Ashika teaches Tonga a lesson [1]
Friday, February 19, 2010 - 14:30. Updated on Friday, January 10, 2014 - 14:53.
Editor,
Thank the good Lord for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Ashika.
We know we're in trouble when we have to rely on three overseas palangis and a very sharp lawyer to reveal the facts about our biggest maritime tragedy, and in the process shed some light on the integrity of our system and of our leaders.
From the case, we've learned of a government that bullies its dissidents, a people's movement stained with individual business interests (let's not forget last year's sea cucumber case either), and a local media too under-resourced or too biased to take the lead in exposing the issues.
None of these is new, but when they all come in a row like that it just makes you dizzy!
Afu'alo Matoto's statements on the stand just makes me wonder what's going to happen with all the aid and donations for the Ashika victims' families. Who knows where this $1 million plus will end up?
The World Bank also donated US$4 million to rebuilding the Niuas after the tsunami - will this have the same fate as the China aid?
Obviously other development projects may benefit from a slice of these funds, but accountability and transparency has not been the strong suit of government in the past, so I have "trust issues".
The challenge for the media is to be a watchdog and trace every single cent of these aid funds.
Josephine Latu
Tofoa
josie_latu [at] hotmail [dot] com