The Pacific community’s stand against corruption got a major boost when leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum endorsed the establishment of a taskforce on the Teieniwa Vision to oversee its implementation. Supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and endorsed by forum leaders on February 3, 2021, as the region’s anti-corruption roadmap, the Teieniwa Vision envisions a corruption-free Pacific by harnessing collective regional anti-corruption priorities. The Pacific Anti-Corruption Journalist Network (PACJN) has been advocating for corruption to be made centre-stage in the forum since the Teieniwa Vision was first launched. “Teieniwa Vision is a commitment by…
Author: Newsdesk
The Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union dressed up as a bilateral treaty – meaning it works for both countries – should really have been called the Australia Defence Treaty in Tuvalu. Because that’s exactly what it is. The Australian line about it being “honoured to respond” and “the foresight of the Government of Tuvalu in seeking it (the treaty)” is nothing but a con job. Controlling the narrative is something that Australia is extremely good at. Tuvalu was ripe for the picking. The tiny islands are badly affected by the impacts of climate change and their coral atolls means they can’t grow…
Tonga is most grateful to the Commonwealth Secretariat for all the support given to the Kingdom over the years, Prime Minister Honourable Hu’akavameiliku told the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Rt Honourable Patricia Baroness Scotland in Rarotonga last week. The Hon Prime Minister said Secretary General Scotland’s attendance of the Forum Leaders’ meeting speaks volumes of the importance of the partnership between the Commonwealth Secretary and the Pacific Islands Forum and that the Government of Tonga appreciates the Commonwealth’s continued and proactive support to Tonga. “May I firstly acknowledge and recognise the show of solidarity by the Commonwealth Secretariat,…
Tonga’s delegation, led by the Prime Minister Hon. Hu’akavameiliku, arrived in the Cook Islands on 3 November for the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum meeting to be held from 6-10 November. Leaders of the 18-member Forum, will this week meet in Rarotonga to adopt their implementation plan for the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent (2050 Strategy). “Meeting sessions has been [sic] designed with an evolved format to create an environment of open communication, inclusivity and partnership that will propel the Pacific region towards concrete, action-oriented outcomes,” the Tongan Prime Minister’s Office stated yesterday. This year’s meeting is chaired by…
Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku, who is chairman of the Board for Lulutai Airlines, told a press conference last Friday that a new aircraft for Tonga’s domestic service, a de-Havilland Twin-Otter, had touched down in Australia for final preparations ahead of its entry into service in Tonga. It was expected to arrive in Tonga last month, but due to “legal reasons” the process of releasing the new aircraft from China was slower than expected. The Prime Minister said that efforts were being made to finish the aircraft by November or before the holiday travel season reached its peak. Lulutai Airlines have been…
Delays in confirming the appointments of Cabinet Ministers have raised questions in media whether the King and the Prime Minister are in a strained relationship or whether there needs to be further reforms on the king’s role in having to confirm ministerial appointments. The delays have gone on for several months since appointments were submitted for royal consent. As one media outlet commented, “the delay in the appointments has the potential to disrupt the smooth functioning of Government.” One Cabinet post is alleged to have been vacant for a year. The law does not give a timeframe for the king…
The Tonga government is planning to convert seawater into drinking water for the outer islands during the current drought caused by El Niño conditions across the southern region of the Pacific. The Prime Minister, Hon, Hu’akavameiliku said on Friday that the drought season is a pressing issue, especially for the outer islands. “The government’s main concern is to provide sufficient water resources for the outer islands,” he told a media briefing on Friday at St George Government building in Nuku’alofa. The government is now working together with MEIDECC to provide desalination machines for the outer islands, for converting seawater into…
A Samoan based airline Talofa Airways has announced direct flights between Vava’u and Pago Pago, as well as Vava’u and Apia commencing 14 November 2023. There will be twice weekly flights on Tuesdays and Fridays from Vava’u to Pago Pago, and from Vava’u to Faleola Airport in Apia. The airline has announced an initial fare of US$380 one-way. Children up to 23 months travel free. Vava’u is Tongatapu’s most popular tourist destination. Tourists normally fly to Vava’u via Tongatapu as there are no direct flights to Vava’u from anywhere overseas. The new direct schedule between Samoa and Vava’u would allow…
Tonga’s Minister for Health Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala has been nominated to become the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional Director for the Western Pacific. He is expected to take office on 1 February 2024 for a term of 5 years, and will be based in Manila, Philippines. Dr. Piukala’s selection was a result of votes by Health Ministers and other senior officials from the region at the 74th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Western Pacific held in Manila, Philippines on 17 October. He was a candidate proposed from Tonga. Dr Piukala is a surgeon with nearly 30 years of…
She was Tonga’s most well known composer and singer that was still living, but Tu’imala Kaho having suffered from a long illness died last week in Nuku’alofa at her home ‘Api ko Loloniu, Kolofo’ou. Born on 17 April 1939 to parents Sioeli ‘Aloko’ulu Kaho and Anamalia Veiongo Kaho, Tu’imala grew up in a family that was well known for composing traditional dances. She started singing at a young age, and her mother and uncles taught her Tongan dancing. Tu’imala’s first composition was called “Taumaia ke ke ‘iloa” when she was 18. She was a student at St. Joseph’s Catholic School.…