Talanoa, talking from the heart

Sharing some blessings - Siosaia Moimoianga, USA: I would like to thank Dr Halapua for his outstanding performance in showing his love for his country and humility in sharing his brillant and outstanding knowledge.
Thoughts come from the Heart: I thought one voice could never make a difference. But I have been amazed at what can happen when we unite our voices with those of others who share our values. Sometimes the misperceptions of others further handicap the disabled. Let us rejoice in the blessings of peace, hope, and direction, blessings that so many of other country's children do not enjoy. I am confident that we will literally be called upon to make an accounting before God concerning how we have used [our resources] to bless lives and build our kingdom. The depth and the willingness with which we serve is a direct reflection of our gratitude. Caring is all-important: the intensity, the duration, the amount, the quality, the extent. Adversity is all about us and among us. It is an inevitable element of mortality, and all of us have some share in it ultimately. If we place a little more patience in the process and a greater amount of faith in the Lord, our challenges will find their way toward successful conclusions. Every council . . . should be working together on ways to be more effective in preparing our Government . . . to enjoy all the blessings of the Country.
...To live with celebration we must begin with an absolute and personal conviction that we have the ability to change our lives in small, meaningful ways. We must feel that we can learn better patterns of thinking, feeling, and doing that will allow us---wherever we are individually at this moment---to feel better, accomplish more, and rise higher.
... Ko e 'Otua mo Tonga ko hoku Tofi'a.
'Ofa atu Siosaia Moimoianga

Talanoa concept of Stephen Halapua - Sione Ika, USA: This man sounds so great. I see a lot of Dr. Stephen Covey in his talanoa concept. Really a nice interview. Keep up the good work.
thanks, Sione Ika

Talanoa - Talking from the heart - Amelia Kinahoi Siamomua: Congratulations to Dr Halapua for bringing the ...“Talanoa...” to the Kingdom! As Tongans working overseas, we welcome the initiative of the newly formed Committee (NCPR) to reach out to our fellow men and women overseas on this important aspect of the work towards reforming and building Tonga. This is not an easy task but it is required in the long run. Its development will have to be given more serious attention than before because it is a condition for democratic governance and a transformative agenda of equality, sustainable development, peace, and accountable and efficient government for everyone. We look forward to getting information, the terms of reference, and the working program of the committee and stand ready to support in any small way we could. Every small step counts! May the festive season of Christmas bring renewed energy for what is ahead of 2006!
'Ofa atu, Amelia Kinahoi Siamomua, Senior Program Advisor (Women's Empowerment & Gender Equity), Integrated Program Framework Team, CARE USA.

Shaping the development of Tonga - Henry Alexander Tonga: Please allow me to congratulate your Website for releasing in Public the background of the Political Reform that the NCPR endeavors to implement in Tonga. Despite the smallness of Tonga, Tonga was leading the Pacific starting from early Christian Missionaries to Fiji, Samoa, the Solomon Islands etc. and the majority of your population is literate with the highest rate of education and degree holders amongst the Pacific Island Countries. In this regard, I wish to thank Dr. Halapua for his professionalism at least with publicizing the methodologies, objectives and the clear background of processing through the Political Reform while taking into consideration that the "People" are the center of development and of course "peace and unity" and assuring "social maintenance and economic growth" are the key features of the process and this will involve heavy consultations, collections of appropriate data and information for collating and analysis and the final recommendations for the model structure must be "enhancement " in terms of socio-economic development of Tonga instead of "self-destruction". Well done! Dr. Halapua and your comrades and I wish you the best and no doubt at all that this important exercise will shape the development of Tonga - let's just hope!!

Following the down spiral of the economic development in your country, its smallness and limited natural resources, I do not think that you have much time for mark around! I can understand the threat from the National Political Reform Committee (NPRC) saying that the National Committee for Political Reform (NCPR), the legal body that the Parliament appointed may be influenced by the government and this would be the reason for establishing NPRC lead by Mr. Pohiva and Key Stakeholders in Tonga. They are working side by side on parallel and it seems that they both work with similar objectives and hopefully they will meet somewhere in the future.

I had no objection at all for the establishment of the NPRC but I challenge the members of this committee to come forward with their Terms of Reference and explain very clearly to the public the impacts of their amendments to the Constitutions in terms of the socio-economic development in Tonga, their objectives, methods, inputs and the impacts of this Political Reform on the entire development of Tonga. I picked up that Mr. Pohiva's NPRC focuses on Constitutional Change and this is what they believe and is evident from the amendments to the Constitutions that the NPRC already submitted to the King. This may be over ambitious and I urge your committee to always consult the public and seek evidence that your amendments to the Constitutions will produce more prosperity and opportunities for the people of Tonga. This does not mean I misjudge your efforts at present but this is the name of the game, your "model" or "prototype" must be tested and proven passing and appropriate to be implemented instead of blindly going ahead and regreting at last, worsening the situation in comparison to what had happened to Tonga at the past.

If we talk about the right time of political changes in Tonga, I do not think that the process will be that easy and that is why I believe that you have a lot of home work to fulfill. You should consider your i). potential resources, ii). susceptibility of your small and isolated economy to internal and external crisis, iii). strengths of women, youth groups, community and village works, iv). strengths of working under extended family, "Haafa" and "Kainga", v). strengths and big power and roles of religions and churches, vi) traditional cultures and values, vii). importance of Christianity and its impacts on peace and socio-economic development, viii). land issue, etc. These elements must be considered heavily and I would like the process to consider seriously the unfavorable level of public services at present and figure out the most appropriate remedies to the current "Economic and Public Sector Development Programme" to ensure its effectiveness of improving leadership, management and the outputs and productive performances of the government ministries, departments and public enterprises.

Now, you can see the scope of this political reform exercise is not a joke!!!, it is the biggest, expensive and most sensitive job in Tonga at present and you cannot deny the fact that more experts (sociologists, economists, solicitors, Political Scientists, etc.) like Dr. Halapua from abroad with vast experiences on such exercise would be required.

I hope that the two committees will come forward and update the public on regular basis the reality and progress of the processes and all the best! Remember that "if God is not included in guarding and building, planning and development" your poor country will be losing forever. Do your home work with good heart, love, and always love others as yourself. - Henry Alexander Tonga, Mangere, New Zealand.