Results for 2002

Named Man of the Match in a rugby league test between Tonga’s Mate Ma‘a Tonga and the NSW Universities, was Paula Fukofuka (28), a promising young Tongan full-back. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 3, November 2002.

Is Tonga ready to become a member of the World Trade Organisation? The Tongan Minister responsible for Trade, Hon. Dr Masaso Paunga, is confident that Tonga has done all the right things by signing the appropriate international conventions, and free trade agreements, and that Tonga is now ready to become a member of the WTO sometime next year. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 3, November 2002.

A sudden surge in the development of the Tonga’s fishing industry saw 48 fishing boats registered to fish in Tongan waters by July 2002. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 3, November 2002.

What will be critical for insurance costs in Tonga and every other island in the Pacific is this year’s cyclone season, said Gary Callaghan, the executive director of Dominion Insurance, of Fiji, who visited Tonga in October. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 3, November 2002.

Re-stringing tennis rackets is a rare kind of service to be found in Tonga, but it is provided by Siosifa and Donna Taumoepeau, who live in Longolongo. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 3, November 2002.

Treating brawlers with broken jaws, seeing many children with bad teeth, and looking after a clinic packed with waiting patients, is all in a day’s work for William Tapealava (28). From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 3, November 2002.

If money talks, then what professional sports people are saying these days is that soccer will replace rugby as Tonga’s national sport in the near future. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 3, November 2002.

Royal Tongan Airlines will resume its international air service on November 25. The new Chief Executive Officer, Logan Appu, said that they would introduce a daily service between Tonga and Auckland, and a weekly service between Auckland, Sydney, Tonga, and Auckland. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 3, November 2002.

The latest developments in Tonga’s banking business saw the amendment of the Tonga Development Bank Act on September 5, affirming the right of the TDB to continue providing commercial banking activities in the Niuas, and to expand these services to other remote rural areas. From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 3, November 2002.