Pacific games organisers disagree with Tonga PM's golf plans Featured
Tonga's Prime Minister 'Akilisi Pohiva and 2019 Pacific Games Organising Committee CEO Lord Sevele
12 May, 2017. Tonga's Pacific Games Organising Committee and the government remain at odds when it comes to the golf venue for the 2019 event.
Last week the prime minister 'Akilisi Pohiva said everything was on track.
However the committee said the government is wasting money by insisting on building a new golf course.
'Akilisi Pohiva has said a new nine hole course will be built at Popua.
But the organising committee CEO Lord Sevele said there is already an existing course which can be upgraded to suit which would cost eight million pa'anga less than the prime minister's plan.
"We wouldn't agree to a new golf course costing a total of 13 million plus [pa'anga], versus the upgrading and improvement of the existing course at a maximum of five million. Eight million plus the difference."
Lord Sevele said anyone with a sensible mind would say I'll take the five million and spend that rather than spending 13.
He said maintenance costs would also be incurred by government with the new course.
"With the new location, there comes the maintenance afterwards because it is government property, whereas the existing golf course there is no maintenance. It is done by the club and the owner's of the land."
-RNZI
5 comments
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Vili kikihi pe PM ke langa pe malae tapulu foou i popua osi koia oku osi iai pe malae tapulu i Atele, aia e sii ange fkmole ki hano upgrade mo maintain. Fai aipe tau ego, kae 'au e fonua. Oku ha mahino mai ihe sipinga atamai oe PM oku ikai koha taha pisinisi ia. Naane lea ihe kamata kihe kau ngaue fkpuleanga kenau tokanga ke fksiisii e fkmole noa'ia, ka ko eni, koia pe taki mu'a he fkmole noa'ia. Kuo kehe ngutu ia meihe tuhu. Ai e kii fonua pakupaku fire moe toe fkvalevale.
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The general conduct of government of the affairs of Tonga as a nation state is true of the saying, "an unopposed state is an oppressive state and an oppressive state is a servile state." This is clearly symptomatic of the ongoing conduct of government of such affairs as press conferences, law office, civil service, boards, education matters and worst still parliamentary processes and procedures.
The conduct of such affairs is far from being wholly democratic and therefore subversive, oppressive and dictatorial in orientation. Taken in total, it is strictly opposed to what is understood to be the very core of democracy, referred to as political governance, and made up of transparency, accountability, equality and justice.
As it stands right now, this truly alarming orientation is slowly but surely tending towards the formation of a police state and a police state conveniently changed to a military state. But it needs to be in firm control of both but especially in exercising complete power over the military as a tool of satisfying hunger for power as a means of subversion, oppression and exploitation, which is barred by the constitution, except if it is grabbed by force!
By the way, may I thank Hausia for bringing the matter of privatisation into the discussion but as a truly problematic element of the neo-liberal or new-right economic and political thinking and practice (as for the whole of the Pacific, including Tonga), I shall come back to reflecting on it in another time, another place. -
'Oku malie 'ae lau 'a Sevele fekau'aki moe sensible mind. 'Aia 'oku sensible 'ene 5 MILIONA 'a'ana mo'ene komiti kae 'ikai sensible e 13 MILIONA ia 'ae Palemia.
Fefee kapau 'e holomui e Palemia ia moe'ene fokotu'u kae toe taha pe fokotu'u 'a Sevele mo'ene komiti. 'E kei sensible ai pe NIMA miliona? E kei sensible ai pe ke foaki mola 'ae NIMA MILIONA ko'eni kihe owner e mala'e taapulu. 'Oku namunamu (hufanga atu) e fokotu'u ko'eni pea fakatupu hu'uhu'u. Pau pe kuo 'osi maau ha ngaahi tila ia!
Fefee ke to'o atu e taapulu mei he sipoti pasifiki. Lava lelei pe sipoti ia ta'e kau ai e taapulu kae 'oange nima miliona ko'eni ki he 'akapulu, pe koe netipolo, moe 'esitelaa.
Fekau'aki moe maintenance, 'oku ki'i ta'e'uhinga e lau 'a Sevele. 'E anga feefee 'ae pehee 'oku 'ikai ha mainteance ia kapau 'e 'onga mola pe NIMA miliona ki he owner e mala'e taapulu kae 'iai e maintenance kapau 'e langa 'ehe pule'anga ha mala'e taapulu.
Taimi na'e palemia ia 'a Sevele na'ane privatize e lahi e ngaahi koloa moe ngaahi ngaue'anga 'ae Pule'anga. Kuo ngalo ia ai e me'a ni? Ke langa e mala'e taapulu 'ehe pule'anga pea tuku atu ki ha private company kene fakalele? pea 'ikai leva ha maintenance 'ehe pule'anga hangee ko'ene fiema'u.
Hausia. -
'Aisea, what have suggested is too complicated especially to a Prime Minister who as been in the opposition for nearly half of his life. Despite the availability of well educated including experience top level government officials to give proper advise, he still choose not to listen.
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The old and wiser ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said, "a thing's permanence, its stability, as well as its growth and development, had their source in the counter-poising of opposite tendencies, not in the subordination of every force within it to a single objective." The former is what meant by freedom and autonomy and the latter by oppression and dictation.
The key issue under debate here is basically a matter of simple economics, as in the natural laws involving the constant interplay of supply and demand and of unlimited wants and limited resources. It is a matter of closely aligning our economic thinking and practice to reality and normality and not the world of fantasy and absurdity.