By Katalina Siasau
Prime Minister Dr. ‘Aisake Eke announced changes to government services in his first media briefing, including extending ministries services to lunch time, reducing power tariff, and encouraging whistleblowers in civil servants, and more.
Dr Eke was accompanied by his new Cabinet ministers at briefing on 30 January, at St. George Government Building.
He said his government will "Ta pea ngali" - meaning their actions will align with their words. He said they will solve issues they had raised in Parliament. To help ease traffic for the Eastern districts, they will prioritize building a bridge. He said his government will seek help from development partners to buy fishing vessels in order to control the price of fish. Additional to that, he said they will look into the disputes between the Tonga Development Banks and the National Reserve Bank of Tonga.
Public services to open during lunch hour
PM Dr. Eke announced a new initiative to allow essential services in all government ministries to remain open during the official lunch hour, effective this week.
Some of the essential services to be included in this initiative are the Treasury Services, Ministry of Finance One Stop Shop and related services, Ministry of Revenue and Customs; Immigration Services, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to name a few.
Reducing power tariff
He announced that a government subsidy for residential customers consuming less than 150 kWh of electricity had increased to 30 seniti, effective from 1 January.
Education
Dr Eke said the previous government’s investment in education was not enough, therefore his government would invest more money in education.
Other issues were raised during the press conference including the stalled housing project for the tsunami-affected village of Kanokupolu. He said it is one of the priorities of the government to work better with construction companies.
When the topic of US non-Tongan born deportees was raised. PM Dr. Eke claimed that they already have established institutions to look after the deportees when they arrive.
He assured the public that his Cabinet will exercise their power responsibly and maintain transparency in their actions.
Moreover, the Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Dr Taniela Fusimalohi wanted to address the misuse of government vehicles, he asserted that “Police will arrest government vehicles” seen on the road after working hours.
Cabinet sub-committees
The Cabinet has established seven sub-committees to carry out designated technical tasks and provide reports for consideration and decision-making.
The subcommittees will focus on: Infrastructure and Construction; Lulutai Airlines Ltd; Tonga Power Ltd; the Banking Sector; petitions against the Government; the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources; and Public Service. He said that each sub-committee is tasked with the responsibility of gathering information, conducting thorough investigations, and presenting their findings to the Cabinet for review.
