Editor
Tonga is on the edge of revitalizing her economy and I cannot agree more that this is now the call for everybody abroad to stand up and help our love Nation. I wish to pay my great tribute to Mrs. Swan for sparking this great idea again of calling upon the Tongans in UK to meet with the Minister of Finance and the HE Dr. Ngongo Kioa the Tonga High Commissioner in London to discuss further the "Operation Tonga Reconstruction". All the best and I hope that you will consensus on practical ways to encourage investment in Tonga and these ways can be also communicated to the friendly Tongans in US, Japan, NZ, Australia and so forth. Tonga needs money for her reconstruction and Tonga must enforce investment and business negotiations and setting up proper programs to succeed these good ideas. I learn from the net that Tuvalu allows US to fish on their sea territory for multi-million dollars per year. This is a call for the PM and the Minister of Fishery to negotiate with other Giant countries to explore this opportunity. I also learn from the net that Vava'u is now developing as Tourism Centre for Tonga. This is the way forward and I believe, in the near future Tonga will be the same with the Western Province of Fiji. The Western Area focuses on tourism and sugar businesses to enhance the economic growth of Fiji while Suva, the Capital and the Eastern Area focus on political reform, coupe and political crisis. The message from Fiji is very clear and perhaps the best way to do in Tonga is to change its political approach. Well done Vava'u lahi !!!!
I also wish to thanks Mele Payne Lynch for pointing out a few valid arguments in recognizing that Tonga must do away from offending each and one another other. The country must pull together its resources and work together for the overall benefit of Tonga. Leadership is the key for success and I agree that Tonga must put extra efforts on leadership training to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of serving the customers and the public. I understand that your Public and Economic Reform Program had initiated the biggest public strike in history and in order to rectify such problems, Tonga must revisit your program formulation to avoid any mistake like this in the future. I believe that you also need to change your political approach to address the unnecessary black 16/11. This follows with my strong admonish for the media to please do away from advocating and inspiring political interest leading offensive and destruction as we had witnessed in 16/11. The media must publicize more constructive ideas and balance out the news. How about if you invite expatriates from CNN, BBC and other well known newspaper and television to train and help out the Editors and Generalists in Tonga is my only suggestion on this matter?
Speaking about the Tonga Sat and other Royal businesses is another issue to discuss. But let me give you this simple calculation to enlighten our discussions. If you buy an open piece of land here in NZ with no house, depend on the area, you should pay the government say an average of 100,000 NZ dollars. Let apply the same value to your land in Tonga with an average of 50,000 pa'anga per acre of open land. The whole of 699 square kilometer of your land area would come to a total of 172727 acres and if you value your land area base on TOP 50,000 would come to a total value of 863 million pa'anga, almost 1 billion pa'anga ... 1.7 billion pa'anga if the land rate is TOP 100,000 per acre. This is not count the value of the EEZ sea area and marine resources ... can you pay off the reign of the royal families and aristocrats? The above data is opened for discussion, the compensation figures can be much higher depends on the land rates and value of the marine resources etc., it is opened for the term "Royal bursar" to see if it is affordable. I think the government is handful of judging the looters and riots of 16/11. The recovery of your economy and the standing up of the Tongans abroad is the most important matter at this point of time. If the Politicians could not sue the Shoreline and Tonga Sat to court, I have had enough of the media with these issues; it is time to put more efforts on the economic recovery of the Nation. As Mrs. Swan mentioned on her last article, "doing nothing is not an option".
'Ofa atu
David Tapiaka
dtapiaka [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] nz
