Pōhiva told not to waver over Tonga’s commitment to 2019 South Pacific Games

Tonga’s Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva was told not to waver over the South Pacific Games 2019 after he told Parliament he doubted whether Tonga could host the games.

Tonga’s Former Deputy Prime Minister Sāmiu Vaipulu responded by saying “we must spend money so that we can make money.”

Hon. Vaipulu said the main problem Tongan sport players faced was a lack of facilities where they could prepare to compete successfully at international level.

He called on the government to continue the preparation for the Games and make sure Tonga hosted it in 2019.

Opposition Leader Lord Vaea supported Hon. Vaipulu and pleaded with the Prime Minister to continue the work the government has done to host the Games.

Lord Vaea said it had been proved that sport had brought large sums of money to island nations like Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu.

He said there was plenty of ways for the government to fund the Games.

The Prime Minister told Parliament on Monday his government had to honour the Games policies initiated by the former government, but his government had not planned to build sporting facilities.

His government had other plans for the country, but had found it difficult to implement these policies.

He criticised the salaries the former government has arranged for the members of the Games’ Organising Committee chaired by Lord Sevele.

He said TP$1 million has been spent on the Organising Committee in 2015. He said Tonga would spend TP$6 million on the committee by 2019.

He said most of the expenses for the Games would be collected from taxes. He said he was really concerned when he compared that to the money being spent on Organising Committee.

The government was paying TP$3.4 million each year to the Pacific Games Committee for hosting the  Games.

He said the TP$10 million the Ministry of Finance had collected so far for the Games was a matter of concern.

The relocation of Tonga High School in preparation for the Games had cost TP$4 million.

Opposition

Opposition Leader Lord Vaea reminded the Prime Minister the money Tongan sport players obtained from their performance overseas was far better than what the kingdom’s civil servants earned.

He said he came to New Zealand with the Year 14 sport players and some of these children were picked by the Waikato team. He said these children now had financial values in sports.

“The tree that was planted in this country has produced fruit,” he said of the players.

Lord Vaea was one of the MPs in the delegation which went to Wallis and Futuna in Tonga’s bid for the Games.

He reminded the House one of the reasons Tonga wanted the Games was because it had been proved that sports brought a lot of money to their nations.

There were many ways for the government to collect money without relying on collecting money through taxes.

He said Tongans in Brisbane, Hawai’i and Auckland raised money through tourism.

The Prime Minister said he was not worried about the talents of the Tongan sport players, but the sport committees were of great concern for him.

He wanted to reform the country’s sport federation so they could come out with sports policies that made use of the full talents of Tongan players.

The main points

  • Tonga’s Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva was told not to waver over the South Pacific Games 2019 after he told Parliament he doubted whether Tonga could host the games.
  • Tonga’s Former Deputy Prime Minister Samiu Vaipulu said the main problem Tongan sport players faced was a lack of facilities where they could prepare to compete successfully at international level.
  • He called on the government to continue the preparation for the Games and make sure Tonga hosted it in 2019.
  • Opposition Leader Lord Vaea supported Hon. Vaipulu and pleaded with the Prime Minister to continue the work the government has did to host the Games.

For more information

Games costs could hit NZ$100 million mark and estimates do not include many items

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