4,000 Tongan protesters march to Royal Palace

I salute those that had the courage to join the march on the 26th and exercising their constitutional / democratic rights. It has been reported that the numbers were 4000, 8000 and 20,000. I'‚ll go with the 20,000 because it represents the number of people that actually marched and all the frying pans in the Kingdom. I say that because it may be that we are jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.

HRH has much earlier stated that if politicians want the power generation reverted to TEPB then it's fine but Shoreline has to be fairly compensated. Soane has confirmed this on the eve of the march and it is now official. Just like the 2 PR and noble cabinet ministers' move, we asked for it and now we are given so we must take it - a point of no return.

Shoreline has obviously made some investments based on their 10 + possibly 10 years agreement and they have to be fairly compensated only where such investments were for the betterment of their service delivery. This would obviously count the MV Fangaafa out as it was and is still not the most cost effective way of delivering fuel to the outer islands. Whether they should be compensated for the loss of profits from the remaining years of the agreement is a matter to be debated. But certainly they should not be compensated for assets which, by hook or crook, they took over from TEPB without paying for their true value and the revenue collected from such assets should be taken off their claims. This will include the power poles and lines and the revenue Shoreline got from TCC for hanging the phone lines on the power poles. Shoreline has offered to do the evaluation independently in an open and transparent manner and this has to be applauded. The findings from such an evaluation will be an eye opener as it will uncover some of the truths about the company and how it has been run.

I would tend to think of the following future options: (i). Power generation is returned to TEPB and becomes another privatization gone wrong lesson in addition to the wharf handling debacle, and (ii). Privatization of TEPB is redone by putting the cart behind rather than in front of the horse and inviting Tongans to have shares and own their power industry. Both options don't guarantee cheaper power in the foreseeable future if this was what the march was about and hence the label I gave to the march in my last letter.

Meanwhile, where are we going to get the millions to pay Shoreline? People, including the marchers are already complaining about the CT but where else can the government raise the money. Government can borrow but it has to be paid back. We asked for it and so we must be prepared for the Shoreline Handover Injustice Tax. It is an injustice because only a few marched but everyone will pay while there is no guarantee of a cheaper, more reliable, safer and more environmental friendly power industry.

The Peoples Prince has aired his view that HRHs should not be involved in monopolistic businesses and those that directly affect the daily lives of the people. If the royal family wants to do business then the game has to be on a level playing field such as the TCC vs. TONFON. If for nothing else, this is the major achievement of the march to get HRH out from Shoreline. I certainly look forward for the Peau Vava'u, Tongasat, Leiola and the .to domain to follow.

Having said the above Mr Editor, I give 8 out of 10 to the THRDM and 0 for the PDP in this first round.

'Ofa atu

Sailosi Finau, Auckland, NZ