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Only four days left for Taufatofua to qualify for Winter Olympics

By
Philip Cass
-

Tongan Olympian Pita Taufatofua has until this Sunday to qualify for the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

Taufatofua  competed in the Rio Olympics in taekwondo. He was quickly defeated, but gained immense publicity for himself and Tonga by leading his fellow competitors into the arena covered in coconut oil.

Now he has decided to switch sporting careers and has been battling uphill to make his dream of competing in South Korea a reality.

He started skiing a year ago on roller skis, managed to raise only $10,000 to fund his attempt and has been competing on borrowed skis.

His competition in Armenia was a washout because he was comping on skis designed for hard snow on a day when the course was covered in soft snow.

Undaunted, he prepared to compete in another race in Croatia, but missed the flight after driving through five countries to board a flight in Istanbul.

A philosophical Taufatofua posted a message on his Facebook page:

“So here I am sitting at Istanbul airport missing the race that could have possibly gotten me to the Olympics.

“It was always going to be a long shot but I had to give it a shot and I did. Soo many times in life we will get disappointed.

“When this happens I have two options. I can sit on that chair crying about what could have been and how unfair life is…. or I can go and find some good quality chocolate, pull out my notepad and start planning “what’s next”— I always did like chocolate.”

Whether he will be able to find another qualifying race before Sunday, or whether he even has the funds to get to it, is an open question.

However, his determination does not appear to be in question.

As he told the Wall Street Journal: “I don’t fear failure. I fear not trying.”

Tongan skiiers

Other Tongan skiers to aim for the winter Olympics have included Fuahea Semi, also known as Bruno Banani, who represented the Royal Tonga Ski Federation at the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014.

Tongan skier Kasete Skeen, whose father’s family are from Vava’u and Tongatapu, quit his job in London last year and moved to Austria last year to prepare for his attempt at qualifying for PyeongChang.

Skeen  is one of several overseas-based Tongans, including Makeleta Piukala, Reinhard Langer and Dyan Wackerbauer, who have  had an eye on winter competitions, with the support of the Royal Tonga Ski Federation.

The main points

  • Tongan Olympian Pita Taufatofua has until this Sunday to qualify for the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
  • He had almost qualified, but his last two attempts had ended in failure.
  • It is not certain if the self-funded athlete, who has been competing on borrowed skis, will be able to find another race in the four days left to him.
  • Taufatofua competed in the Rio Olympics in taekwondo. He was quickly defeated, but gained immense publicity for himself and Tonga by leading his fellow competitors into the arena covered in coconut oil.

For more information 

 

Shirtless Tongan flag-bearer might not qualify for the Winter Olympics after all

https://sports.yahoo.com/shirtless-tongan-flag-bearer-might-not-qualify-winter-olympics-173341498.html

The shirtless Tongan flag-bearer who became a sensation at the Rio Olympics nearly completed an incredible transition to cross-country skiing and the Winter Olympics

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/pita-taufatofua-cross-country-skiing-pyeongchang-olympics-2018-1?r=US&IR=T

Tongan skier sets sights on 2018 Winter Olympics

https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/317015/sport-tongan-skier-sets-sights-on-2018-winter-olympics

Meet the man who quit his job to become Tonga’s first Winter Olympic ski racer http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ski/articles/meet-the-tongan-skier-want-to-compete-at-the-winter-olympics/

PM Pōhiva meets with king; new government “official” on January 5, says Acting AG

By
Kalino Latu
-

Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva met with His Majesty King Tupou VI this afternoon at 2pm, a government spokesperson has confirmed this to Kaniva News.

The spokesperson declined to give details of the meeting and the Prime Minister’s health condition.

The Prime Minister’s daughter, ‘Ana Pōhiva Koli who goes by the Facebook name Iolani Pōhiva Koli, shared photos of the Prime Minister on her Facebook page this afternoon with a caption saying he was preparing to go to the palace for an audience with the king.

Some commentators said the Prime Minister looked unwell in the photos, but ‘Ana denied it.

“…thanks for (your) concern…he’s recovering well ….., as you think, he’s forcing himself to stand, nope…no further explanation as we all have a father, that we love n adore beside his political career, that’s another story….ofa atu,” ‘Ana wrote.

As we reported yesterday, the Prime Minister has been in Vaiola hospital’s intensive care unit. He was described  as recovering well after being admitted with an undisclosed illness.

Official

Tonga’s Acting Attorney General, ‘Aminiasi Kefu said the new government of Hon. Pōhiva became “official” on January 5, the day the king appointed Hon Pōhiva’s cabinet ministers.

He said the king appointed Hon. Pōhiva on January 2 as Prime Minister of Tonga until 2021.

The appointment meant there was no need for the Prime Minister and his cabinet ministers to be sworn in before they could be regarded as government of the day, Hon. Kefu told Kaniva News.

“The oaths taken in Parliament are just protocol which must be held in the first meeting of the House before the Legislative Assembly can continue its normal duty,” Hon. Kefu said.

The Attorney General’s comments came after some local news media reported the government of  Hon Pōhiva was “unofficial” and referred to his cabinet as “secret.”

Those reports came after Kaniva News reported in the first week of January that the king has appointed Hon. Pōhiva on January 2, his ministers on January 5 and that the cabinet ministers held their first meeting with their staff on January 8.

The constitution

The Acting Attorney General said that according to Clause 50A(1) of the constitution and the table for the constitution as well as clause 51 (2), the government was established on January 2, 2018 and was completed on January 5.

“It was a caretaker government since the House was dissolved in August 24, 2017 up to November 16, 2017 which ended in January 5, 2018, and it was changed from being a caretaker government into the ordinary government,” Hon. Kefu said.

Section 14 of laws regarding Parliament stipulates that the House’s first session should begin within six weeks after the election results were returned to the king on November 30.

“That six weeks ended on January 11, 2018. That was the day Parliament was opened,” Hon. Kefu said.

“The constitution stipulates the Prime Minister must take his oath in the first meeting of Parliament which will be held tomorrow, Thursday, January 18.”

If the Prime Minister cannot attend tomorrow’s meeting then he would be regarded as disobeying the constitution.

However, the Prime Minister could ask the Speaker of Parliament to postpone the first meeting of the House until he was available to attend and take his oath.

“It is up to the Speaker if he would accept this or not,” the Attorney General said.

“The constitution clause 58 says Parliament hold at least one meeting within 12 months (January – December).

According to Clause seven of the constitution, if the Prime Minister is sick and cannot attend Parliament for 12 consecutive months, his premiership would be void.

Australian attacks on China “sad” says Tongan Minister of Justice

By
Philip Cass
-

Tonga’s Minister of Justice has described Australian International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells’ attack on China as “sad.”

Fierravanti-Wells claimed last week that China was funding “roads to nowhere” and “useless buildings.”

“You’ve got the Pacific full of these useless buildings which nobody maintains, which are basically white elephants,” the Minister told The Australian newspaper.

Hon. Sione Vuna Fā’otusia  said China was filling the gap left by Australia which was not helping the countries of the Pacific.

“It is sad indeed for Australia to start accusing China for helping the poor and needy countries of the Pacific,” Hon. Fā’otusia said.

“What China does by building infrastructure is to assist in the economic development of the Pacific countries.

“China is a huge country with a huge economy. It cannot be measured against Australia in any way whatsoever.

“Their economy is vastly different, and cannot be in anyway whatsoever comparable. China is so huge in every aspects of life!

“It is good for Tonga to work alongside with China as our partner.”

China has described Fierravanti-Wells’s claims as irresponsible.

“The assistance provided by China has significantly fuelled the economic and social development of these countries and delivered tangible benefits to the local people, which has been warmly welcomed by the governments and people of these countries,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.

China has provided an estimated US$1.78 billion (TP$3.9 billion) in aid in the Pacific, including concessional loans and for projects in the past decade.

The main points

  • Tonga’s Minister of Justice has described Australian International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells’ attack on China as “sad.”
  • Sione Vuna Fā’otusia said China was filling the gap left by Australia which was not helping the countries of the Pacific.
  • “It is sad indeed for Australia to start accusing China for helping the poor and needy countries of the Pacific,” Hon. Fā’otusia said.

For more information

Beijing complains about Australia’s ‘irresponsible’ attack on China’s Pacific aid program

China lodges protest against Australian ‘white elephant’ remarks

Amazing pictures from inside new St George Palace

Amazing pictures from inside new St George Palace

Judge who gained notoriety over flogging sentence retires

By
Philip Cass
-

A British judge who was once the subject of a motion of impeachment in Tonga has retired.

In 2010 MPs ‘Akilisi Pōhiva and ‘Isileli Pulu, moved in Parliament to impeach Supreme Court judge Robert Shuster on the grounds that he was incompetent.

Judge Shuster gained international notoriety when he sentenced two teenage boys in Tonga to be whipped.

Many of his judgements in Tonga were overturned by the Court of Appeal.

In 2010, two 17-year-old Tongan boys were convicted of theft and escaping from prison. Shuster sentenced each of them to 13 years’ imprisonment and ordered that they be whipped on the buttocks six times with a cat-o-nine-tails.

The sentence was legal under Tongan law, but corporal punishment had not been used as a legal punishment since the 1980s. The flogging portion was overturned on appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Shuster was also criticised for his decision to quash Lord Dalgety’s charge with perjury during an inquiry by a Royal Commission into the sinking of the MV Ashika.

Tonga’s then solicitor general ‘Aminiasi Kefu reportedly said Shuster had no basis in Tongan law for such a decision.

Shuster has been a judge in the Turks and Caicos Islands in March 2015.

His appointment to the bench in the Caribbean nation was met with widespread protest from the legal and civil society.

He has now turned 70, the age limit in the Caribbean nation.

Shuster was commended by Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale for his rigorous approach to his work on the local bench.

“The jurisdiction benefitted from Mr Shuster’s rigorous approach to his work which saw trials dispatched and the avoidance of unnecessary engagement of the court process in matters,” she said.

Shuster also served in Fiji and Sierra Leone.

The main points

  • A British judge who was once the subject of a motion of impeachment in Tonga has retired.
  • In 2010 MPs ‘Akilisi Pōhiva and ‘Isileli Pulu, moved in Parliament to impeach Supreme Court judge Robert Shuster on the grounds that he was incompetent.
  • Judge Shuster gained international notoriety when he sentenced two teenage boys in Tonga to be whipped.
  • Many of his judgements in Tonga were overturned by the Court of Appeal.

Parliament’s first meeting this Thursday

By
Kalino Latu
-

Tonga Parliament will hold its first meeting for this year on Thursday 18, January.

All Members of Parliament will take their oaths during the meeting.

Tonga’s Legislative Assembly was opened last Thursday in what its Office described as an “in-house session” ceremony.

The Clerk to Parliament Gloria Pole’o has reportedly announced the meeting yesterday.

Agendas for the meeting will include MPs to approve a response to a letter from the king which was read during the opening of the 2018 Parliamentary Session on 11 January.

The Speaker of Parliament and Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva decided the date for the meeting according to the constitution.

The government

Hon Pōhiva was at Vaiola hospital’s intensive care unit and his condition has improved, a Ministry of Health spokesperson said.

He was expected to attend the meeting on Thursday.

As Kaniva News reported, His Majesty King Tupou VI appointed Hon Pōhiva as Prime Minister of Tonga on January 2.

The king also approved Hon Pōhiva’s lineup to be effective from January 5.

The cabinet ministers held their first meeting with their staff in their respective ministerial portfolios on January 8.

Grants from Asian Development Bank to help Tonga in fight against climate change

By
Philip Cass
-

Tonga will receive a US$3.1 million grant from the Asian Development Bank to help it deal
with the effects of climate change.

The money is part of a package of loans and grants being made to Tonga, Samoa and Tuvalu.

A total of US$15 million will go to the three countries to help them respond more quickly to
disasters and to begin re-building earlier.

Grants of US$2.9 million will also go to Samoa and Tonga and US$3 million to Tuvalu.
An additional US$2 million for technical assistance will help the three countries work on
priority projects and share their experiences.

ADB Pacific Climate Change Specialist Hanna Uusimaa said early recovery and
reconstruction after disasters would significantly reduce the secondary economic and social
costs normally caused by delays.

The funding grew out of the Bank’s experience in the Cook Islands, which was lent US$10 to fund a disaster resilience programme.

As Kaniva News reported last month, the Asian Development Bank has ranked Tonga second in the list of Pacific countries at risk from climate change.

Tonga was already experiencing the effects of climate change, as increasing variability in
rainfall patterns caused more severe flooding and droughts.

Rising ocean temperatures had led to coral bleaching and destroyed natural coastal barriers, and sea level rise is contributing to coastal erosion.

Tropical cyclones and storm surges had led to significant economic losses.

Chinese destruction of two churches latest in longstanding persecution of believers

By
Philip Cass
-

The destruction of a Protestant church in China last week is the most blatant act in a long running campaign to crack down on religious beliefs in that country.

As widely reported in the international media, Chinese police dynamited the Golden Lampstand Church, in the city of Linfen in Shaanxi province last week. It had a congregation of more than 50,000.

A Catholic church in Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province, was demolished on December 27. Officials smashed crosses and confiscated statues, the Eucharistic altar, and other religious artefacts.

The New York Times described the demolitions as “part of a campaign that reflects the Communist Party’s longstanding fear that Christianity…is a threat to the party’s authority.”

It said that under President Xi Jinping, the government had destroyed churches or removed their steeples and crosses.

It is estimated that there are up to 90 million Christians in China and many of them belong to evangelical groups like the one which built the Lampstand Church.

According to international reports, local authorities planted explosives under the church, which was built with US$2.6 million contributed by local worshippers.

ChinaAid, a US-based Christian advocacy group, said the Golden Lampstand Church had faced “repeated persecution” by the Chinese government. In 2009 hundreds of police and hired thugs smashed the building. Church leaders were sentenced to prison terms of up to seven years on charges of illegally occupying farmland and disturbing traffic.

Religion in China

Although religious freedom is guaranteed under the Chinese constitution, in practice this means that whether worshippers are Christians, Muslims or Buddhists, they are expected to belong to and obey the orders of government controlled organisations, such as the Three-Self Patriotic Movement for Protestants and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. Those practising their faith outside government control are often subject to persecution, imprisonment and torture.

According to the 2016 US State Department’s report on religious freedom in China, there have been reports that the government has physically abused, detained, arrested, tortured, sentenced to prison, or harassed adherents of both registered and unregistered religious groups for activities related to their religious beliefs and practices, including members of house churches.

The report said a pastor of an unregistered church and his wife were reportedly buried alive while protesting the demolition of their church. The wife died while the pastor escaped. The State Department report said there were also reports of the disappearance of a Catholic priest.

The State Department said authorities in Zhejiang Province continued their destruction of Christian structures as part of a campaign against “illegal structures” that began in 2014.

More than 2000 structures, including 600 crosses, had been destroyed or demolished by the end of the year. Many Zhejiang pastors and congregants openly resisted the campaign, resulting in the detention, prosecution, or conviction of several church leaders and activists.

Tongan connection

Concerns about the Chinese government’s apparent attitude towards religion have been used by Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva’s enemies.

In February last year a fake letter supposedly written by Hon. Pōhiva to the Chinese government was circulated. As Kaniva News reported at the time, the letter contained passages in which the author suggested establishing a conspiracy to “erase all religious teachings in school [and] allowing businesses to open on Sunday” as a first step to overthrowing the monarchy.

The Chinese embassy in Nuku’alofa described the letter as “groundless and not true.”

The main points

  • The destruction of a Protestant church in China last week is the most blatant act in a long running campaign to crack down on religious beliefs in that country.
  • As widely reported in the international media, Chinese police dynamited the Golden Lampstand Church, in the city of Linfen in Shaanxi province last week. It, had a congregation of more than 50,000.
  • A Catholic church in Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province, was demolished on December 27. Officials smashed crosses and confiscated statues, the Eucharistic altar, and other religious artefacts.
  • The New York Times described the demolitions as “part of a campaign that reflects the Communist Party’s longstanding fear that Christianity is a threat to the party’s authority.”

For more information 

Religious freedom in China 2016

Church destroyed, Christians detained in China’s Henan province

Chinese authorities blow up Christian megachurch with dynamite

Chinese embassy, PM’s office, call online letter attributed to Pohiva ‘fabricated’

King launches new MV Tongiaki; outer islanders praise catamaran’s high speed

By
Kaniva Staff
-

The high speed of the $8.3 million pa’anga aluminium catamaran King Tupou VI has launched today was highly praised by outer islanders.

The government’s funded vessel which operated by FISA could travel from Nuku’alofa to Nomuka, an island 108 kilometres away from Nuku’alofa, in about two hours.

The twin-hull boat could take less than two hours before it reaches Pangai, Ha’apai which is 61 kilometres away from Nomuka.

The MV Tongiaki could take less than three hours before it would arrive in Neiafu, Vava’u from Pangai.

This means, the 33-metre catamaran which carries 200 passengers, could take less than 12 hours to travel from Nuku’alofa to Vava’u and return to Nuku’alofa the same day.

FISA’s regular passengers from Vava’u and Ha’apai took to social media to welome the great progress in the inter-island sea transportation.

Some said they would no longer travel by aircraft because the catamaran was “fast and cheaper.”

MV Tongiaki. Photo/by Courtesy of Patimiosi Ngūngūtau

Launch

At the launch today the Minister of Public Enterprises Hon. Dr Saia Piukala said the MV Tongiaki was the most and latest advanced to join FISA’s fleet.

He said FISA’s MV ‘Otu Anga’ofa used to travel at 12 knots while the MV Tongiaki traveled at 20 – 22 knots.

He said the shipping company has planned to extend its services to Fiji and Samoa in the near future.

The MV Tongiaki was expected to leave at 8:00am Saturday 13 on its maiden voyage to Ha’apai and Vava’u and was scheduled to be back at Nuku’alofa at 7.30pm the same day.

King Tupou VI launched the ferry in a ceremony attended by government and church leaders including Deputy Prime Minister Sēmisi Sika, Speaker of Parliament Lord Fakafanua and FWC President Dr ‘Ahio.

Amnesty International urges Tonga to sign CEDAW ahead of UN human rights review

By
Philip Cass
-

Amnesty International has urged Tonga to sign the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) ahead of next week’s review of the kingdom’s human rights.

Tonga’s human rights record will be examined by a United Nations panel in Geneva on Monday, January 15.

This will be third time the kingdom’s human rights record has been studied since 2008.

Tonga will be represented at the review by the Solicitor General, Sione Sisifa.

It is likely that Tonga’s continued failure to sign the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) will be a focus of attention.

Several delegations attending Tonga’s last review in 2013 urged Tonga to sign the convention and Amnesty International has also urged the kingdom to sign CEDAW.

Amnesty International  has made a series of recommendations to all 13  nations taking part in the current round of United Nations human rights reviews.

In his presentation to the UN panel during the 2013 review, Lord Vaea, the then Minister of Internal Affairs,  argued that the introduction of new human rights would involve a delicate balancing exercise of important factors, including limited resources, core Tongan cultural values, fundamental Christian beliefs and liberal ideologies.

“These circumstances should be recognized as the reason why Tonga has been slow to ratify the core human rights conventions”, he said.

Next week’s examination will be carried out by a panel of three countries, including Angola, Slovakia and the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE has become a major investor in the Pacific in recent years, especially in the field of renewable energy.

Since 2008, all 193 UN member States have been reviewed twice.

State Department

In its 2016 assessment of human rights in Tonga, the US State Department said the most persistent problems were domestic violence, discrimination against women and government corruption.

Other concerns included the lack of public defenders for the poor, women’s lack of rights to land, and the lack of comprehensive labour legislation.

Amnesty International

Amnesty’s recommendations to the government of Tonga include:

Ratifying the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and opt-in to the inquiry and inter-state procedures;

Ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination against Women, as accepted in the previous review, and implement it in national law.

Adopting a comprehensive law on violence against women and girls that includes the provision of protection orders and appropriate penalties, and guarantees access to justice and redress, including compensation and other reparation, for the victims of such violence.

Repealing all provisions in national law that criminalize consensual same-sex relations.

Introducing comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation to provide equal protection against discrimination for all persons and on all grounds, including sexual orientation or gender identity.

Recognising marriages between couples of the same sex, on the same basis and conferring all the same rights, as marriages between different-sex couples.

The main points

  • Tonga’s human rights record will be examined by the United Nations on Monday, January 15.
  • Tonga will be represented at the review by the Solicitor General, Sione Sisifa.
  • It is likely that Tonga’s continued failure to sign the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) will be a focus of attention.
  • Several delegations attending the last review urged Tonga to sign the convention and Amnesty International has also urged the kingdom to sign the convention.

For more information 

Tonga’s human rights record to be reviewed by UN

Tonga 2016 Human Rights Report

UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review : Tonga, 21 May 2013

Amnesty International

Exploring Fonua – the Tongan concept of humans being one with the environment

By
Kaniva Staff
-

By Sione Tu’itahi

(Educator, writer and Executive Director of the Health Promotion Forum of New Zealand)

Building a nation begins with the kāinga or extended family. As mentioned in my second column, the kāinga is the smallest unit, but the most important building block of society. The kāinga is the foundation. Expand the family and you will have the village. Expand the village and you will have the nation. Expand the nation and you will have the world.

From a Tongan Indigenous perspective, the kainga is the first house of learning, the first house of worship and the first house of healing. Through their words and actions, the parents are the first teachers, the first priests and the first healers. They are the first leaders who should lead by example. Great Tongan nation builders of past centuries and decades came from kainga where good governance and leadership have become inter-generational strengths and wisdom.

Tufunga Fonua is a Tongan term that refers to nation building, the focus of this third column. Tufunga means to build, while fonua means people and their environment. Fonua is a Tongan socio-ecological theory that articulates the oneness and  inseparability of humans and their environment. It is a Tongan Indigenous philosophy that can offer solutions to the global challenges that we face as a global community, such as climate crisis and sustainable development.

Fonua encompasses the physical, mental, spiritual, cultural, socio-economic and ecological dimensions of life and wellbeing. It is the framework through which Tongans view the full cycle of life – from birth to death, and from maintaining relationship, tauhi va, to sustaining community, tauhi fonua.

Certain processes in the Tongan culture and elements in the Tongan Language illustrate the significant influence of the fonua construct in Tongan thinking and socio-political and economic organisation. For example, as part of the natural cycle of human life, in the world of the womb, the baby is sustained by her fonua, the placenta. The baby is later born into the fonua (land), where she experiences life and builds relationships with the fonua – the entire ecology, including its human inhabitants. As part of the birth process, the remains of the fonua (placenta) that sustained the baby are returned by burial to the fonua (physical land).

Once the pito (umbilical cord that connects the baby to the fonua, placenta) falls off, it is also returned to the fonua (physical land) through a similar burying ritual. Upon her death, she is returned to her fonualoto, (land within the land), or her grave. Meanwhile, when she dies, her spirit ascends to the fonua kaha’u  or langi – the spiritual abode.

In short, there are four  fonua that are of great significance to the Tongan cycle of life – fonua in the womb, fonua on this plane of existence, fonua for our earthly remains and fonua for the soul.

Fonua also provides four phases as a framework for Tongans for understanding social evolution and  social action. These four are Fekumi Fonua, Langa Fonua, Tauhi Fonua, and Tufunga Fonua.

When existing values, institutions and practices no longer cater adequately for their needs and aspirations, Tongans begin to look for new principles and new physical and social environments that can meet their needs. This is the phase of Kumi Fonua or seeking a new life. Migrating to other nations  in the 1960s is an example of Kumi Fonua.

Once they arrive, they set out to build their new environment. This is the Langa Fonua  or community building phase. As they begin to settle and life in the new home becomes normal, they continue to maintain and sustain their new environment. This is the Tauhi Fonua or community sustaining phase.

In time the community grows and new social realities came into existence, which require a re-thinking of the existing order. This is the fourth stage, Tufunga Fonua or re-thinking, of the existing order and the cyclic framework of Fonua.

In general, Tonga is going through a Tufunga Fonua phase as it passes through  the mid-term point of the first quarter of the 21st century. Transformational changes can be observed in all spheres of life, from governance and leadership in all sectors to its economy and cultural values and practices, while it is increasingly  nested within our globalised society.

Transformational changes call for transformational leadership in all aspects of Tongan society. Transformational leadership is visionary leadership that unequivocally disregards self-interest for the collective good. It is ethical leadership where justice, love, unity in diversity and the material and spiritual prosperity of all is the ultimate goal. It is effective leadership where leaders walk their talk and lead with humility and by example. Re-thinking Tongan leadership – its many forms and levels – can be a timely new year resolution for all.

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