King coming home for 88th birthday celebrations [1]
Monday, June 26, 2006 - 17:30. Updated on Thursday, September 5, 2013 - 17:38.
The official program of the celebration will be released before the end of this week, but according to Suka 'Otukolo, the Senior Assistant Secretary at the Palace Office, the celebration this year will be similar to that of last year.
Preparation for the return of the king is well underway, and the renovation of the verandah of his white-framed Victorian palace is expected to be completed before Saturday.
Suka said that the renovation work is carried out by the Ministry of Works, "it is not the first time that the palace has been renovated, but this time it is solely to replace the verandah's old timber floor."
With regards to a multi-million pa'anga project for a new Royal Chapel that was approved in the budget for the current financial year, Suka said that the project had been postponed because of the salary rise of the civil servants.