From the House, by Pesi Fonua

Tonga Legislative Assembly, Minute No. 9, Wednesday June 15, 2005.

- 'Akilisi Pohiva said that there was no Law and Order in Tonga, particularly at the top level of the society. He introduced proof of how Shoreline misused its development licence and government turned a blind eye.

- Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Cecil Cocker, said he regretted that he gave 'Akilisi a scholarship for a university education.

- Tongasat so far has paid government $16 million.

The House began its morning session with the Minister of Forestry, Hon. Sione Peauafi Haukinima, thanking the Chairman of the Board of TCC (the Prime Minister), for work that had been going on in Niuafo'ou, expanding the telephone service on the island to three villages.

A Vava'u People's Representative, Samiu Vaipulu, appealed for government to exempt the domestic travelling by ship from the Consumption Tax. He said that the CT hampered internal trade and discouraged people from Vava'u from ferrying their produce to the Nukuk'alofa market.

A Tongatapu People's Representative, Clive Edwards, wanted to know if it was true that the Shipping Corporation of Polynesia was insolvent and should no longer be operating the ferry 'Olovaha. It had debts of over $4 million.

The Legislature dissolved into the Whole House Committee and debate continued on the Budget Statement.

Letters on Shoreline tax exemptions

The No. 1 Tongatapu People's Representative, 'Akilisi Pohiva, asked for some material to be distributed to members before he made a speech, but the Chairman must decide on whether the material should be distributed. There was some discussion over the material, consisting of letters dated a few years back between the Deputy Prime Minister and the CEO of Shoreline. In the end it was agreed that the material should not be distributed to the House but the member could raise the issue in his speech.

'Akilisi said that the documents he wanted to distribute contained evidence, of an issue he raised recently, that government had given Shoreline tax exemptions worth over $25 million. The two specific issues he wanted to raise were firstly, the importation of a barge for a different company, using the Shoreline Development Licence. The same approach was used to import construction materials by a hardware supplier, using the Shoreline licence and then later selling the material in his retail outlet. He said that it was obvious that the enforcement of law did not take place at this level, and the Law and Order that the Prime Minister was talking about the day before was not applied. These were government revenues and the question was who got the government's money?

He said that the Minister of Finance had done nothing, and the government did not want to do anything about it. He said that it was dangerous to know that they can't enforce the law. He said he raised the issue in order for members, particularly the nobles, to think about where the country was heading.

Tongasat

On a different issue, 'Akilisi reminded the House that when a PR asked last year about the total amount of money that Tongasat had given to the Tongan government, the reply was that there was no report. But the latest information he received was that instead of paying government for their dues, Tongasat had paid for the setting up of the Tongan Embassy in New York.

The Prime Minister, HRH Prince 'Ulukalala Lavaka Ata called on the member to wait for a report on communications to be presented to the House, which would give him a clear picture of what had happened.

'Akilisi said that he had also Privy Council paper, which stated that Tongasat had lost some of its orbital slots and that they were under Chinese control.

The Prime Minister again asked the member to hold back and wait for the Communication Department's paper, because what he was talking about was only half of the truth.

Clive asked the Deputy PM for a report that was given to the Privy Council to be presented to the House. The report detailed the process of what happen if an orbital slot was leased and then Tongasat could not move a satellite to occupy the slot, the lease would expire, but they could re-apply for the lease. He asked for the Deputy PM to distribute the paper to members of the House for their information.

Embassy in Beijing

'Akilisi went on to the proposal for Shoreline to pay for the setting up of the Embassy in Beijing, and then later government had to pay. He wondered what the Minister of Finance had done about that.

The Minister of Finance said that it was an after-thought that it would be better for government to pay for the embassy to be in line with the Public Finance Management Act.

'Akilisi said that the Cabinet was no longer reliable, could not be trusted, because all of them, including the Prime Minister, were scared of the Crown Prince.

The Deputy Prime Minister called on the chairman to stop the member from talking about nothing and to debate on the budget.

The two members got into a game of ping pong, 'Akilisi telling the Deputy PM, that he had no right to stop him and that he was elected by the people to speak in the House; and the Deputy PM saying that 'Akilisi had betrayed the Tongan government and the people would not re-elect him.

'Akilisi told the Deputy PM, "the people have petitioned for you to be dismissed for being inefficient".

The Deputy PM expressed his regret that he gave the member his scholarship for a university education, and even for his friends, helping him to complete his studies.

'Akilisi said he would get to the Ministry of Education. He read a letter from Ph.D. holder to the Secretary to Cabinet. The Ph.D. holder had left Tonga with discontent. The letter writer lamented how he wanted to give the best part of his working life for Tonga but he could not because of an internal feud within the Ministry of Education. 'Akilisi also reported that the Treasury paid for a voucher that was made out to a school that did not even exist, the FWC Fatumu.

Fangaafaa

The Minister of Finance asked the member for the name of the boat that was bought illegally under the Shoreline Development Licence. 'Akilisi said it was the Fangaafaa, to which the Minister replied that duty was being repaid in instalments and the sum of $20,200 had been paid. 'Akilisi said that that was the advantage of repeatedly asking people to pay what they owed government.

'Akilisi finished his speech by saying that one or two people were hiding behind the Crown Prince to carry out illegal activities in the country. The question was, would they allow that to continue to take place in the country. 'Akilisi asked that if members were true to their words that they loved the country and the king and the royal family then what had they done to put an end to illegal activities in the name of the Crown Prince?

Noble Veikune said that it was not proper for the member to discuss the issue because it had gone to court, and therefore they should let the judge decide.

Education budget the biggest

The Acting Minister of Education started off by saying that normally being a public servant he was not allow to get involved in politics but the opportunity for him to be in the House gave him the opportunity, and he would like to talk politics. He thanked the Minister of Finance for the biggest allocation in this year's budget was for Education.

He expressed his disappointment with the debate he had heard so far which made it appear that government had not done anything good for the people. He said that it was the opposite of the objective of the budget, which was to enable Tongans to realise their dreams.

He said that the comment made by Lepolo Taunisila that the Niuas were neglected was not true. He said that according to the government's allocation per high school student, Niuafo'ou has the highest with $1.579, followed by Niuatoputapu, $832, Tonga High School $783, and Ha'apai High School $672.

He also mentioned the Location Allowance for teachers who were sent to remote locations, such as the Niuas, $2,200 for a married person and $1,452 for a single and if the couple were both teachers then their allowance was $4,400.

Peanuts

Lepolo told the Acting Minister that the allowance was Peanuts. She said that the rate was set ages ago, and it has lost its value because of inflation. She said that one air fare from the Niuas to Tongatapu, would cost about $2000.

The Acting Minister expressed his disappointment with the outspoken members of parliament who were former teachers. He said that from what he gathered the PRs were still the same as he knew them and they had not come up with anything new.

With regards to technical training he said that government has 10 technical schools, training 1,404 students. He said that the institutes had been assessed by the representatives from the Auckland University of Technology, and they said that it was doing fine.

Fineasi Funake wanted to know how many of the students who attended the technical institutes found jobs after graduation?

The Acting Minister did not give a clear answer, except that as far as technical training was concerned there were many including technical training offered by church schools, but there was problem with jobs so they were looking at upgrading the syllabus. He said that skilled training needed the involvement of the Training Institute, the Industry and the employers.

On a completely different issue the Deputy PM reported to the House that Tongasat had paid government between $15 and $16 million. He said that Tongasat has nine orbital slots and they had not lost any.

'Akilisi corrected the Deputy PM saying that he did not say that Tongasat had lost the slots, but they were controlled by Chinese.

The Minister of Finance also reported that the claim by 'Akilisi that the Treasury paid for a false voucher was correct, way back in 1999, and the person concerned had been dismissed.