Are we now disregarding the parliamentary process? [1]
Monday, December 12, 2005 - 20:21. Updated on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 - 13:03.
Koe ha koaa kuo tau hoholo pehe ai?
Dear Editor
First, my sincere apologies for my prolonged absence from this forum. I spent time in Tonga to harvest my squash plantation. For our deteriorating economy cannot be revived by just writing letters to the editor, but by boosting exports. Then I planted watermelon on the same plot, and Fa'one Hefa's farm tour composition for Tonga College is true: "Ngaahi fu'u fo'i meleni. 'Ikai ke fa'ahi!!" 'Oku lea'aki foki e Kolotau 'o Hule e!!
1. Constitutional submissions
It has been reported that Niu's camp has submitted their version to the king and has now pulled out of Pangai Si'i. Freedom fighters do not easily give up like this. I can therefore understand the disappointments of the free kava drinkers but perhaps the costs of the daily kava is becoming too much of a burden and with the dry weather of Dec, the dusts must have made its mark on Niu's camp. The national reform committee for freedom has now submitted the combined version of the constitutional changes. So since it is a combined version, can govt and the palace office put away Laki's submission now? Both submissions can be categorized under the "urgency agenda" with clear deadlines for a reply and with implied repercussions if the replies are not satisfactory. What is a satisfactory reply anyway?
It has now become the norm that every letter of every protest group must be addressed to the king. I would tend to think that changes to the constitution is a matter for Parliament to deal with. Are we now disregarding the parliamentary process? An analysis of the parliamentary minutes for the last 20 years shows that there has not been any comprehensive submission like the two submissions that we see today. Are we now saying that our past and present parliamentarians who are spearheading these most recent submissions have just woken up or what? Or are they now waking up as there are prospects of a political comeback?
A peaceful political reform must be through the parliamentary process and the support of the royal family is an added bonus. It is in this respect that I am supportive of the Tu'ipelehake-led parliamentary committee and the recent move by Funaki and Tangipa to accept their place in this committee. Firstly, the committee has been endorsed by parliament and secondly, Tu'ipelehake himself has blue blood and this committee is reported to have been blessed by the crown prince and king. I would not however support his labelling of Eke and Tone as 'umosi ministers. That is like swearing to the king who gave them the full authority of a cabinet minister. Such labels and the mood in which it was done are no different to an earlier likening of Tongans to Singaporeans raining on the elevators, and it would not be to anyone's advantage.
2. The March for Jesus
The reformists have been quick to discredit the success of this march. Nothing new of course. Reformists must discredit everything relating to the king and some are even expecting the 87 years, 170+ kg king to walk with the marchers. There is even mention that people could have sold their yams. Even if these Ha'apai people did not present it to the king, they will present it to someone else for free. It will either go to the noble, the faifekau, to the village elders, to one's aunt, etc, etc. No one will die for giving away one 4 feet yam pea koe ifo e ngaue ke lave ai pea langilangi'ia ai ha taha kehe. I will however call on Hu'akau to give some more teachings like in his Even Democrazier posting as some people are in constant need of his wisdom. Speaking of selling the yam for cash, it has been reported that a ADB report stated that many in Tonga are living on US$2 per day. In the United Nations family, they are working on the Millennium Development Goals which include global programmes aimed at reducing the 2 billion people in the world who are living on US$1 or less per day. Even if the Ha'apai people each gave away ten yams for free, they will still not qualify for these UN poverty reduction programmes.
Obviously, it was not a political march as similar marches for the same purpose and at about the same time have been done in the past. The king and the royal family have joined the earlier marches, accompanied by a brass band, and they are consistent with that. On the other hand, some people have joined the earlier marches but missed out on this year's and joined the Pangai Si'i rally. Most did not bother and stayed at home. I suppose it is all to do with prioritization but it also demonstrates that even with the most educated and religious in the country, they appear to be inconsistent and confused over what is more important to them: church and Jesus or political reform. It appears like a lot of people still don't want to compromise their stance on one against the other.
But this march has demonstrated that the affection and royalty to the king and his family are still there and should not be underestimated or discounted.
3. Where are we with the 60-70-80 pay rise?
While I was in Tonga, I had the opportunity to speak to some civil servants to see whether their savings has increased with the increased pay. Most denied any increase as their spending has increased too. This partially supports my theory that the problem we have in Tonga is also to do with "topono". Topono fakapa'anga, topono fakapolitikale, topono fakamafai, etc, etc or in other words; hungry pa'anga, hungry mafai, hungry ke fakatokanga'i pea 'iloa mo tohi koaa he hisitolia, etc, etc. On this chord, I am on the same side with Hu'akau that "Maybe the urgency that is needed in Tonga is for the faifekau... to do some serious work." For instance, in a recent conference on Prosperity for the Pacific Is People in Auckland, Tavake Tupou spoke of his belief that faifekaus... welfare should not be better off than the very fold he is looking after. This may be a good starting point for those who are starting from the "hiku" and are living comfortably and with hefty bank accounts but at the expense of their congregations.
Banks in Tonga are reported not to give out loans now and experts... reports and the Minster of Finance have admitted that the economy is in a very bad shape but the worst is yet to come. A senior civil servant I spoke to said: "The banks are not giving out loans because the ministers are filling their pockets before the coming political change." I said: "Brother, loans are restricted as a central bank measure to control imports and domestic spending because if government expenditures increase and there are no investments and the trade imbalance continue to widen then you and I and everyone else in Tonga are in a mess economically." But one can imagine that if a senior civil servant with a Uni degree does not grasp this macro-economic basic then can we assume that the 80-85% of the population who are worse off than him academically and in experience with the government machinery will know better? Education, Public Awareness, Education!! I do hope some intensive consultation meetings and educational programmes will be conducted based on the suggested constitutional amendments.
I have done my best with my squash and the watermelons will soon be at Talamahu but these are not enough to pay for my own cousin's pay increases. I have told them to stay in Tonga and not to migrate while people suffer because of something they were a party to. No Hola e fai kae tuku e foto! Good luck however to leaders of the strike like Bloomfield, Sovaleni and Puloka ... who have taken up contracts overseas. Hange koe lau mou o a kimoutolu 'o sai kae langa'ulu e kainga 'i he ola ho'omou strike!
I do however count on Dr Viliami Fakava's leadership of the PSA as he does not appear to have political agendas. I cannot help but laugh when I saw that almost all the strike leaders ran as candidates for the Retirement Fund Board. I can now bet my last dollar on the fact that some of the strike leaders who are continuing to mobilize and lead civil servants to the political rallies are already calculating that with a possible new parliament with 39 seats, their prospects are very high if Hahake, Hihifo, Vaheloto etc will have 5 candidates each.
By the way, our very own reformists were in support of the strike and the salary increase. Can they now say something about the current impacts of the pay rise? Or it does not matter now, as long as the entire blame is laid on the government.
I suppose it would not be too early for govt to begin negotiations with the PSA now.
Meleni Fakatau Lelei mei he Kolotau 'o Hule!
'Ofa atu
Sailosi Finau, Auckland, NZ
sailosifinau [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] au