open and hanging in the sea near the Nafanua wharf at ‘Eua.

The details of the incident are still unknown.

However, comments on Facebook said the ramp accidentally fell open just before the ferry was about to drop anchor on Tuesday.

A source familiar with ferries and how they docked said the incident happened because the crew sometime open the ramp while the ferry is sailing close to the wharf and do not wait until it has arrived at the wharf’s ramping area.

He said this was to avoid the ferry having to manouvre around at the wharf if the ramp dropped too long or too short at the boat ramp.

The source told Kaniva news the ferry might have had electrical problems, but that the ramp should still have been locked

He said it appeared the ramp did not have safety cables.

It is understood the ferry had just returned from Fiji after maintenance.

In September last year, the ferry was taken out of service because of technical faults.

At the time the TBC quoted ‘Eua Government Representative as saying he was concerned about the financial management of the ‘Eua Sea Transportation Council because more than TP$100,000 had  been spent on the MV ‘Onemato while it was in Fiji.

The TBC did not report any details of his concern.

The ‘Eua Sea Transportation Council could not be reached for comment.

In February last year MV ‘Onemato’s captain denied reports that the vessel had gone aground  at  Nafanua harbour.

‘Eua government representative Sūnia Havea made the claim to TBC based on what two passengers told him.

Gunshot sound led police to body in a house in south Auckland

By
Kaniva Staff
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[New Zealand] Counties Manukau Police have launched a homicide investigation following the death of a person in the suburb of Favona overnight.

At approximately 2.50am, Police received of a report of a person hearing what they believed was a gunshot noise near an address in Calthorp Close.

Police responded to the property and located a person inside the address deceased.

Police enquiries are underway to establish what has occurred at the address.

A cordon is in place around the property and a scene examination has commenced which will take place throughout the day.

A post-mortem examination and victim identification processes are still to be carried out.

“The community can be reassured that a number of detectives are now working on this investigation.

Police have also increased frontline patrols in the wider area,” Acting Detective Inspector Shaun Vickers says.

Police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward and contact Counties Manukau Crime Squad on 09 261 1321.

Information can also be provided anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

There is no further information available at this stage, however we expect to be able to provide a further update this afternoon.

Tonga pays outstanding UN dues after stripped of vote

By
Kaniva Staff
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Tonga’s Chief Secretary said “Tonga has paid off its debts to the United Nations, a day after it was stripped of its voting rights.”

Edgar Cocker told PMN News the government failed to pay the money after “a mix-up.”

The report came after Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa said his government was working urgently to pay Tonga’s  outstanding dues it owes the international body after it lost voting privileges because it was behind on payments, TBC reported yesterday.

As Kaniva news reported last night, Tonga needs to find US$16,444 to regain its right to vote at the United Nations.

The amount, equivalent to TP$ 37,751.60, is needed to reduce the amount Tonga owes to the international body to an acceptable level.

Tonga is one of seven countries that have lost their voting rights.

The others are Venezuela, Lebanon, Central African Republic, Gambia, Lesotho and Yemen.

Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, and Somalia are also in arrears but UN said it will keep their voting rights until September.

Details of the kingdom’s full debt have not been released.

Countries whose debt to the UN equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two full years lose their vote.

Only 146 of the 193 member states paid their dues in full for the 2019 budget.

Last October UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the organisation was facing a serious financial crisis.

King Tupou VI addressed the UN General Assembly last year and said the kingdom looked to the Security Council to provide protection from threats to international peace and security.

PNG governor general marries young Tongan woman

By
Kalino Latu
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Papua New Guinea’s governor General Sir Bob Dadae, 58, married his Tongan fiancée Emeline Tufi Folau in Port Moresby in a private ceremony on Saturday.

It was attended by dignitaries, state officials and the couple’s families and friends.

EMTV Online uploaded a video of the wedding to Youtube which showed Folau was escorted inside a church to the sanctuary by her mother and another woman, whom EMTV described as the maid of honour.

PNG media have reported the governor’s acting secretary Bill Toraso as saying “Sir Bob had completed all customary and church (Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG) obligations in honour of the late Lady Hannah Dadae and was given clearance by the church to re-marry.”

“ I, on behalf of the Office of the Governor-General, express my congratulations and warm wishes to Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae on this joyous occasion as he embarks on this new chapter in his life,” Toraso said.

The governor general lost his former wife last year after Lady Hannah suffered a short illness. She was survived by the governor and their children, reports said.

Sir Bob Dadae is the tenth Governor-General of Papua New Guinea.

Kingdom needs to find US$16,000 to get back its right to vote at international body

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Tonga needs to find US$16,444 to regain its right to vote at the United Nations.

The amount, equivalent to TP$ 37,751.60, is needed to reduce the amount Tonga owes to the international body to an acceptable level.

Tonga is one of seven countries that have lost their voting rights.

The others are Venezuela, Lebanon, Central African Republic, Gambia, Lesotho and Yemen.

Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, and Somalia are also in arrears but UN said it will keep their voting rights until September.

Details of the kingdom’s full debt have not been released.

Countries whose debt to the UN equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two full years lose their vote.

Only 146 of the 193 member states paid their dues in full for the 2019 budget.

Last October UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the organisation was facing a serious financial crisis.

King Tupou VI addressed the UN General Assembly last year and said the kingdom looked to the Security Council to provide protection from threats to international peace and security.

Tongan child killed in community hall carpark in south Auckland

By
Kalino Latu
-

A 21-month-old Tongan toddler was killed at a carpark in Papakura on Saturday afternoon.

Odeliah Tonga was described as always full of energy and will be sorely missed, Stuff reported.

Police said in a statement the child has died after being struck by a vehicle in a driveway in Smiths Avenue.

Emergency services were called to the scene at 5.10pm, it said.

Police also said they were still investigating the fatality.

Odeliah’s grandmother Wilhemina Laulu told media the Calvary Pentecostal Fellowship, of which her son-in-law Daniel Tonga was the pastor, had been using the hall for the past two years.

She reportedly said “her daughter, Sarah Eden-Tonga, had gone to move her car after a meeting at the hall and her granddaughter, Odeliah, had rushed out to follow her.”

“My daughter was driving the car and she didn’t know she’d run over her.”

She said the family was still trying to come to terms with the event, Stuff reported.

“It’s such a tragic loss for us. But we’re overwhelmed by how the community has come together to show its support.”

Laulu said the family had held Odeliah’s first birthday at the hall with the church group in 2019.

And despite her tragic death, they were planning to continue to use the centre.

“It’s times like this that we join forces. We don’t want this to stop the group.”

 Laulu said the family was waiting for the Coroner to release Odeliah’s body so they could hold a service.

“We’re also waiting for some family members to arrive from Tonga and Australia and from around New Zealand.”

Falling enrolments in high school science and computing classes worries Education Ministry

By
Philip Cass
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The Ministry of Education and Training is concerned by falling enrolment in high school science, mathematics and commerce classes.

The Ministry is also concerned at the 10% drop in the pass rate for the Form Six certificate.

Announcing the 2019 results for the Tonga National Form Seven Certificate, the Ministry said  enrolment trends showed a decreasing number of candidates opting for these subject areas.

The Ministry said these  subjects were highly significant for universities abroad.

The Ministry was concerned about the trend and encouraged students to consider their subjects carefully.

A total of 11 schools in the kingdom  (six in Tongatapu and five in the outer-islands) offered the certificate.

The number of students sitting for the certificate rose from 489 in 2018 to 656, the highest number  so far.

The overall pass rate was 68%., based on results for English and the students’ best three subjects.

Tonga High was the best performing school, with an 89% pass rate.

The most improved school was Beulah College.

The pass rate for the Tonga Form Six Certificate dropped from 48% to 38%.

The Ministry also noted a similar decrease in the number of candidates’ opting for the Sciences and Computing was noted for Form six students.

A total of 23 schools (12 schools in Tongatapu and 11 from the outer-islands) offered the examinations.

As with the Form Seven certificate, a record number of students were registered, with numbers rising from 1248 in 2018 to 1377 in 2019.

Tonga High was the best performing school in the 2019 TFSC Examinations with a 61% pass rate. The most improved school was Tailulu College (Vava‘u) with a 56% pass rate, a 20% improvement from 2018.

The school with the most candidates enrolled in the TFSC was Liahona High School with a total of 192 candidates.

PM Talking Points: Lack of equipment, work practices meant road project missed deadline, but PM says changes plans will help make plan a success

By
Kalino Latu
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Sponsored:

Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa’s Talking Points’ audio (above) in Tongan Language. Te ke lava fanongo ki he Polokalama ‘a e ‘Eiki Palēmia’ ‘i he halangaope ko ‘ena ‘i ‘olunga’ ‘i he lea fakaTonga’.

Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa was interviewed by FM87.5. An audio copy was provided  by the Prime Minister’s office and transcribed and translated into English by Kaniva News.

The Tongatapu 10 roadworks should be completed by December 2019, according to the Prime Minister.  

On his Talking Points programme last week, the Prime Minister said the original December deadline for completion of the beginning of the project at Tongatapu 10 had been missed.

“Too much work remained to be completed.”

But the good news is, according to the Prime Minister, the government undertook to finish its new roads project plan within the next two years rather than within the next four years it previously announced.

Hon Tu’i’onetoa said the government had made dramatic changes to its Ministry of Infrastructure’s work practices and has outsourced rock supplies for its road construction project.

The Ministry had contracted two private quarry companies to help with transporting rocks to Tongatapu 10 after the shortfall.

On his Talking Points programme, the Prime Minister said the Ministry was short of  road construction machinery, staff and labourers and normal working procedures had been proved ineffective.

Under the old procedure in which Infrastructure workers processed the rocks in the quarries before they were moved to the road construction sites, only 30 truck loads could be sent a day, he said.

The Ministry only had 42 staff and labourers. The Prime Minister said that was too small a number for the project.

If the government had continued with the Ministry’s current procedures and number of staff, it could take 10 years for the government to complete its new road construction project, Hon Tu’i’onetoa said.

He said the government would buy new heavy machinery and equipment and were expected to arrive in Tonga within the next couple of weeks.  

These included four bulldozers for each quarry, crushers, loaders, road rollers, craters and 10 heavy trucks. The Prime Minister said it was important to buy the right equipment for the work.

New road machinery and equipment from China were expected to start arriving in Tonga in July to be used on normal road repairs and maintenance, he said.

After the changes were confirmed the government would spend TP$78 million to construct and complete new roadworks for the whole of Tonga within the next two years, Hon Tu’i’onetoa said.

The $78 million costs for the rocks would save taxpayers $165 million after a previous estimate showed the project could cost taxpayers $223 million for the rocks alone.

He said this new estimate came after the government struck a new deal with four private quarries to buy their rocks at $70 a truck load. This was cheaper compared to $200 per truck load in the previous deal, the Prime Minister said.

This $78 million would be doubled when tar for sealing of the roads were included. The Prime Minister said if the total estimate for the rocks and the tar reached $200 million that’s still a cheaper deal.

The government had hired three quarries in Tongatapu and one in Vava’u for the project. He said two quarries belonging to two ministers were among the three in Tongatapu. He previously told Kaniva news the ministers were Lord Ma’afu and Lord Nuku. He did not identify the owner of the third quarry and the owner of the one in Vava’u.

The Prime Minister said the terms and conditions for the lease included agreeing for the quarries to operate only to supply rocks solely for the government’s road project.

The quarries also agreed to work at night when required. They also agreed to continue to provide rocks for the project even if the government no longer have money to pay for their services, the Prime Minister said.

480 truck loads were expected to be sent to the roadwork sites a day after the new deal was hit, the Prime Minister said. As a result, the project could be completed within the next two years with one quarry was estimated to deliver 120 truck loads a day.

Hon Tu’i’onetoa said it was estimated that 1,117,250 truck loads required to complete the government’s road project.

He said new roads need for new residential development areas is urgent. He said people had been waiting for years for the government to build roads in these areas so they could move in and start building.

These residential areas included 508 tax allotments in Tongatapu which had been divided into new town allotments and they required 206 km of new roads., the Prime Minister said.

In Vava’u 116 tax allotments had been divided into new town allotments and they required 51 km of roads. In Ha’apai, 24 tax allotments had been divided into town allotments requiring 55 km of new roads. Thirteen tax allotments in ‘Eua were divided into town allotments and they required 49.89 km of new roads

The Prime Minister said for about 50 years the people had complained about the condition of the roads  and nothing had been seriously done to address it.

He said he had the courage to do this for the people although the government faced lack of funding.

The Prime Minister said when the project was completed it would be beautiful and future generations would appreciate that there were people who made sacrifices to build these roads for them.

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