Abandonment of six amendments means accountability is “like a car without a wheel”

Tonga had been left without a fully working system of government accountability, MP Siaosi Pōhiva said today.

Hon. Pōhiva, son of the Late Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva, made the comment after the  withdrawal of the six amendment bills that had been tabled into the House by two former governments.

According to Hansard for June 22, Prime Minister Tu’i’onetoa wrote to the Speaker of Parliament and told him that on January 22 this year his Cabinet passed a resolution to terminate any further action to discuss the six amendments because the Cabinet no longer wanted to do anything that would diminish the powers of the king and the nobles.

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He said the six amendments covered two points. One was that Members of the Privy Council were not elected by the people and this needed to be altered and the second point was for the Police Commissioner to be elected by the Cabinet.

Hon. Siaosi told Kaniva News this afternoon  two former governments believed the six amendments should be made.

“Those were the governments of Lord Tu’ivakanō and ‘Akilisi Pōhiva,” the Tongatapu One MP said.

“The current Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa also publicly said he wanted to allow the Police Commissioner to be accountable to the Minister of Police.

“I still believed in what the two former governments attempted to amend. Accountability is important. It was an essential part of a democratic system.

“The six amendments were required to complete the mechanism of accountability so it could function.

“The system at present was like a vehicle we made and we did not give it a wheel to run.

“It is an incomplete system.”

In December last year Hon. Tu’i’onetoa said the king maintained his view that police force should be controlled by the Police Commissioner rather than the minister.

He said the king believed if the force was controlled by the Minister of Police it could provide an opportunity to politicise certain events or activities.

Lord Tu’ivakanoo’s  government believed there had to be changes to Tonga’s democratic system and its constitution after the reforms of 2010.

The ‘Akilisi’s government continued to push for change and regarded the six amendments as vitally important to completing the democratic reforms.

The government tried to push them through under urgency in March last year and again in May. The bills include giving the government control over key judicial and police appointments, rather than the King.

The current Prime Minister and his Deputy Vuna Fā’otusia, while being Cabinet Ministers in ‘Akilisi’s Cabinet were instrumental in bringing about the Amendments to be discussed in Parliament last year.

The main points

  • Tonga had been left without a fully working system of government accountability, MP Siaosi Pohiva said today.
  • Pohiva, son of Late Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva, made the comment after the withdrawal of the six amendment bills that had been tabled into the House by two former governments.

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