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The plight of Ha'apai MOW employees

USA

Editor,

After reading about the plight of the MOW employees in Ha'apai, I confirmed something I have suspected for a very long time. My psychiatrist is right. I am an idiot and I do have multiple personalities. I can be angry, empathize and laugh within a minute'’s time. I am pretty sure I am serious about this statement. I think I am as serious and as qualified as the Acting Director of Finance of the Ministry when he made the idiotic statement,"the problem in Ha'apai is due to the absence of funds. Not only that, there's not much work for them to do".”

As I read the headline, I was furious at such incompetent leadership. Ignorance is never an excuse regardless of the level of leadership. If I was tracking Haapai...’s budget and her revenues and expenditures, the Acting Director would have been notified of Ha'apai's budget surplus for March and April. When funds are not spent by the end of each period, it causes a surplus or unspent committed funds. Therefore, without conducting a reconciliation to determine the accuracy of the records, employees don...’t get paid. The again, why should they be paid? According to the Acting Director, there is very little for them to do. There should be no surprise there, for the kingdom is famous for loosing track of their money anyway. Remember the passport scheme?

As I read through the middle of the article, I felt empathized and cried for the family. However, by the time I was done with the article, I was laughing my head off. I went through three emotions before the end of three short paragraphs. Is that normal? Thank God for "shrinks"!

I continued to peruse through the news looking for a very upset PSA officials demanding justice for the Ha...’apai workers. Nothing! I wonder if they will ever call a recess from their political convention to help a few of their own. Wasn'’t the PSA formed to fight for the civil service workers...’ right? Wait! The MOW employees are not really civil service workers, are they? They are only laborers. I doubt there is a single employee with a PhDs, MD, MA, etc. among them. They are jack of all trades but master of nothing. Should they be PSA members? What do you think? I wonder if that is what in the PSA'’s mind.

I was not laughing at the employees and their families but at the PSA leadership. They are so smart they are driving themselves in to obsolescence before their term expired. Of all the noises and the faux pas coming from their corner, I hope they have not forgotten their original mission statement. There is an old saying in this country, "Don't bite off more than you can chew".”
I may be the village idiot but I know I do not need a shrink to tell me, working without pay for two months is for the birds. This exposed the business culture within the government I hope to be part of the government reform. The Ministry leadership is not proactive to prevent slavery and the so-called union (PSA) is too busy wishing to select the kingdom's Ministers.

The employees at the MOW should be warned. They should feel fortunate none of these happened during the new PM's era. When the PM returns from China, I am sure he will do something about it. He is my kind of "people's man" I only hope he returns before Christmas. Ha'apai folks are tough as chicken lips but they can only eat talo and la...’ipele for so long. Come on Fred! Crack the whip!

TamaFoa