Editor,

I have sensed since at least the past 30 years that virtually all public figures in Tonga, including politicians of any colour, failed dismally to assist or set forward a firm plan of how to achieve better standard of living for Tongans.

It was mainly the late King who had a vision to that effect, and using the machinery of government to achieve those starting from the Tonga Commodities Board in the late 1950s, whose remnant at present is the Tonga Investments Ltd, the Small Industries Centre etc. The last was the Passport Scheme, a fund raising excercise for the purpose of investing the proceeds.

Recently MatangiTonga had two articles about reviving Copra and Seasonal Scheme to both New Zealand and Australia. Putting together Copra, Seasonal Schemes, Tourism, Fisheries, Agriculture and others, they have helped up to now but still limited. Look at Singapore as an example.

One of the first act the late King did was to improve Education and today Tonga is well educated, graduates going overseas, but still fail to transform this into economic success, like what Singapore has done during the past 50 years. Singapore started out in the late 1950s and early 1960s by educating its people, setting up small industries etc. In 1974 it set up Temasak Holdings. Today Temasek is a $150 billion investment vehicle and still controlled by the Singaporean Government. Singapore Telecommunication, SingTel, and Singapore Airlines are under Temasek.

Temasek invests in Singapore and overseas. Basically, this is what the Passport Fund should have done. Again, the late King started that by setting up the Trust, and appointing 4 trustees, for that purpose. That was almost twenty years ago, Politicians, and public figures, of any persuasion failed badly to see the merit then and, can I suggest, still do. Very experienced fund managers overseas still lost money big time in the past and up to present. Look at the cause of the Global Financial Crisis a couple of years back, it was Wall Street's fault.

If the Passport money could be invested properly, one of the benefits will be that (part of) the profits and dividends received will fund productive industries creating employment. The very reason why we migrate to New Zealand etc. Further, infrastructures, including transport, could be improved immensely, re: Princess Ashika could be avoided. You purchased discarded ships because you are poor.

So the theme here is that whatever is left from the Passport money could be invested wisely and successfully to improve Tonga's economic lot. That is a much better, solid and very substantial way forward that the late King started, but politicians, who pretended to advance the public's interests more or less, failed big time to grasp that opportunity almost 20 years ago.

Finally, I give full credit to the late King, but any other person attempted to do the same, or similar, thing I will award that particular person the same. Democracy is a wonderful idea but you have to have the money.

Yours sincerely

S. Ma'afu Tupou

haukinima1 [at] optusnet [dot] com [dot] au