Editor,

Norah Mallaney's letter, "Major weaknesses in Tonga's procurement system" (3 Mar 10) is full of contradictions.

It is also a disingenuous attempt at moulding the evidence before the Ashika Commission to support the conclusion that her organisation, Global Integrity, has already formulated in relation to the Government's procurements system, well before the Commission itself presents its own conclusions and recommendations.

For example, she states very clearly at the beginning of her letter that research her Tongan partners had compiled in advance of their one-day workshop in Tonga on 13 August 2009, ". . . clearly point to major weaknesses in Tonga's procurement system that have nothing to do with individuals making poor decisions and everything to do with weak rules of the game."

But she goes on to contradict that very conclusion later on, when she states, "While the choices and actions of individual procurement officials undoubtedly played a role in the purchase of a boat unfit for the seas, this tragedy cannot be blamed solely on poor decision-making of a few individuals."

Quite clearly she is peeved that the Hon Prime Minister's affidavit and evidence before the Commission did not lend support to her organisation's preconceived conclusion that the Government's procurement system is a ". . . porous legal and regulatory framework . . .", so she has resorted to public ridicule.

Yours sincerely,

Lopeti Senituli

Press Secretary/Political Adviser to the Hon Prime Minister