From the House by Pesi Fonua

The Tongan Parliament got off to a slow start yesterday, 10 August after its four weeks break since 14 July.

At first it did not have a quorum, so it went into recess for 10 minutes, until it had quorum.

In fact, the House was scheduled to resume on 2 August. However, it did not get rolling until yesterday morning.

Ship on reef

It was a bad start to the day when Hon. Poasi Tei, the Minister for MEIDECCI reported that the 28-ton Taka ‘I Pomana barge of the Tofa Ramsay Shipping Co. Ltd had run aground on a reef in Ha’apai as it was heading north the night before. However, it had manage to disengage from the reef and was resuming its way.

Then while the House was still in Legislature, the Tongatapu No. 9 People’s Representative Penisimani Fifita questioned the source of the $90,000 funding that the Prime Minister, Hon. Dr Rev Pohita Tu’i’onetoa had donated to the Taufa’ahau and Pilolevu College, Ha’apai. Was it from the Cabinet Ministers’ own pockets or was it government money?

The Minister of Finance, Hon. Tevita Lavemaau, elaborated that the $90,000 was part of a fund in the Annual Budget that government could spend whenever they thought appropriate.

The Tongatapu No. 1 People’s Representative, Siaosi Pohiva, queried if government had the right to hand out public money as they pleased.

Hon. Lavemaau reminded the member that under the Appropriation Act, there was money that government had the right to spend.

Working agenda of the House

The Speaker called on the Minister of Education, Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni to brief a Bill for the establishment of the National University of Tonga.

Hon Siaosi Sovaleni, elaborated that the Bill would energise the drive to establish the National University, meanwhile, the academic and technical training of nurses and the police was ongoing –  “all within the National University.”

He said that the head of this new university is His Majesty the King, and there will be a Chancellor and a Vice Chancellor.

The clerk gave the first reading of the Bill for the Tonga National University 2021. It was carried with votes of 22-0.

The Speaker called for the Bill to be lowered to the Standing Committee on Social Services.

The three other Bills that were tabled into the House yesterday were:

1. A Bill to protect the Ozone Layer
2. A Bill for the establishment of a Board to oversee the registration of Doctors, Dentists and Health Workers
3. A Bill for a board to approve the appointment of Nurses and Midwives 2021

The Bill to protect the Ozone Layer 2021 was tabled by Hon. Poasi Tei, the Minister for the Ministry for MEIDECC (Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications).

The Bill is to ban the use of HCFC, a gas for air conditioning and refrigeration, by 2024, because its by-product damages the Ozone Layer.

The Bill was passed after its first, second and third readings with votes of 22-0.

Registration of Doctors

The Bill for the establishment of a Board to oversee the registration of doctors, dentists and health workers, and the Bill for a Board to have the authority to approve the appointment of Nurses and Midwives 2021, in their first and second readings, were both carried with votes of 22-0 each.

The Speaker called for the Bills to be lowered to the Standing Committee on Social Services.

Not enough details and no questions asked

After the House had focused its morning session deliberation on the four bills that were tabled in Parliament, the Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Lord Tu’ilakepa expressed his concern over how the House was dealing with Bills that had been tabled into the House, [because debate is carried out in the standing committees and the people don't hear the debate in the House as they used to in the past].

He reckoned that there should have been more details relating to the National University Bill, and with the Ozone Layer 2021 Bill he wondered why the “opposition” were not asking any questions.

He questioned how bills were being dealt with, after they were lowered to committees, “Once it goes into Committees, there is no debate [in the House]. What are they doing about it? A waste of money?” he said.

The Ha’apai No. 12 People’s Representative, a Chairman of one of the Standing Committee of the House, reminded Lord Tu’ilakepa that they needed two weeks to read and understand a Bill.

The Speaker reminded members that Government had tabled the Bills to the House only the day before the House resumed its proceeding.

Three years of annual reports

In Legislature the Speaker called for votes on the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Annual Reports of the Ministry of Health it was carried with votes 18-0.

When the Prime Minister Hon. Dr Rev Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa queried why the annual reports were so late, there was no response.

Mokohunu exports

With regards to the 2020-2021 Annual Report of Fisheries, the one fundamental problem that the Ministry had not been able to solve was how find out is the amount of money that Tonga receives from the export of the Mokohunu.

The processing of the Mokohunu for export is carried out by Chinese. Tongans earn their money from the Mokohunu after they sell them to the Chinese, who ae processing them and exporting them. What the Chinese get from the Mokohuhu that they export, no one knows, so Tonga’s actual foreign earning from Mokohunu export, remained unknown.

The 2020-2021 Annual Report of the Ministry of Fisheries was carried with 17-0 votes.

The Speaker, Lord Fakafanua declared the House closed, and to resume at 10:00am Thursday, 12 August.