King Tupou VI urged Tonga's government to speed up its reconstruction work because he said many people are still living a hard life following the devastation inflicted by Cyclone Gita on Tongatapu and ‘Eua on February 12-13 this year.

The King was very direct in expressing his views on what the government and the parliament should address urgently when he opened the 2018 session of the Tonga Legislative Assembly this morning 31 May 2018.

He wished that government could speed up its reconstruction work, because colder weather is approaching and it will impact the lives of many people, “their living standards, their comfort and their peace of mind.”

King Tupou VI stressed that "we, the people" should also be convinced that our leaders and our members of parliament were creating new jobs for our youth, and also working to enable them to access opportunities to find jobs overseas. But the king pointed out that, unfortunately, this is not happening at the moment, because we can’t send our students to universities overseas so they can return and build up our country.

His Majesty also stressed the importance for the government and Parliament to operate according to the laws of Tonga. He reminded members of the riots that destroyed business houses and killed a few people in the Nuku’alofa Business District in 2006, was outcome of abuse of the law and our peaceful way of life.

The King reminded Members of Parliament that the biggest problem facing the country today is illegal drugs. He said that the damage that drug abuse inflicts on our children, the family and the country, could not be estimated or evaluated. He said that there are countries overseas that have enforced punishment by the Death Penalty on drug offenders.

Lack of vision

King Tupou VI expressed his concern that government has no long-term working vision. He emphasised the importanceof a long-term working plan, "because we are planning for the future of the country and not just for our term in office". He stressed it was important for the leadership, the plan and the vision to be in tune.

The King concluded his opening of parliament by thanking Tongans overseas for their significant contributions to development of the country. He also thanked overseas countries and institutions for their contributions for the development of the country.