Tonga’s PTOA Party (Democrats) lost both their rival leaders and majority votes in some strongholds with defeats to seven independent candidates among People’s Representatives in yesterday’s elections.
The PTOA Party was split in the lead up to the elections with the creation of two rival groups — the PTOA People’s Board led by Siaosi Pōhiva and PTOA Core Team led by Sēmisi Sika.
Last night they faced the reality that they had dug their own grave.
The voters have elected nine new People’s MPs and three new nobles to the all-male Parliament, according to provisional results announced by the Supervisor of Elections Pita Vuki.
PTOA top senior members, including Mateni Tapueluelu, PTOA People’s Board leader Pōhiva and Core Team leader Sika were all defeated.
People’s Board leader Siaosi was defeated by Tongatapu 1 new MP Tēvita Puloka.
Core Team leader Sēmisi Sika lost his Tongatapu 2 seat to Dr Pingi Fasi.
Tapueluelu loses seat
PTOA senior MP Māteni Tapueluelu lost his seat to incumbent Minister of Economy Tafafu Moeaki.
Tapueluelu and his PTOA rival candidate ‘Ilaiasi Lelei ‘Ufi received a combination result of 1457 votes from the PTOA voters, but because they shared that number it opened an opportunity for Moeaki to defeat them.
In Tongatapu 5, the PTOA voters gave a total of 1104 votes to the PTOA candidates, with 614 votes going to Losaline Ma’asi while her PTOA rival ‘Akanete Ta’ai got 490 votes. Dr ‘Aisake Eke won the seat by 958 votes.
In Tongatapu 7, the PTOA voters gave their candidates Sangstar Saulala and Paula Piveni Piukala a total of 1420 votes. Sangstar won by 810 votes.
In Tongatapu 10, the PTOA rival candidates gained a total votes of 1554 while Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa received only 1303 votes.
However, Tu’i’onetoa won after the two PTOA rivals split their votes with Kapeli Lanumata receiving 1086 votes with Vika Kaufusi gaining only 468 votes.
The democrats should have won if they had been united and settled their differences.
Dissatisfaction at the government’s flagrant mishandling of the road projects, their tour of the islands to supposedly pray Covid-19 away while receiving gifts and feasting and the Prime Minister’s prolonged refusal to act against convicted Cabinet Minister ‘Akosita Lavulavu all grated with the voters.
The sobering reality is that the government did not so much win this election as the PTOA lost it.
All PTOA supporters can hope for at this stage is that the leaders of the two party factions learn this bitter lesson well: If they are ever to regain power they must reconcile with each other and rediscover the late ‘Akilisi Pohiva’s vision for a truly democratic Tonga.
Nobility election:
Tongatapu:
Lord Vaea (13 votes)
Lord Tu’ivakano (12)
Lord Fohe (10)
Vava’u:
Lord Tu’i’afitu (9)
Lord Tu’ilakepa (8)
Ha’apai:
Lord Tui’ha’angana (5)
Lord Fakafanua (4)
‘Eua:
Lord Nuku (11)
Niuas:
HSH Prince Kalaniuvalu, the Lord Fotofili (2)
Ten Fijian families living in a flood-prone area of the capital Suva are preparing to relocate from their homes, the government said.
A day out from the arrival of Cyclone Yasa, there is already flooding across Fiji, including at the River Road settlement in Narere, Photo: Semi Turaga / Fiji Village
The Government said the houses are currently sitting on the drain reserve and this restricts the Ministry of Waterways from carrying out maintenance and upgrades at River Road in Narere.
River Road has been prone to flooding with many homes at the informal settlement damaged during the recent cyclones in Fiji.
The cyclone season in the Pacific is from November to April. The 10 families will be relocated to the Millennium Lease area in Nausori.
A series of consultations have been carried out with the families since July 2020, the government said in a statement.
“But the relocation was put on hold in April of this year due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
“In September this year, the families were granted formal approval to build new homes in the Millennium development lease area.
“So far, five families have cleared land to prepare for construction while two more families have already commenced building their homes.”
The government said the families have also been granted consent to apply for water and electricity connections for their new homes.
The Ministry of Housing and Community Development is assisting the families with their relocation.
Villagers help unload. It is the first aid drop to this Taveuni village. Photo: RNZI Sally Round
Relocation last option – govt
Meanwhile, the government said relocating villages is the last option.
The Minister for Waterways and Environment, Mahendra Reddy, made the comment while officiating at the ground-breaking ceremony for the longest stretch of nature-based solution sea-wall at Viseisei Village in Lautoka this week.
Dr Reddy said the $23,400 sea wall would directly benefit more than 800 people.
The minstry has not built a nature-based solution sea-wall of 500m and the new structure is for one of the largest villages, he said.
He added the sea-wall would also benefit more than 150 households.
With the cyclone season from November to April, the government said it was helping villagers prepare for any threat.
But Dr Reddy said relocating villages was the last option because houses in the villages represented much more than their physical structure.
“It is no longer a physical object that you move from one place to another,” he said.
“It is about the people, their livelihood, their culture, heritage and the bond with that place.”
Dr Reddy said Fijians settled near coastal areas some eight decades ago and proudly established their lifestyles accordingly.
“Their lives, culture and their source of livelihood is intertwined within the coastal areas which is now being threatened to the extent that some of these villages cannot be protected and need to be relocated.”
Homes along River Road in Narere. Photo: Supplied/Fiji NDMO
About 60,000 Tongan voters are able to vote in a new government today.
They will be electing 17 People’s Representatives for the 26-member legislature.
The 33 noble families will elect their nine representatives from within their own ranks.
Photo: RNZI/ Koro Vaka’uta
There are 72 candidates standing, including 12 women.
RNZ Pacific’s correspondent in Tonga, Kalafi Moala, said a high voter turnout is expected.
“There has been leading up to the election a very strong drive to get people registered to vote. People over 21 years of age are eligible to vote here in Tonga and then of course there’s been people that have returned from overseas, people that have moved from other areas.
So there has been a strong registration drive and so the expectation also is there will be a higher vote this year than the previous election,” he said.
The polls have just opened and a result in expected by 10 o’clock tonight.
If this election follows the pattern of recent elections the prime minister will not be chosen until nearer Christmas.
The new Vice Chancellor of the Auckland University of Technology is calling on young Pasifika peoples pursuing their education to stay the course.
Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa, who is currently a Pro-Chancellor at the University of Auckland takes up his new role at AUT in March next year.
He is the first person of Pacific descent to head a university in New Zealand.
Associate Professor Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa Photo: The University of Auckland
Toeolesulusulu said the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic have been the most difficult for education in a long time.
He said part of the reason he chose to take up the new role is that AUT’s provides a pathway to education for people of all ages, backgrounds and races, regardless of the life stage or academic credentials.
“The pressures of the pandemic have forced many young people to have to choose between furthering their education or providing for their families, and institutions like AUT can help.
“Now is a great time to just leave school and get a job. But in terms of the future that students’ families need, that our city and our communities need, education still remains the single most powerful way to transform the lives of you and your family and through them our communities,” Salesa said.
COMMENTARY: Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa has attracted exceptional attention this election because of what has been seen as his overtly biased policies towards constituencies who did not vote for his party or support his Cabinet.
Prime MInister Dr Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa. Photo/Kalino Lātū (Kaniva News)
This could make him the kingdom’s first Prime Minister to take such a prejudicial stance since Tonga’s political reforms of 2010.
He has shown in the two years of his tenure a huge lack of good leadership and an apparent misuse of the country’s budget by only favouring his Cabinet Ministers’ constituencies with much needed infrastructure projects.
Tu’i’onetoa’s chance
If Hon. Tu’i’onetoa is returned to Parliament this election it will not be because of his use of the government’s multimillion projects to woo voters of his constituency, but the wrong decision the PTOA party made to promote two candidates in Tongatapu 10.
The two PTOA factions’ latest action was terribly dangerous and showed how profoundly their leaders lack any real leadership qualities.
They showed recently they could reach a compromise in some constituencies like Tongatapu 8, where the PTOA People’s Board candidate withdrew to support the Core Team candidate Sēmisi Fakahau and Siaosi Pōhiva agreed to appear on the Core Team’s candidate list.
Why did they not make such a compromise in other constituencies, including Tongatapu 4, 5, 7 and 10?
Lapaha links to Mu’a (Tongatapu 9)
Tongatapu 10 has been one of the PTOA’s strongholds for more than 30 years since the democratic movement was introduced in Tonga in 1980s. A number of factors helped these people maintain their strong belief in the democrats. There were people in the Mu’a electorate next to Lapaha in Tongatapu 10 who were shot on Malinoa island after they were accused of being involved in the failed attempt to assassinate the then Prime Minister Shirley Baker.
The Mu’a electorate was where the Mu’a Parliament was established after their leader of the Tu’i Tonga line was defeated and dethroned by King Taufa’āhau 1 and his warriors.
Although there was a reconciliation after the war and the dethroning of the Tu’i Tonga (Tonga King) the Mu’a chiefs were still furious.
It continued in the Mu’a parliament which was occupied by the Tu’i Tonga chiefs.
In the 1990s some residents of Tongatapu 10 were vocal in support of the Democratic Movement, including a man by the name Vaha’akolo Fonofehi from Lapaha who was detained together with the Taimi ‘o Tonga newspaper editor because of their criticism against the then Minister of Police Clive Edwards for opposing the democrats.
The Tongatapu 10 people showed their support for the democratic movements as part of the work their own Parliament initiated after the Kanokupolu line took over.
Tu’i’onetoa and the nobility
Last week the Prime Minister went on air on his official Facebook livestream with Radio FM 87.5 and highly recommended the noble MPs and the need for all MPs to stand together with the nobility.
His preaching shows he has completely rejected the continued work made since 2010 to improve Tonga’s democratisation process. His rejection was a U-turn, a contradiction of what he told Tongatapu 10 voters in 2017, when he asked the voters to elect him because he supported the PTOA and their democritisation process. Now he keeps telling the public that the PTOA has a plot to take away the king’s power by force, something the PTOA has denied vehemently.
This election gives Tongatapu 10 another chance to test their good judgement and whether they will change it because of the new wharf, weaving houses, new road sealings and distributions of water tanks or whether they will dump him and elect one of the two PTOA candidates with their policies which support the principles of democracy.
The Prime Minister was responding to allegations made on a Facebook livestream report by the PTOA Party’s social media reporter, ‘Asiata Māsima, who goes by the Facebook name Fakafehi Lola.
He said Māsima alleged that Afā and its overseas residents had complained that the wharf was launched unfinished because the government knew they would be rewarded with Tongan goods and seafood during the celebration. The Prime Minister denied this.
Māsima told Kaniva News he got the information from Afā residents.
He said the timing of the launch just a few days before the election showed the Prime Minister was doing everything he can do to make sure he did not lose his seat.
The Prime Minister’s actions in his electorate, where his rival candidates did not have the same benefit of being able to cite governments development projects, was criticised by veteran journalist and media commentator Kalafi Moala as bullying.
Moala compared the situation to the battle of David and Goliath in the Holy Bible.
The revelation of the selective lifting of the curfew came after Tongan Police arrested 124 people for breaching restrictions and curfews during Tongatapu’s one-week lockdown. This included 36 people who gathered at kava sessions
There were also reports of police closing down street markets during the lockdown.
In April 2020 Tonga Police arrested 568 people for breaking the night curfew after the kingdom’s state of emergency was declared in March.
Of those arrested, 357 had allegedly breached the lockdown rules or obstructed officers.
Meanwhile, the Tu’i’onetoa government is being criticised for unfairly wooing voters after workers with truckloads of rocks and tar were spotted this morning sealing roads in his Lapaha electorate.
Tongatapu 7 Candidate for the PTOA Party, Piveni Piukala, said the government should act as a caretaker at this state and should not be seen working on these projects in their constituencies.
Piukala said it appeared there was a legal issue.
Reports of government ministers distributing water tanks and renewing water supplies in their constituencies, including one in Tongatapu 6, was also criticised for being scheduled in the days before the elections
There are 222 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today.
The Ministry of Health has also announced one new Covid-19-related death.
Yesterday, there were 173 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand – 163 in Auckland, seven in Waikato, two in Northland and one in Lakes District – plus one found in Wairarapa that came in too late for the day’s official tally.
The government announced yesterday that booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine will be available in a fortnight for people who got their second dose more than six months prior.
From today, no one can work in healthcare or schools if they have not had one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine unless they are exempt from the government’s mandate.
There has been a total of 207 new community cases of Covid-19 reported in New Zealand today, with one new death at North Shore Hospital.
The new cases today include 192 cases in Auckland, seven in Waikato, two in Northland, three in Taupo, one in Rotorua and two in the Tararua district. A further Rotorua case will be included in tomorrow’s official numbers.
In a statement, the Health Ministry said a woman in her 90s died in North Shore Hospital last night. The woman had a number of underlying health conditions and had Covid-19.
“Her underlying health conditions and the state of her health meant it was not clinically appropriate for her to receive ventilator or ICU care.
“Her family was regularly updated and had the opportunity to speak with her regularly by phone. The family has been offered cultural support by the DHB.”
The Ministry said the woman was admitted on 6 November from Edmonton Meadows Care Home where there has been an outbreak with 25 cases of Covid-19 in staff and residents.
There are 90 people in hospital with the coronavirus, including one case in Whangarei and one in Dargaville. Seven are in intensive care.
Fifty of the cases in hospital are unvaccinated or not eligible.
There were also two cases reported in managed isolation today.
Of the seven new cases confirmed in the Waikato overnight, six are known contacts. Three of the cases were from Hamilton, two from Te Kuiti, one from Ōtorohanga, and one from Ngāruawāhia.
One of the two new cases in Northland being reported today is a close contact of an existing case and investigations are continuing to determine how the other case is linked to the outbreak.
There were no cases reported in Taranaki today and all of the five close contacts identified at this stage have tested negative.
“However, Public Health Officials are continuing to encourage anyone with Covid-19 related symptoms, no matter how mild, to get tested.”
There have now been 5578 cases in the current community outbreak and 8331 cases in New Zealand since the pandemic began.
The Ministry said 26,996 vaccine doses were administered yesterday – 7149 first doses and 19,847 second doses. Ninety percent of New Zealanders have had their first dose and 81 percent are fully vaccinated.
The All Blacks have been beaten 29-20 by Ireland in Dublin, their third defeat to the Irish in their last five tests.
The All Blacks led 10-5 at halftime.
Ireland scored three tries to the All Blacks two and kicked several penalties to secure the nine point win.
Ireland’s New Zealand born wing James Lowe scored the first try of the test, while hooker Codie Taylor, who was yellow carded in the first half, and wing Will Jordan scored tries for the All Blacks.
It’s the All Blacks first loss of their Northern Tour.
Ireland dominated most aspects from start to finish with another superb performance against the All Blacks.
Ireland, who had never beaten New Zealand until five years ago, were hammered 46-14 in their last clash two years ago but tries from Lowe, Ronan Kelleher and Caelan Doris delivered a thoroughly deserved victory.
“Such a special feeling having a full crowd back, we waited for it for so long,” man-of-the-match Doris said in a pitchside interview.
After the first full house at the Aviva Stadium in 21 months tried to drown out the Haka with a rendition of ‘The Fields of Athenry’, Ireland responded by showing their intent to play the kind of fast-paced rugby that hit Japan for 60 points last week.
They were not afforded the same kind of space and it was the All Blacks who came closest to opening the score through the electric Will Jordan before Codie Taylor’s yellow card for a high tackle on Johnny Sexton handed the hosts the initiative.
That was to be New Zealand’s last attack for most of the half as Ireland took advantage with ruthless precision, going for the corner rather than the sticks with the resulting penalty and when their pack could not quite make it over the ball was spun out wide for Lowe to score against his native New Zealand.
Ireland remained camped in the All Blacks half, even when the visitors returned to their full complement of players, and somehow wound up trailing 10-5 at the break
After Tadhg Furlong had a try disallowed, New Zealand took the lead out of absolutely nowhere.
Dalton Papalii broke from the back of a lineout into a gaping hole in the Irish defence and Taylor was beside him to finish.
Ireland again came within inches of scoring just before the break, this time through Sexton, but the resolute All Blacks went into halftime ahead having make 160 tackles to Ireland’s 37 in the first 40 minutes.
The onslaught continued in the second half and the dam broke when hooker Kelleher’s 44th minute try levelled the score.
The early defensive effort was taking its toll on New Zealand, who also lost first-five Beauden Barrett to a head injury in the first half, and Ireland flanker Doris broke through to add a third try shortly afterwards.
Sexton’s first conversion of the day and a quick additional penalty put the hosts 20-10 in front before Jordan’s 17th try from 11 caps set up a tense final 20 minutes.
But Ireland stood firm with replacement first-five Joey Carbery knocking over three late penalties, one from the halfway line, before the packed house erupted on the final whistle.
COMMENTARY: Writing 2000 years ago, the Roman poet Juvenal famously asked: “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”
The phrase translates from Latin into English as “Who will guard the guardians?” It is generally used to raise the question of how to control the actions of people in positions of authority.
Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa. Photo/Kalino Lātū (Kaniva Tonga)
If people have power, who will keep them accountable and ensure that there is no conflict of interest or taint of corruption in government or politics? Or even the faintest hint of such things, for mere suspicion is enough to taint a government and its leaders.
The Roman poet and his question came to mind this week after Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa appeared on his official Facebook livestream with Radio FM 87.5 and shifted his previous justification about conflict of interest from claiming there was nothing in the Tongan law to stop it into saying that Cabinet Members giving a contract to someone or a member of their family were okay if they were the suitable people to do the job and that the due process allowed it.
No doubt he thought it’s timely to raise this issue again before next week’s election in case the electors continue to be troubled by the stink that hangs over the disbursement of funding and jobs in the Prime Minister’s much vaunted road programme.
“Ministers must ensure that no actual or reasonably perceived conflict exists (or appears to exist) between their public duty and their private interests. Private interests that could give rise to conflicts could include, for example, a Minister’s business interests, a Minister’s family’s interests, association with non-public bodies, receipt of gifts or fees. Appearances can be as important as reality in conflict of interest issues and must be considered in establishing acceptable behaviour.
It goes on to say in paragraph 95:
“In practical terms, Ministers should ensure that any possible conflict of interest is promptly addressed. The Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet should be kept informed and the Prime Minister advised. If in doubt about the appropriate course of action, Ministers should consult the Prime Minister or Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet.”
This is all well and good, but what happens when the conflict of interest- or even the appearance of it – stems from the actions of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet itself? Or as Juvenal asked, who is keeping an eye on those in power and who can control them?
In paragraph 96 the manual warns: “There is a somewhat grey boundary between conflicts of interest and corruption. The association between the two means that great care must be taken by Ministers and officials to deal openly with any conflicts of interest.”
These are warnings that Hon. Tu’i’onetoa should read carefully. He has been very vocal recently in trying to defend his government again from the claims that he was practising favouritism after he declared publicly that his government only prioritised the needs of constituencies of Cabinet Ministers because they were the ones who supported the PM and the government’s policies.
It is clearly improper for the leader of the government to indulge in such practice. His duty is to provide for the needs of all the people fairly. The payments for these projects come from a national budget funded by overseas donors and all the people in Tonga. It was not only funded by the people in the Ministers’ constituencies.
Hon. Tu’i’onetoa said the rest of the MPs who were not Cabinet Ministers and did not support his Cabinet did not support his multi million roading project either, so that’s why the roads in these constituencies were not repaired.
Clearly the Prime Minister has failed to grasp the fact that the MPs were not elected to all become ministers according to the Tongan political system. The MPs who were not selected to government remain in parliament as lawmakers. This means they have no right to hand out favours or government contracts as they see fit, or any obligation to blindly support the government.
The Prime Minister should also remember that his job is to rule for the benefit of all Tongans and for the good of the kingdom, regardless of whether they voted for him, or support his policies.
So let him open his copy of the Cabinet manual and turn to page 27, where he will find the reminder he needs of how he is supposed to behave.
Let him also remember that today, when we ask who will control those in power we have an answer: The voters.
——————– FAKAMATALA FAKATONGA ———————–
Kuo toe hā mai mei he palēmia’ ‘a e palopalema ko e feheke’aki ‘ene faka’uhinga’ ‘o ‘ikai ke pau ki ha me’a. Na’a’ ne fai lahi’i ‘eni ‘i he keisi ‘a Akosita Lavulavu’. ‘Uluaki ‘ai ‘ene fo’i faka’uhinga, pea fakatonutonu atu ngali ‘o ne ‘ilo kuo’ ne hala’ pea hiki leva ‘ene fakatonuhia’ ki he toe ‘uhinga ia ‘e taha koloa pe ke fakatonuhia’i ‘ene tōnounou’. Na’e ‘uluaki fai e tipeiti mo ia he conflict of interest pe ko ‘ene foaki filifilimānako mo hono pule’anga’ ‘a e ngaahi sēvesi mo e faingamālie mei he pule’anga’ ki honau fāmili pe tautonu kau ai mo honau ngaahi vāhenga ‘i ha founga ne mātu’aki fehu’ia lahi. Ko ‘ene tali na’e ‘omi tonu ki he Kaniva’ he ‘aho ko ia’ ne ne fakamamafa’i ‘o pehē na’e ‘ikai ha lao ia ‘e maumau’i. Ka ko e me’a ke ne manatu’i’, ‘oku ‘i ai pe lao ia ki ai he founga ngāue ‘a e Kapineti’ pe ko e Cabinet Manual peesi 27. Uike kuo ‘osi’ kuo ne liliu ‘ene fakamamafa ko ia’ ‘o pehē kapau ‘oku ‘atā pe ia he founga ngāue pe due process pea ‘oku sai pe ia. Ka ne ‘osi fehu’ia ‘a e founga ngāue due process ‘a e pule’anga’ heni pea ne lāunga lahi ai ‘a e kau piti ki he ‘ū konituleki ko eni’ ‘o pehē ne ‘ikai pe fea hono ‘ofa ‘o e ngaahi ngāue’. Hanu mo e ngaahi vāhenga kehe’ tautefito ki Tt 1 mo Tt 2 ko e mata ia e fonua’ hono li’ekina kinaua’. Ko e fatongia ‘o e pule’anga’ ke ne vahevahe taau e ngāue’ ‘i Tonga kotoa pe ‘oua ‘e hala ha vāhenga tu’unga he pehē tokua ‘oku ‘ikai poupou ange honau fakafofonga’. ‘Uhinga hala lahi ‘aupito ia he me’afua ‘o e pule lelei (good governance) pe fakamaau totonu pea mo hono fakatonuhia’i ki he kau totongi tukuhau e to’o fatongia ‘oku fai ma’a kinautolu (accountability). Ko e me’a ‘eni ‘oku ui ko hono fakapolitikale’i e ngaahi fatongia tefito ki he kakai ‘o e pule’anga’. ‘Oku tānaki tukuhau tatau pe ngaahi vāhenga ‘e 17 kae filifilimānako e pule’anga’ ni hono tanu honau ngaahi hala’ mo e ngaahi langa fakalakalaka ‘oku’ ne fai’. Ko e pehē ko ē ‘e toki hoko atu kia kinautolu he toenga ta’u ka hoko’ ko e fo’i kemipeini fakapolitikale ia pea ‘oku hala ia ke fakapolitikale’i ‘a e kaveinga ‘o e vahevahe taau o e koloa fakafonua’. Kaekehe, ko e Cabinet Manual pe tu’utu’uni Kapineti ke muimui ai e kau minisitaa’ ‘oku’ ne fakatokanga mamafa ki he kau minisitaa’ ke fakamama’o mei he Conflict of Interest. ‘Oku te’eki ai pe ke mau sio atu kuo ‘i ai ha fo’i faka’uhinga lelei mo ‘ēfika ‘e taha ‘a e palēmia’ ‘e ‘omai ke ne fakatonuhia’i’aki ‘ene founga filifilimānako ‘i hono tufotufa taau ‘o e ngaahi monū’ia mei he pule’anga’ ki he kakai’. Feheke’aki ai pe he taimi kotoa.
