Re: Economic growth attempts by HM were successful to some extent
Dear Editor,
Reply to S.Maafu Tupou's economical blunders.
"If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." - Abraham Lincoln 16th President of USA and PSA President Finau Tutone.
The reflections of S. Ma'afu Tupou suggests two fundamental things that I gathered as an AVERAGE TONGAN from his letter. Firstly, he must have either gained some sort of hearing impairment during the past years for being misinformed, or he came out of a long term coma since Queen Salote's reign.
The average Tongans S.Ma'afu Tupou are referring to, cannot be found in Tonga today! They are more intelligent, hard working and with a lot of patience to HM and his household.
His insight on HM's endeavours like Tonga Commodities Board (TCB), Fua'amotu Airport, land in Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Hawaii etc. for agriculture purposes, the Royal Tongan Airlines(RTA), the Passport Project, Establishing diplomatic and trade links with China were attempts aimed at bringing in economical benefits for Tonga can be summed up in my short revised version:
TCB failed and had to sell all assets and is now a back packers paradise and office of TASA.
The secured lands for agricultural purposes is a question mark because we have cultivated land in Tonga, why overseas? Do local farmers have to purchase a return airline ticket to plant squash nowadays?
RTA are still in debt even after they have liquidated and government denied another local domestic rival, seems like Howard Hughes' aviations did not inspire HM.
The Passport Project that 'Akilisi Pohiva believed were like wepons of mass destruction in the late 80's, the Government denied any involvement. The people found out later that the Jester of Tonga did a prank on the King but really ran with the money. The joke was the jester put all Tonga's investment on people dying but they did not! High return BIG LOSS. I found that joke amusing.
The diplomatic tradelinks with China is evident on every corner store in Tonga and an influx of Chinese in Tonga, no longer China town but China Tonga.
If the Cabinet can decide to increase their lowly salary without a legitimate reason and without an independant auditor then the same would be to the former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. The injustice and increasing failures reflects on the ailing Tongan economy. We need more accountability, transparency and leadership from this Government that was once loved and respected. The popularity of the Government is vanishing fast, the stand off between the civil servants will not fade and be swept under the carpet.
In 2 months from now the memories of this strike maybe dismantled but a scar on every AVERAGE TONGAN will remain if unresolved. The likelihood of a more Democratic system looms over the minds of common Tongans today. The loyalty towards a once respected Government hangs in the balance. An increasing popularity towards Noble Representative Tu'ipelehake gathers momentum who has supported the strike rather than HM. A change to govern Tonga, where righteousness, justice and equality plays a major role without an independent auditor.
The future of Tonga looks dull, and without the people YOU do not have a Government.
malo aupito
For King and Country,
The destitute of Tonga's political and economical growth,
William Mariner
ionaxe [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] uk
