Finance Minister sidesteps question over Tongatapu 5 “lion’s share” of nobles’ constituency fund

The Minister of Finance did not give a direct reply to a question from a Democrat MP about whether the Nobles’ access to the constituency fund would give Tongatapu 5 an extra financial benefit.

Tongatapu 5 Democratic MP Losaline Ma’asi said in the House that her constituency had two Noble MPs in Parliament.

These were Lord Tu’ivakanō and Lord Vaha’i.

“Does that mean, Tongatapu 5 will receive a bigger share?” she asked of the government bench.

Finance Minster Hon. Tevita Lavemaau asked the Chair of the Whole House Committee to give him 30 seconds to “enlighten” the situation.

He said this funding was under the control of the Speaker of Parliament.

He said the funding was discussed last year when it was pointed out that Tongatapu had only three MPs representing the Nobles.

Hon. Lavemaau said the People’s MPs and the Nobles’ MPs would work together in using the money.

He said the situation in his constituency, ‘Eua 11, was simple because it had only one MP from the Nobility.

The Constituency Funding

As Kaniva News reported last night, each of the nine members of the nobility in Parliament is expected to begin distributing TP$50,000 among their constituents in the next Parliamentary visit.

Hon. Lavemaau said the TP$1,260,000 package to support the community was an excellent move by the government.

Within the budget an additional TP$306,000 funding had been allocated for the 17 people’s MPs to pay their office staff. This gave each of the MPs another TP$18,000 each.

Another TP$850,000 to be equally distributed among the people’s MPs as an addition to their constituency funding brought each MPs share to a total of TP$250,000.

Conflicting messages

The Speaker of the House, Lord Fakafanua, said the funding allocated for the three nobles in Tongatapu was meant for all of its 10 constituencies (“vāhenga fakalukufua ‘a Tongatapu kātoa.”)

However, the Whole House Committee Chair Lord Tu’i’āfitu , who is from Vava’u 15, explained it otherwise.

He said his TP$50,000 fund was for the whole of Vava’u, which has three constituencies, while Tongatapu Noble MPs funding was meant for the Noble’s constituencies only (“Ko moutolu homou constituency ‘oku ngata pe homou fakangatangata.”)

Noble MPs’ estate first

Lord Tu’iha’angana said in the first year of receiving the money he would use it to help his estate Ha’ano.

Ha’ano is in Ha’apai 13 constituency which included the islands of Nomuka, Mango, Fonoifua, Haʻafeva, Kotu, Tungua, Tofua, Fotuhaʻa, Matuku, ʻOʻua, Fakakai, Pukotala, Muitoa, Moʻungaʻone, Fotua, Fangaleʻounga, Lotofoa, Faleloa, Haʻateihosiʻi, and Haʻafakahenga.

Noble MPs’ not accountable to constituents

During the last administration of the late ‘Akilisi Pohiva last year it was suggested in Parliament  that if the noble MPs were given the money they would not be bound by an obligation to their constituents  because they were not elected by the people.

Opposition

There was not much opposition from the PTOA MPs while the constituency support package was deliberated in the House.

Democrat frontliner Mateni Tapueluelu, who fiercely attacked the noble MPs move last year to get a share of the constituency funding, has given a very muted response about the declaration by the government that all constituencies budget would be increased by another $50,000 each.

The government’s failure to give a logical explanation as to why the funding appears to have been unfairly distributed recalled the comment made by late Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva that if the Nobles’ request was approved it would cause problem.

As Kaniva News reported last night, the Late Hon. Pōhiva rejected the Noble MPs’ request to allow them to access the funding.

He said not every constituency in Tonga had a noble MP to make sure they would have a share of this taxpayers’ money.

Hon. Pohiva said the distribution of the money among the 17 people’s MPs was fair as every constituency in Tonga would have the same opportunity to benefit from the funding through their MPs.

He said if the nine Nobles in Parliament were given an allowance, this would set them apart from other Nobles who were not in the House and would not get the same benefit for their estates.

Kaniva News says:

The conflicting and ambiguous responses from government and its backbenchers regarding the funding make it difficult to determine what is going on and could cause some people to think  that only the noble MPs’ estates would benefit from the money and not the constituencies in which they live.

The government must be absolutely transparent about how the money is spent and under what guidelines the Nobles will  be held accountable for their spending.

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