House does not know what to do with NDC Report [1]
Tuesday, October 2, 2012 - 11:36. Updated on Monday, September 9, 2013 - 18:40.
From the House by Pesi Fonua
After spending a month arguing over the report of a parliamentary select committee on how the former government and the Nuku’alofa Development Corporation spent a $119 million loan from China on the reconstruction of Nuku'alofa, after it was destroyed in riots on 16 November 2006, Tonga's parliament now simply does not know what to do with the report.
Yesterday, October 1, the House spent most of the day debating over a number of proposals of what to do with the report, known as the NDC Report.
The Minister of Justice, Hon. Clive Edwards, told members that government had already spent millions on the report, and so far he believed that it had been a waste of time and money. He moved for the House to accept the report, and for the House to remove members' privileges of immunity from prosecution so that they could take legal action against people whom they believed had misused the fund, and also to allow members of the public to take members to court if they thought that the report had defamed them.
People's Representative and a member of the select committee, Sitiveni Halapua, reminded the House that their terms of reference was to produce a report, but what to do with the report was a matter for the House to decide. He expressed his concern if the House did not proceed and carry out further investigation, and possibly take legal action against people whom he accused of transferring millions to America claiming that it was for the extension of the Royal Palace. He said that it was imperative that they had to free the Royal Palace from being misused to acquire money illegally from the loan fund.
With regards to the cost of producing the report, Sitiveni told the house that the Australian firm that brought in to assist with the writing of the report in the initial stage was brought in by government and not by the committee. The Australian firm had invoiced the treasury for more than a million pa'anga, and an allocation for their payment is in the current government budget.
Sitiveni ascertain the House that the committee members has not been paid.
The Minister of Finance, Hon. Lisiate 'Akolo, told the House that he would like the public to know that the report was wrong, and he believed that the sooner they removed the parliamentary privileges of members of parliament the sooner there would be court cases about the report, and the sooner we would find the truth.
The Speaker, Lord Fakafanua, pointed out that to remove the immunity privileges of members of parliament and the House would require an amendment to the constitution, and that could take some time.
Clive however pointed out that the House did not have the right to take legal action against anyone based on the report.
But Sitiveni vociferously insisted on pursuing those whom he claimed had used the Royal Palace as a shelter in order to allegedly embezzle Chinese loan money overseas.
Sunia Fili, the former Minister of Finance, said that the House should hand over the report to the executive, the government, and then it was for the government to take legal against anyone for the misappropriation of the loan fund. He believed that the House had the right to tell government what to do, because "it was the House who created the government."
Sunia went on to say that the construction work that had been completed using the loan fund was no match to what Nuku'alofa used to be.
Before the House closed for the day, 'Isileli Pulu, moved a motion for the House to recruit an independent investigator to investigate the spending of money for the construction of the extension of the palace.
The House closed for the day, and they still had not make a decision on what to do with the report.