Former MP and Cabinet Minister ‘Isileli Pulu has defended ‘Etuate Lavulavu and asked what was wrong with the disgraced former MP speaking on behalf of the government.
Pulu was responding to a story we published last month under the heading ‘Lavulavu will not say who authorised him to speak regularly and publicly on behalf of Prime Minister Tuʻiʻonetoa’s government.’
Pulu also asked what law Lavulavu breached.
At the time, we contacted Lavulavu, but he told us his answers could be found in interviews with FM 88.9 or Tonga Broadcasting Commission.
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Local people asked what his position in government was.
Last month in Vava’u, Lavulavu spoke almost everywhere the Prime Minister and his government delegates went to promote the Prime Minister’s taxpayer-funded fasting and prayer service to combat Covid-19.
During a celebration in Tu’anekivale, Vava’u last week, Lavulavu introduced a donation and a Tongan entertainment item sponsored by Prime Minister Pōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa, his family and members of his delegation.
He was making jokes about the Prime Minister during his introduction which many observers felt showed how confident and close he was to Hon. Tuʻiʻonetoa. They felt Lavulavu could say anything he wanted in front of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Ministers.
The Chief Secretary General and some of the Cabinet Ministers, including senior staff of the Prime Minister’s Office were there. Critics asked why a former Minister, who was barred from Parliament after being found guilty of bribery, was allowed to speak at an important event that was shown on Facebook as well as being broadcast.
Kaniva News contacted Pulu and asked whether he did not believe we had the right to publish a story which raised questions about why Lavulavu spoke on behalf of the Prime Minister when he was not a Cabinet member or civil servant.
Pulu agreed that Kaniva News had the right to ask such question about Lavulavu.
However, he said he was concerned that the story appeared to accuse Lavulavu of wrongdoing when he spoke at government ceremonies.
“The question is whether Lavulavu was repeatedly asked to stop speaking and disobeyed the request,” Pulu said.
“If he was not stopped by the Chief Secretary and the PM it was clear they were willing to allow him to speak.”
The Prime Minister told the media his People’s Party, of which Lavulavu was Deputy Chair, was affiliated with the Cabinet.
He said Lavulavu was free to speak on behalf of the government.
Kaniva News has not accused Lavulavu of breaking any law.
Like any citizen, Lavulau can speak anytime to support the Prime Minister and Cabinet. He operated a local Tongan newspaper Kalonikali and the broadcasting radio station 88.9 FM. These media were propagandist and Lavulavu used them to attack the government’s critics and support PM Tu’i’onetoa and the Cabinet.
However, as we have reported, people have been concerned when Lavulavu appeared to speak on behalf of the Prime Minister and the government at events attended by the Prime Minister, his Cabinet Ministers and Chief Secretary. One example was the event at Tu’anekivale, Vava’u last month.
A number of citizens have been concerned that an unelected individual should not appear to act as if he is a herald or official spokesman for the Prime Minister of the government.
Such concerns are clearly a matter of public interest and we have reported them as such.
The Prime Minister’s statement appears to make it clear that he is happy for Lavulavu to speak for the government.
That is of course his right, but it raises an issue we dealt with last night, which is the nature of public perception.
Voters want to see open, honest and fair government. They also want to see that the government and the people around it abide by the highest standards.
With a vote of no confidence looming and an election ahead, Prime Minister Tuʻiʻonetoa must be concerned about how taxpayers, voters and the ordinary person in the street perceive his government’s behaviour.
The people may become very concerned if the government appears to be giving free reign to controversial figures or those with convictions.
It is a matter of public record that Lavulavu has been before the courts several times over the years. He lost his Parliamentary seat and Cabinet position in 2016 after being found guilty of committing bribery.
Lavulavu is currently involved in legal dispute over leased land, in which he is accused of forging a landlord’s signature in Vava’u.
He is also awaiting a court hearing after he and his wife ‘Akosita Lavulavu, the Minister of Tourism, were charged with knowingly dealing with forged documents and obtaining credit by false pretences, after irregularities in an audit of the ‘Unuaki ‘o Tonga Royal Institute in 2016.
In a case in 2000, Lavulavu was sued by the Late Prince Tu’ipelehake for damages and unlawful cultivation of his land. In his summing up of the trial, Lord Chief Justice Ward said Lavulavu “was willing to say almost anything that seemed to suit the moment with a repeated disregard for the truth.”
