Australia and New Zealand not happy with election of Tu‘ivakano: Akilisi Pohiva

© Tevita Motulalo

THE leader of the Friendly Islands Democratic Party, Akilisi Pohiva says that governments of Australia and New Zealand are “not happy” with Parliament’s election of Lord Tu‘ivakano as Prime Minister.

He said, “Since the previous regime has not been accountable and transparent to Australia and New Zealand with the aid they’ve given us, they don’t see any real change with this election of a noble as Prime Minister.”

“The core issue is accountability and transparency,” said Pohiva.

“They hate it,” Pohiva said, and that “Australia and New Zealand are sick of dealing like that with Tonga.”

“They looked forward to a real change in government, which it seems has not been realised,” he said.

Pohiva made the statements to Tonga Chronicle in an interview regarding his party’s policies to resuscitating the dire state of the economy.

National debts have neared 50% of gross domestic product, hampered by dwindling exports and shrinking remittances.

He said his party has no comprehensive plan to progressively recover the economy, other than “cutting back on unnecessary costs.”

“But government offices themselves are flooded with programs and plans. I think the problem is actually the implementation and execution, and proper evaluation so that we know what we missed in trying to move forward,” he said.

“It’s actually a challenge for this Prime Minister and his generals,” said Pohiva.

National assets

Pohiva said one potential revenue stream is the licensing fees and royalties generated by underwater mining for extremely high-grade ores in the waters of Tonga’s exclusive economic zone.

The potential impact is over hundreds of millions of dollars that could be of very much use to the country’s economy.

However, he noted, the potential bounty is not without its dangers.

Speaking of the idea of “resource curse”, in which countries with abundant natural resources can find themselves destabilized by foreign interests in pursuit of those assets, Pohiva warned that Tonga was already like PNG, the Solomon Islands and East Timor.

“The same thing could happen in this government,” he said.

Pohiva was concerned that under an aristocracy government, EEZ rights might become just another commercial asset for sale.

Currently, more than three Australian mining companies have been granted prospecting licences in Tonga, and one from Korea.

Pohiva, on the other hand, has been a strong advocate in the nationalisation of “national assets” like the geosynchronous satellite slots registered by Tonga, the <.to> website domain, and power generation, which he said “was seized by the royal household for their own benefit.”