A six-member Tonga Pacific Games Organizing Committee, including a Chief Executive Officer, is expected to be confirmed by the end of this month, said Lopeti Senituli the CEO of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on June 6.

When the Pacific Games Council awarded Tonga the right to host the 2019 Pacific Games in October last year, Tonga was obligated to establish an Organizing Committee. 

Government then submitted a Pacific Games Organization Bill 2013 to establish the organizational structure of the Tonga Pacific Games Organizing Committee as a statutory corporation with separate legal entity, as required by the Pacific Games Council.

A special session of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga sat for three-days in March this year to deliberate on five Bills, including the Games Bill, which is now an Act, after it was passed by parliament, assented to by HM King Tupou VI and gazetted in April.

This is the first time Tonga will host the Pacific Games.

Organization

Lopeti said the members of the Organizing Committee had yet to be confirmed, but they will consist of a CEO, the Secretary General of the Tonga Amateur Sports Association (TASA), the Solicitor General, one representative from the business community, one representative from the Pacific Games Council, and one person of national stature as sportsperson.

"We hope to confirm this by the end of June 2013 and we will be advertising the position of CEO of the Games Organizing Committee before the end of June."

He said five out of eight members of an Audit and Governance Authority established under the Act were also expected to be confirmed by the end of this month. The members will include four from Government, three from TASA and one representative from the Pacific Games Council.

The three reps from TASA had been confirmed and included the President Lady Tu'ivakano, Treasurer Hasiloni Fungavai and the Secretary General Takitoa Taumoepeau.

Lopeti said their role will be to appoint members of the Organizing Committee, to oversee good governance, accountability and transparency of the committee while ensuring that the committee plans and works properly to prepare and conduct the games. Both committees have to be submitted to the Pacific Games Council for endorsement, he said.

"I have also included in the Ministry of Internal Affairs Budget Proposal for 2013-14 a request for $500,000 for the Pacific Games Organizing Committee," he said.

Venues

In the meantime, Cabinet has established a Games Facilities Committee made up of the Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Samiu Vaipulu, Lord Ma'afu the Minister for Lands, Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, and Lord Vaea the Minister for Internal Affairs.

They met recently and were working to confirm what new venues need to be built and which existing venues need to be upgraded and how much it will cost. This work will require a few months to fulfill, said Lopeti.

Tonga made its bid with a projected expenditure of US$70 million in which the Tongan Government is expected to cover the game's operating costs of US$20 million, while it anticipated that the capital costs of US$50 million, would be collected from aid donors and franchises through partnerships and sponsorship.