Bank restricts foreign currency in/out amid confusion over new Tongan levy

'Oku ai taimi lahi ko e me'a hala 'e kamata hala pe ia. Ko e totongi 'eni 'emau omai 'o nofo paea holo 'i muli ni 'o ngaue 'o tokoni'i atu pule'anga Tonga ko hono toe hilifaki hifo 'a e tanaki pa'anga ia ko'eni 'a e pule'anga homau tope. Neongo 'oku tau loto tatau kotoape ke lava 'a e South Pacific Games 'i Tonga, ka ko e fa'u 'o e lao ia ko'eni ko e fakahangatonu mai pe kiamautolu 'oku omi 'o he takai holo 'i muli ni ke ma'u ha seniti ke tokoni atu ki homau ngaahi famili. Hangee mautolu ia ha fanga fa'etangata 'a e kautama ko'eni na'anau fa'u e lao ni, ke nau tafoki hake pe 'o 'ai'ainoa'ia'i pehe'i kimautoli, 'Oku mahu'inga ange 'etau fe'ofa'ofani 'i he lao ma'ulalo koe'nii, pea mo e South Paciifc Games.........SAIA

what a shocking thing to apply, and to be honest the Games will cost Tonga a fortune and really who cares. However if the money goes to making a permanent difference to Tongan infrastructure such as public toilets and clean beaches etc then hey perhaps its a good thing, but most people seem to think the money will be misappropriated ....and the games will be poorly managed...and the old excuse of no money be blamed, when over the next 3 years the levy will bring in millions.

As a new investor to Tonga, it is now obvious why I cannot get any business done. Realising Tongan time is fine, because I have plenty of time of my own, but actually being restricted in payment for services, i.e. government services, because a systems message comes up saying "payment declined " is unacceptable.

I have had the most generous help from those in the public service, but if they are unable to help me, because the banking system is broken, due to a lack of connection between legislators and those that deal with international transfers, than how is a system of monetary finance supposed to operate ?

No country in the world can physically operate without an international transfer system. What happens to all those Visa payments from tourists who have paid their bills to the vendor, yet the vendor cannot pay his bills both to his staff and suppliers ? The monetary system has been choked.

I would suggest that at the next convening of parliament, which is still in soft mode, that something be done immediately to allow the international transfer of money, either a repeal of legislation, or more importantly a grace period in order that the legislation is actually workable with the finance industry.

In the meantime, I can't pay my bills, not because I don't wont to, but because I am prevented from doing so. I'm quite sure it is the same with my Tongan friends, and it is a situation which cannot continue.

With kind regards,

Geoff Wood

Another excuse for both banks not to send Telegraphic Transfers out of the country - It recently took BSP 7 days to action a TT to NZ, as the Bank Officer was too busy! These transfers should take a day! Banks take huge fees for these transfers... where is the value for money??

I'm worried about the effect of the levy and the confusion over it - will have on our exchange rate. I don't think pulling millions out of the foreign exchange is not going have an effect..

If our exchange rate falls a little against our main trading partners, true our exports get more competitive but imports more expensive. If it falls a lot that would cause a big problem as everything gets more expensive (esp. gas). Remember we import much more than we export - thank goodness for families sending money in else we could not afford that trade deficit. Exporters also import a lot of things they use for their production. I think we need to hurry and be clear on the levy and how to apply it, or maybe rethink and back away from it, from this important part of the economy.

How does something like this happen? Impose tax on currency exchanges to raise money for the 2019 Pacific Games? And brilliant to charge 1 seniti on the spread? You have got to be kidding right? I like the bank's reaction, let's play dumb ... let's stop everything until we figure out how to do this. What the bank manager's should do is this, whenever an old mother or a widow for that matter, come to pick up money wires from their families oveseas, give them their money, then take back 1 seniti, put it in a jar and say, the Minister of Finance says you have to pay 1 seniti towards the Pacific Games in 2019.

Since the Act does not define the levy rates clearly, but simply say 1 seniti on the spread, and the spread is loosely defined as the bank's margin, I would do it just like that. Everybody put in 1 seniti per transaction.

On a more serious note, it's amazing that our government enacts a piece of legislation that has far reaching monetary implications and I go back to see that this act passed without a single voice of dissent, I think I saw it passed 15-1 or something like that. First reading, no objection, second reading, vote passed. And you have just passed a law to choke the life out of what's left of your economic life. 1 seniti or whatever, you are supposed to feed the chicken that lays the golden egg, not choke it. Koia pee malo.