PM undertakes to address Pātangata cemetery and land requests; deal with Tt4 immediate needs as constituents praise his visit as first by a Prime Minister

Kiliki ‘i he ‘ōtiō ‘i ‘olunga’ ke ke fanongo ki he fakataha ‘a e ‘Eiki Palēmia’ mo e kāinga Tongatapu 4.
Audios of the Prime Minister’s meeting in Tongatapu 4 were provided by the Prime Minister’s office and transcribed and translated into English by Kaniva News. This English version of the audios had been abridged.

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The Prime Minister was continuously praised during his meeting with Tongatapu 4 (Tt4) constituents for his willingness to leave his office and meet with people to hear their immediate needs.

Hon. Tu’i’onetoa said his government must address all the immediate needs raised by the constituents during the meeting.

He said he would talk to the Minister of Lands about a request from Pātangata to allow remaining unoccupied portions of land left from subdivisions of the village for two or more families who were boarding and living in one household.

The Prime Minister said he would also talk to the Minister about a request from the village to establish a public cemetery.

Multipurpose halls /evacuation centres

Hon. Tu’i’onetoa assured the meeting that the government could build them multipurpose halls as requested, but he asked the constituents to try to first secure land under their own names.

He advised women’s weaving groups to register their groups with the government before they leased land.

The Prime Minister said once this was done there would be no problem with the government funding the halls. He said same thing applied to requests for evacuation centres.

He asked for a community unity to fight against drug trade and use.

The Prime Minister’s concluding remarks included a statement that five water tanks had to be delivered to residents of Siesia island.

There were requests for the government to lend money to assist women’s development groups.  The Prime Minister said this would be possible and  advised them to see the Minister of Finance.

He said the government would provide building materials and resources for the Popua Government Primary School, as requested.

The Prime Minister was asked to establish a fire station at the constituency and upgrade the Ma’ufanga Government Primary School.

The controversial public swimming pool at Touliki was mentioned by one of the speakers during the meeting telling the Prime Minister it needed urgent assistance from the government.

Japanese donation / Chinese equipment

Hon Tu’i’onetoa has revealed that Japan has offered to donate a tar truck and 18,000 litres of tar for his Roading Project.

He also reminded the constituency about the six priorities his government has set out right in the beginning after they came into power in October 2019.

They were to construct, fill and seal all roads in Tonga, provide safer water supplies for the community, install street lights, upgrade outer islands’ wharves, reconstruct the Vava’u International Airport and upgrade airports in Ha’apai and ‘Eua as well as the Niuas.

Hon Tu’i’onetoa told the meeting the $35 million worth of road maintenance equipment supposed to arrive in Tonga next month had been postponed due to the coronavirus panademic.

Road maintenance / Cyclone Gita construction issue

The Minister of Infrastructure, Akosita Lavulavu assured the constituents that requests for road repairs which were deemed urgent would be addressed as soon as possible.

She said there was a problem with building houses and repairing buildings damaged by Tropical Gita because the landowners had to agree to sign letters allowing the construction to take place.

It is understood some landlords were currently living overseas and their lands in Tonga were occupied by family members or friends who wanted these assistances from government.

There were also requests for street lights to be fixed and installed. The government gave  assurances that these would be provided.

Lord Fakafanua’s herald, Kama, told the Prime Minister water, poor road conditions and illicit drugs use and distributions in Tt4 needed an immediate response from the government.

Opposition and PTOA MP Mateni Tapueluelu, also the MP for Tt4, welcomed the Prime Minister and told him during the meeting his constituency were happy for the meeting.

He said he was told the meeting was organised to solicit ideas and contributions to government’s economic development plans.

Street lights / town officer

He told the Prime Minister he wanted immediate assistance from the government to fix their street lights.

There was a request from Siesia island’s town officer to build a causeway between the island and Pātangata.

The Prime Minister was told there was unlawful trading on Sunday and there was a spot at a road in Tongatapu 2 where vehicles parked and sold baked goods to the public on Sunday. 

There were requests from Fangaloto residents to allow them to elect their own town officer. The Minister of Internal Affairs previously told Tongatapu2 the government was working to amend the laws to allow posting more town officers to villages and towns.

A constituent asked why Police did not arrest the “head of the octopus” referring to drug ring leaders.  He said Police only arrested the tentacles.

But Police Minister Lord Nuku responded and said if they knew about any drug kingpin let the Police know.

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