Results for Opinion

I was interested in one of the letters from Mr Kavaha'apai where he touched very briefly on what is expected of our representatives, and their important roles and the impact of their roles on us, the people that they represent. This is an important and much relevant issue for us commoners. We must understand what qualities do we want our people's representatives to have and what we want our representatives to do in parliament, considering the paths we came and where we are now and the political climate that is prevailing in the country at the moment. - Losena Vai

Joe Smith has raised some interesting questions on the above, supported by some equally interesting comparisons. I do not support his comparison of the TDS to that of Samoa's, Fiji's and the US' based only on the total population. One should therefore go beyond the total population and to look at other socio-political, security and economic factors that justify having an army. Perhaps GIGO would rightly apply to Smith's comparison. - Sione Fifita

Major Lieutenant Col. Fakalolo stated in an article at tonga-now.to that the TDS (Tonga Defense Service) would be growing to 1500 personnel. The tonga-broadcasting.com also had a recent article about the TDS receiving weapons and ammunition from the US Army. - Joe Smith

Many thanks for the opportunity to continue sharing comments with your readers. Just a short response to Lady Swan and Joe Smith. I believe Swan must have floated to the north antarctica when Tonga power was floated in the international financial market. Of course, not one of the thousands of Tongans you quoted were interested in the power then. - Taasi Holiday

Thank you Mr Holiday for selling Shoreline, you are doing a very good job. Perhaps the King and his business partner should hire you to be their PR man. I am beginning to warm to the idea that the company is a good investment. -Senolita Swan

nitially the selling of the ideas of privatizing power generation and power distribution were acceptable and that was from a view that the government must streamline its functions and put more focus on ...“Quality Assurance...”. The Ministry of Lands, Survey and Natural Resources is having the mandate to develop appropriate policies frameworks and legislative in-place for managing power electricity and renewable energy.

So, now we know that the King is the owner of Shoreline. Is he the sole owner or in part-ownership of the company? Did the Government pay the $2 million pa'anga bill for Shoreline because the King required it or does the Government still have an obligation to finance this company when it is in financial trouble? - Senolita Swan

There has been so much debate and heavy criticism of how Shoreline Power has been opreating as the monopoly supplier of power for the country. Mele Lulu Payne has stated that Tonga is in deep trouble when she refers to the Shoreline and the arrangements to bring the power generation and distribution back to the government. - Taasi Holiday

May I suggest that the Riot on 16/11 is a completely separate issue from "Shoreline". Let us not get confused please. The burning of Tonga on 16/11 was a criminal act. In the civilised world, the Law must be applied to all. I am satisfied that justice will be done in Tonga thanks to the help from the New Zealand Police. The Prime Minister has nothing to do with the arrests of the PR leaders. If the Police found evidence that these PR members committed offences in connection with 16/11 then they must be dealt with according to the Law of the Land. Amen.