Prime Minister complains about lack of power over Police Commissioner; says he is unaccountable to the people

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Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa has complained about what he says is the government’s lack of power over the Police Commissioner.

Hon. Tu’i’onetoa went further and compared the Police Commissioner to a child who might need to be punished.

Hon. Tu’i’onetoa made the comments in a video uploaded to social media.

He said if anybody from the public complained to him about the Commissioner he could take no action.

He said if people were dissatisfied with him they could vote him out.

That could not be done to the Police Commissioner, Hon Tu’i’onetoa said.

He said accountability meant being answerable to the people.

“It was a message given to you by the people to go and do it for them,” PM Tu’i’onetoa said in Tongan.

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He likened the situation of the Police Commissioner to someone who sent a child to shop for groceries and  then wanted to know what he had bought and what change had brought back.

“The person who sent the child would check if he did the shopping properly and if not he could punish him,” he said.

“There are people in the government who are unaccountable to the people.

“Say for example the Police Commissioner.”

He said accountability in the government system did not work.

The Prime Minister’s comments came after his Cabinet terminated six amendments which had been promoted  by the previous two governments as a way of resolving the issue.

As Kaniva News reported last week, the Prime Minister told the Speaker of Parliament that on January 22 this year his Cabinet had 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.

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.

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