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Lavulavu’s dismissal was constitutional, PM Office says

By
Kalino Latu
-

The Prime Minister’s office said the dismissal of former Minister of Internal Affairs ‘Akosita Lavulavu was made by the Prime Minister according to the constitution.

The Prime Minister’s Media Advisor Lōpeti Senituli said Clause 51(2) of the Constitution gave the Hon Prime Minister the discretion to nominate and recommend whoever he wants to be Ministers in his Cabinet to His Majesty for appointment.

He also said Clause 51(3)(a) also gave the Hon Prime Minister the discretion to recommend to His Majesty that the appointment of such Ministers should be revoked.

As Kaniva News reported last week, Lavulavu said there was nothing in the Tongan constitution which gave the Prime Minister any power to force her to resign because of her criminal charges.

Akosita and her husband ‘Etuate Lavulavu were charged with three counts each of knowingly dealing with forged documents and three counts of obtaining credit by false pretenses. They are expected to reappear in court on May 28.

Akosita said the constitution says the appointment of a Minister can only be terminated if the king has revoked it after a Vote of No Confidence under clause 50B, or if it was a decision made against them after an impeachment under clause 75, or they became ineligible to hold the office in accordance with the Constitution or any other law.

However, Senituli said: “There is no criteria set out in Clause 51(2) on what qualifications and qualities that the nominees to Cabinet should have. The Hon Prime Minister has total discretion as the criteria he uses.”

“There is no criteria set out in Clause 51(3)(a) on why the Hon Prime Minister should recommend that a Minister’s appointment should be revoked. Again the Hon.Prime Minister total discretion.

The Hon Prime Minister’s decision to recommend to His Majesty to revoke Mrs. Lavulavu’s appointment because of the serious criminal charges against her for defrauding the taxpayers is sufficient grounds for dismissal from Cabinet in any democratic jurisdiction in the world.”

PM clarifies statement after UK property offer causes stir on social media

By
Kalino Latu
-

Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva today sought to clarify a statement he made to British authorities saying they could take up again a former residence they previously used in Nuku’alofa in the past.

His statement has sparked a debate on social media with some commenters saying the Prime Minister has overstepped his bound because the property belonged to the king.

“But I thought that HM owns that place ??” a commenter said on Facebook.

“I know what’s happening with this crazy man?” another commenter replies.

The Prime Minister’s Media Advisor Lōpeti Senituli said Hon. Pōhiva thought the government owned the property.

In Tongan Senituli quoted Hon. Pōhiva as saying: “Na’e me’a e ‘Eiki Palemia o pehe, “Ko ‘ene lave’i ko e konga ‘api ko e ‘api ‘o e Pule’anga. Pea ‘okapau ‘oku hala ‘ene ma’u, ‘oku ne kole fakamolemole!”

This translates into English as: “The Prime Minister made a statement and said. “He thought the property is owned by government. If he gets it wrong, he apologizes.”

Hon. Pōhiva made his statement in London after he was told the United Kingdom would soon announce that it would re-open its missions in some Pacific Islands.

In a previous statement from his office,  Hon. ‘Akilisi Pōhiva was quoted as saying:  “The British Government’s re-engagement in the South Pacific is music to Tongan ears and I take the opportunity to offer the British Government the use of its former Residence in Nuku’alofa from which you departed 12 years ago.”

Hon. Pōhiva was in London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government two-day Meeting which began on April 19.

As Kaniva News reported this morning, the UK pulled out of Tonga 12 years ago and reduced its presence in its former colonies in the Islands.

For more information

Return of UK to Pacific “music to Tongan ears” says PM as troops clean up residence

Man arrested over TOP$297,000 methamphetamine shipment from US

By
Kalino Latu
-

A 39-year-old man has been arrested on April 17 after 297 grams of methamphetamine,  with a street value of TOP$297,000,  was smuggled into the country in a shipment from the United States.

A 31-year-old man was also arrested after he was caught with 30.4grams of cannabis.

Acting Chief Superintendent Tevita Vailea said: “This type of criminal activity causes significant harm to our youths and community. Methamphetamine is a destructive drug that destroys lives and impacts families. We are saving lives by removing these drugs from our streets. Police are vigilant and committed to the ongoing targeting of this type of offending.

It’s important to remember that these people supplying drugs to our community put profit above all else and do not consider the health and wellbeing of users and its negative impact on our society.”

“Police will continue to work with the community to prevent the harm illicit drugs cause and the ongoing criminal activity associated with their use.

“Those with any information on drug-related offending are encouraged to speak in confidence to an officer at their local Police station, or contact 23417.”

The suspects remain in police custody while investigation continues.

Return of UK to Pacific “music to Tongan ears” says PM as troops clean up residence

By
Philip Cass
-

Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva has described the news that the United Kingdom is to re-engage with the Pacific as “music to Tongan ears.”

Hon. Pōhiva, who is in London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, offered the British Government the use of its former residence in Nuku’alofa.

The UK pulled out of Tonga 12 years ago and reduced its presence in its former colonies in the Islands.

At the moment the closest British diplomatic representative is in Fiji.

It is expected to increase its presence in the Pacific after it leaves the European Union.

“Before I departed Nuku’alofa I asked the Chief of Staff of His Majesty’s Armed Forces to deploy some of his men to repair the fence of the Residence as well as the minor damage caused by Cyclone Gita,” the Prime Minister said.

The Head of the UK’s Diplomatic Service, Sir Simon McDonald, said the United Kingdom would soon announce that it would re-open its missions in some Pacific Islands.

However, he did not specifically identify Tonga as being one of those countries.

Sir Simon was hosting a roundtable ahead of the official opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

Other participants from the Pacific Islands included, Hon, Tuilaepa Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa, Hon Baron Waqa MP, the President of Nauru, as well as Ministers from the other Pacific countries.

The main points

  • Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva has described the news that the United Kingdom is to re-engage with the Pacific as “music to Tongan ears.”
  • Pohiva, who is in London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, offered the British Government the use of its former Residence in Nuku’alofa.
  • The UK pulled out of Tonga 12 years ago and reduced its presence in its former colonies in the Islands.

For more information 

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018

Over TOP$100,000 worth of food supplies arrive in Tonga from New Zealand

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Daily life will be a little easier for over 400 families in Tongatapu and ‘Eua with the arrival this week of a consignment of non-perishable food from New Zealand.

The consignment was put together by Tongan RSE workers and subsidised by their employers and is valued at over $TOP100,000.

NZ Government agency MBIE, Horticulture New Zealand and Tonga Development Bank also chipped in to pay the freight costs of the 3x20ft containers

Of the 400 families involved, 60 or so are in Eua and their consignment will be shipped over on the next day or two.

RSE liaison officer in New Zealand, Sefita Hao’uli is here to assist with the distribution which is being carried out by NEMO and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The distribution is being carried out at the entrance to Teufaive Stadium and recipients are asked to bring ID and a suitable vehicle as there’s over 130 kilos of food for each family to take home.

It is hoped that the distribution in Nuku’alofa will be completed today and the consignment to the Eua families will leave for Ohonua on the ferry this afternoon.

The RSE workers are grateful for the financial assistance received which enabled them to help their families while they’re away from home.

Background information:

  1. Consignment of 3 containers valued at $TOP110K including freight.
  2. Each fāmily will receive:
  • 25 kilos of rice
  • 25 kilos of sugar
  • 60 kilos of flour
  • 20 litres of cooking oil
  • 1 carton of canned mackerel
  1. A similar initiative was in place for Vava’u and Ha’apai families following cyclone Ian.
  2. Most employers either advanced and/or subsidised the workers contribution to the consignment e.g Mr Apple who employs over 300 workers paid $NZ30,000 to subsidise their workers contribution.
  3. The freight costs were met by MBIE, Horticulture New Zealand and Tonga Development Bank.
  4. Tongan government’s decision to waive tax and duty for 6 months after Gita has helped to make this more affordable for the workers and their families. Agencies NEMO and the Ministry of Internal Affairs played key roles to make all this possible.
  5. ‘Oku laka hake he toko 1600 ‘oku nau ngāue RSE ‘i Nu’usila he ta’u kotoa pe pea ko ‘enau tokoni pa’anga mo e koloa ki he mo’ui faka’ekonomika ‘a Tonga ‘oku ‘i he $TOP12m – 15m fakata’u.

Supreme Court allows appeal against sentence

By
Philip Cass
-

A man convicted of common assault has had his appeal upheld in the Supreme Court.

On September 20 last year Siosiua and his brother Fonua Tauelangi attacked  Fatai Lavaka. Last month they pleaded guilty and were  convicted  for the  attack in the Magistrate’s Court and  sentenced  by  Principal  Magistrate Mafi.

Siosiua was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment with the final  six months suspended.

Fonua was convicted of serious bodily harm and sentenced to six months imprisonment fully suspended on the condition that he performed 40 hours community work. The Crown is appealing against Fonua’s sentence.

Last week Siosiua appeared before Lord Chief Justice Paulsen to appeal against his sentence.

In his report on the case, the judge said Mafi said he had taken into account all of the mitigating factors presented on Siosiua’s behalf, but that Siosiua had initiated the assault and had an appalling record.

Counsel for Siosiua argued that the Magistrate imposed the maximum sentence upon  Siosiua for the offence of common assault when this could not be regarded as the most serious offending of its kind.

Secondly,  the Magistrate  failed  to  take account of the  mitigating  factors.

Thirdly,  there was an unjustified inconsistency between the sentences imposed upon Siosiua and his brother Fonua.

Mr Justice Paulsen said the Magistrate had erred in his sentencing and he would allow the appeal.

He declared that Siosiua was convicted and sentenced to six  months imprisonment. He was to be given credit against the sentence for any time served.

The main points

  • A man convicted of assault has had his appeal upheld in the Supreme Court.
  • Siosiua Tauelangi appealed against a sentence of 12 months for common assault, with the final six months suspended.
  • Mr Justice Paulsen declared that Tauelangi was convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment. He was to be given credit against the sentence for any time served.

‘Akosita claims she was humiliated by spat over seating during meeting in Fiji

By
Philip Cass
-

Sacked Minister of Internal Affairs’ Akosita Lavulavu claims she was humiliated at last month’s Pacific Sports Ministers Meeting when she was ordered to give up her seat to the Commerce Minister.

Hon. Lavulavu said she had suffered “humiliation, subjugation and discrimination” during the incident in Fiji.

She said that during the opening of the meeting she took the seat for Tonga, while the Minister for Commerce, Hon. Tu’i Uata, sat in the seat for Timor Leste.

She said he was asked to give the seat to the nation indicated and to sit with the other Tongan officials.

She said Hon. Tu’i Uata walked out and shortly afterwards she was told Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva had telephoned and ordered Hon. Tu’i Uata, to represent Tonga instead.

“I recommended that the Hon. Tu’i Uata take the seat in the afternoon and deliver Tonga’s presentation,” she said.

“I was the Minister responsible for Sports in Tonga, there was a Cabinet Decision that I represent Tonga at the meeting and the costs for participation at the meeting were met by my Ministry’s Budget.

“However, shortly after the meeting began, Hon. Tu’i Uata told me that if I did not have anything to say, I should leave because he had several matters to raise.

“Accordingly, I decided to withhold the ship’s sail, and sacrifice whatever rights I had left, to sustain peace at the meeting and surrender to what was purported as the direction of the Prime Minister.”

Hon. Lavulavu  said what she termed her treatment demonstrated  a lack of accountability and good governance.

She said Hon. Pōhiva later told her this was not meant to happen and apologised to her in Cabinet in front of Hon. Tu’i Uata.

Dr. Tu’i Uata was contacted for comment.

Hon. ‘Akosita and her husband ‘Etuate Lavulavu, the former Minister of Infrastructure, were arrested last month on various fraud related charges. They will appear in court on May 28.

Commissioner Stephen Caldwell said the charges relate to a referral made to Tonga Police by the Auditor General over a number of irregularities in an audit of ‘Unuaki ‘o Tonga Royal Institute in 2016.

The Auditor General’s office recommended that the ‘Unuaki ‘o Tonga Royal Institute be referred to the police after massive discrepancies were found in its accounts.

Hon. ‘Akosita was fired by Hon. Pōhiva last week because she refused to stand down from her cabinet post while she had a court case pending.

A spokesman said Hon. Pōhiva had tried to get her to resign temporarily several times. Because she had refused and been sacked she would not be allowed back into cabinet even if she was found innocent.

The main points

  • Sacked Minister of Internal Affairs’ Akosita Lavulavu claims she was humiliated at last month’s Pacific Sports Ministers Meeting when she was ordered to give up her seat to the Commerce Minister.
  • Lavulavu said she had suffered “humiliation, subjugation and discrimination” during the incident.
  • She said Hon. Pohiva later told her this was not meant to happen and apologised to her in Cabinet in front of Hon. Tu’i Uata.

For more information

Police charge Minister of Internal Affairs and husband with fraud

Cabinet seeks legal advice after king extends Police Commissioner’s contract

By
Kalino Latu
-

The government is seeking legal advice after King Tupou VI endorsed Police Commissioner Steve Caldwell’s contract extension.

Mr. Caldwell has been given another two years to control the Force after the extension was approved by the Privy Council last week Wednesday 11 April 2018. His contract expired on April 14.

The Minister of Police, Hon. Tapueluelu, said the government believed Mr Caldwell was no longer fit for the job.

He said the government has not asked the New Zealand government to activate its funding scheme which paid majority of the Commissioner’s pay.

The government said it believed the Privy Council overstepped its bounds when it made the decision to prolong the contract.

Hon. Tapueluelu said the government also believed the king in Privy Council had received bad advice from his Appointment Panel before he approved Mr Caldwell’s extension.

Hon. Tapueluelu said the Commissioner’s contract documents clearly said it was a contract between the government of the kingdom of Tonga and Mr. Caldwell.

He said section 10 of the Police Act gave the Privy Council only three requirements under the Police commissioner’s appointment process.

It said: “Having received advice from the Judicial Appointments and Discipline Panel, the King in Privy Council — (a) shall appoint the Commissioner; (b) shall determine his terms of appointment; and (c) in accordance with section 13 may dismiss him.”

The Minister of Police said the rest of the requirements by law to make sure the Commissioner’s contract was well looked after was under an “executive” role given to the Cabinet. This included taking care of his pay, days off and other entitlements.

As Kaniva News reported earlier, the government told the New Zealand Prime Minister in a meeting in Tonga recently that the kingdom no longer wanted Mr Caldwell.

Mr. Caldwell’s appointment was approved by the king in a process in which His Majesty was advised by a panel of law lords including Lord Dalgety and the Acting Attorney General ‘Aminiasi Kefu.

Privy Council unconstitutional

The government’s claims came after Kaniva republished a story it published in July 2014 last week.

The story was based on a report by Peter Pursglove, an expert in Constitutional Law, which was endorsed by the Tu’ivakano government in 2014. The report was also submitted to the king.

The Pursglove report said the Privy Council was in breach of section 30 of the Constitution in so far as it  purported to  exercise  any  Executive  powers  and  functions  under  the Constitution.

It said the Privy Council had failed to recognise the limits of its authority under the Constitution of 2010.

“The Privy Council, appointed at the personal discretion of the King, represents absolute Monarchy and the performance of any Executive functions by the Council breaches section 51(1) of the Constitution and is accordingly unconstitutional,” the report said.

“The Judicial Appointments and Discipline Panel, as a Committee of the Privy Council, has, therefore, no basis for legitimacy under the Constitution. Where the Constitution confers any Executive role for the Privy Council this must be reviewed and amended and section 83C of the Constitution repealed. The Judicial Services Commission should instead be reinstated by Statute to replace the Judicial Appointments and Discipline Panel.”

The main points

  • The government is seeking legal advice after King Tupou VI endorsed Police Commissioner Steve Caldwell’s contract extension.
  • Caldwell has been given another two years to control the Force after the extension was approved by the Privy Council last week Wednesday 11 April 2018. His contract expired on April 14.
  • The Minister of Police, Hon. Tapueluelu, said the government believed Mr Caldwell was no longer fit for the job.
  • He said the government has not asked the New Zealand government to activate its funding scheme which paid majority of the Commissioner’s pay.

For more information

Petition complaints nothing new say police, as Commissioner works on cyclone recovery

Argument over Isa Lei just won’t go away, but Fiji Times admits music came from Tonga

By
Philip Cass
-

It seems the argument over the origins of the Pacific’s most famous tune won’t go away, but this weekend the Fiji Times quoted a Fijian chief as saying the music did indeed come from Tonga.

However, it quoted Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba as saying he wrote Fijian words for the song.

Tongans believe the song Viola Losehina  was composed by the late Tongan chief Tu’ivakano Polutele.

The chief and other sources claimed Polutele composed the song while he was one of the late Tungi Mailefihi’s singing group while the Prince Consort was governor of Vava’u in 1915.

The song was composed after the Prince asked each member of his group to compose a song for his wife-to-be, the late Queen Salote Tupou III.

In a radio interview Polutele said the song arrived in Fiji because of his very close blood connection with the Fijians.

One source claimed the song was taken to Fiji by a Tongan, Taitusi, a well known composer. He and a group in Fiji sang the song and Ratu Tevita heard it and asked Taitusi for the music so he could use it with his own Fijian lyrics.

Kaniva News reported in 2016 that Fijians believe Isa Lei was composed by the late Turaga Bale na Tui Nayau Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba. He was the father of the late Turaga Tui Nayau and Fiji’s First Prime Minister , Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. He is said to have composed the song at Tubou, Lakeba in 1916 for Adi Litia Tavanavanua.

The Fiji Times reported that in 1962 the newspaper interviewed the Tongan Crown Prince and Premier, Prince Tungi who supported claims by Lord Tuivakano that the song originated in Tonga.

Prince Tungi said Hon. Tuivakano was one of a group of singers who formed part of the retinue of his father, the late Prince Tungi, consort of Queen Salote.

The paper said that when Prince Tungi’s father became engaged to Queen Salote, Tuivakano wrote a song of love in honour of the occasion.

It was some time after this that Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba heard the song sung by the Tongan visitors.

The Fiji Times quoted Prince Tungi saying in 1962: “The story as I have heard it, is that Ratu Tevita asked Inoke Sateki, then a forestry assistant, to write Fijian words to the same tune in honour of a young woman of rank who was living in Fiji.

The Times said that Ratu Tevita admitted in a later interview the tune came from Tonga, but claimed that he had written Fijian words.

For more information

Origins of our Isa Lei

Is it Viola Losehina or Isa Lei? Confusion for singing Tongans at UN causes hilarity online

Two dead after crash in Papatoetoe, South Auckland

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Two people have died following a crash involving a bus and two pedestrians in Papatoetoe at around 7:00pm.

Emergency services are at the scene at the intersection of Wyllie Road and Puhinui Road.

The road is closed and diversions are in place on Puhinui Road at Noel Burnside Road and Vision Place, and on Wyllie Road at Gifford Road.

Motorists are being asked to avoid the area.

The Serious Crash Unit is attending.

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