Results for Politics

Tonga's Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva was discharged from hospital over the weekend and is in good health, the Prime Minister's Office said today in a statement.

Cardinal Mafi of Tonga this week has emphasized that religious leaders should not get involved in politics. He was speaking at a a National Dialogue to ‘Identify Leadership Contribution to Tonga’s Journey to a Democratic Society.’

The main problem with Tonga's parliament today is that 17 People’s Representatives can’t work together, making it very difficult for parliament and government to function properly, says Dr Sitiveni Halapua, who played a pivotal role in Tonga’s democratisation reforms. "What is happening now, we inherited the problems of progress, but we do not have progress.” Interview by Pesi Fonua.

Elizabeth Kite, Tonga’s first youth representative at the Commonwealth Youth Parliament (CYP) held in Canada last week, says the experience has been one of the most inspiring events in her life to date. She was inspired to see so many female politicians and how people regarded that as "normal". She now aims to pursue a career in Tongan politics.

Tonga will apply to become a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tonga’s Prime Minister, Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva told the UN General Assembly in New York on 24 September, during a 26 minutes address that covered a range of issues.

The state of democracy in Tonga, since a more democratic system of government was introduced three years ago, was the focus of a 10 days ‘Festival of Democracy’ that opened on June 17, at the 'Atenisi University campus, Kolomotu'a.

Tonga’s Cabinet this afternoon supported the Prime Minister’s call for the resignation of the Minister of Finance, Hon. Lisiate ‘Akolo - who is refusing to stand down, after commenting on radio recently about a 5% salary rise for civil servants.

Tonga's Attorney General, Neil Adsett, said that a Parliamentary Select Committee that investigated the use of a multi million loan from China for the restructuring of Nuku'alofa had done a good job, but its report had no real finding of any person taking money they should not have had, or using money for themselves or against the interest of Tonga. But the Attorney General's freely expressed opinion has upset the Select Committee's chairman, 'Akilisi Pohiva.

FROM OUR ARCHIVES: Tonga's political reform introduced an elected government for Tonga in 2010 when constituencies voted for their favourite personalities, but the process lacks vision, according to one of the architects of the reform. Dr Sitiveni Halapua believes that Tonga's new electoral system needs to be revised, so that when a new government is elected into power, it should already have a clear vision of where they are taking Tonga. Interview by Pesi Fonua.