Tsunami rebuild left hanging in the air [1]
Friday, December 9, 2022 - 23:02. Updated on Friday, December 9, 2022 - 23:06.
From the House by Pesi Fonua
The working relationship between the Tongan Parliament and Government became stranded as members of parliament engaged in a debate over a Petition from the Tonga National Construction Inc., urging Parliament to increase the budget estimation provided by the government’s Project Management Unit for the Tsunami House Reconstruction Project.
The House thought they were running out of time as they were expecting to close their session on 8 December, but that was not to be.
The Petition was seeking an intervention by the Tongan Parliament to increase the reconstruction budget estimate that was provided by the PMU, under the Ministry of Infrastructure.
The Tonga National Construction Inc. is made up of 28 local contractors that have been contracted by government to construct 268 houses that were destroyed by the tsunami on 15 January 2022.
The government’s Tsunami House Reconstruction Project, manages the reconstruction of the houses.
However, according to the petition that was tabled by the Tongatapu no. 2 Noble’s Representative, Hon. Tu’ivakano, and the Tongatapu no. 5 People’s Representative, ‘Aisake Eke, it will cost $183,600 pa’anga to build a one-story house, and $152,000 pa’anga for a concrete block wall and timber house.
For that reason, the 28 local contractors were curious how the PMU derived the previous budget proposals.
It was argued that the budget provided by the surveyor was based on the current market price after further consultation with the local suppliers.
The petition stated costings that were overlooked such as the percentage of waste, preliminaries and contingency to ensure the work is completed to an acceptable building standard.
In response, the Hon. Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku and the Minister for Infrastructure, Hon. Sevenitini Toumo’ua, requested Parliament to refer the petition to Cabinet for reconsideration.
The Tongatapu No. 7 People’s Representative reminded the House that the Prime Minister and the Cabinet have the power.
However, the Prime Minister reminded the member that the Cabinet and Parliament have the power.
A Ha‘apai Representative urged for the House to move on, saying “let’s have a look this issue on 7 December when the House will have its final session for the year, before the House closes on 8 December”.
No closure
But in spite of that assumption, later on 6 December, a Legislative Assembly Press Release announced that: “The Legislative Assembly’s current session will not close on 8 December 2022. Instead, the House will continue to sit as required in order to deal with parliamentary businesses. The current session will therefore run into the year 2023.”