Latest news with #SiaosiSovaleni
RNZ News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
'We let people decide': Tongan PM 'Aisake Eke optimistic ahead of November election
Tongan Prime Minister Dr 'Aisake Valu Eke is optimistic about this year's election and says his government is focused on doing their best they can, leaving the rest up to the Tongan people. Dr Eke came to power last December after his predecessor Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni resigned in the face of a no-confidence vote brought against him by the current prime minister. Tongans will head back to the polls in November. In wide-ranging interview with RNZ Pacific at his office in Nuku'alofa in April, Dr Eke said, "We just do our best and let the people decide." He also confirmed that he will recontest his seat in the Tongatapu 5 constituency. Pacific Islands Forum secretary general Baron Waqa and Tongan Prime Ministers and Forum chair Dr 'Aisake Eke at the Special Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) in March 2025. Photo: Pacific Islands Forum Dr Eke said his government has sought to improve the public service since coming into office. "Since we started at the end of January, we introduced some strategy and measures to improve, firstly, [the] efficiency and productivity of public services," Dr Eke said. He said this included issuing a directive for government offices to remain open during lunch hours and redirecting government which they deemed unproductive to essential sectors such as fisheries, health, and education. On the subject of education, he said they brought back national examinations that had been shelved by previous governments and conducted a review of the school breakfast programme. This year also marks three years since the Hunga Tona-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption and the ensuing tsunami. While the Hu'akavameiliku had started the recovery work, Dr Eke said around 20 families remain without permanent housing. He said the government last month approved a supplementary budget of NZ$25 million for the ongoing recovery work. "About $3 million of that is basically to go to completion of all the houses for the affected people," he said. "We aim to complete all of them by the end of this financial year which is in June." Although some families are still living in their original damaged homes, he said that in some cases this was a decision made by the communities themselves. "For example, the Kanukupolu village, they wait for completion of all the houses. About 53 houses are almost completed. They want to come to move in as a group," he said. As part of ongoing disaster preparedness and lessons learned from the volcanic eruption, the Tonga National Disaster Management Office has worked with stakeholders to develop an effective tsunami early warning system. Dr Eke said there have been continuous tests of the system, aimed at making members of the public aware of what they need to do. "[What] we see is people now changing because this is perhaps several instances where they have to get away from their home and trying to go to a high point," Dr Eke said. "And I think that shows how much people learn how to to actually conduct themselves." Tongan Prime Minister Dr 'Aisake Eke speaking at the National Development Summit. 18 March 2025 Photo: Screengrab / Tonga Broadcasting Live Streaming On Tongan workers taking part in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme in New Zealand and the Australian Labour Mobility Scheme, the Prime Minister said said he had some concerns. "In fact we have heard some reports, not only from them [the workers] themselves but also some of the commentators from Australia and New Zealand," he said. "I think we need the safety of our people also at the same time we try to make our people, prepare them well." He emphasised that better pastoral care is essential and said Tonga is formalising partnerships with church groups to deliver social and spiritual support to workers abroad. "Our people actually they value there faith. They vary their why I think we should address their social side, the spiritual side, also physical and also their intellectual side," Dr Eke said. While economic benefits of the labour mobility schemes in both countries have been positive, Eke says the government has also seen some negative effects, including social impacts in the community on separated families. He said he wanted to grow and improve Tonga's economy through targeted investment and reform. "Some of the policies need to be changed. We aim to make the economy viable using all the potential we have." He said one pressing issue was a stagnant private sector. "The private sector over the past two decades or three decades it actually stayed the same, and that's a challenge we are facing." However, he said government has begun identifying growth sectors and working with donor agencies and governments to support them, particularly in fisheries and agriculture. "We have done some work to improve the contribution of the fisheries sector, so we have started discussions with donors to for increasing the number of fishing vessels into the fishing industry." He added that the government is also reactivating its national steering committee to monitor economic performance and help craft a more effective strategy in the next financial year. Infrastructure development is another pillar of the recovery plan, which includes advancing with the previous government's plans to build a bridge across from Ma'ufanga, outside Nuku'alofa, to the eastern division of Tongatapu. "That actually [would] ease up the pressure on congestion, and also provides an evacuation channel for people to use when there is an emergency," he said. "And also that will help develop urban areas for economic growth." As current chair of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), Dr Eke said there has been a lot of progress made in a short space of time on the regional agenda, particularly finalising the governance framework for the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF) and engaging global institutions on funding. Eke also attended the PIF Troika Plus meeting in Fiji and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund spring meetings last month, the latter to advocate for more financial support for the region. On rising global tensions and recent United States trade policies, Dr Eke said Tonga has been pinged with the 10 percent base tariff and is watching developments closely. "When I look at it in terms of trade with America, in fact it is about a TOP$28 million surplus in favour of America," he said. "America is our best friend. We have similar values but there are sometimes economic policies, even though we look at it from an economic point of view, its not a good thing. But I think common sense will prevail." He remains hopeful and believes there will be more opportunities ahead. He also encouraged Tongans around the world to invest in their homeland and develop local enterprises. "I would like to say to the Tongan people there are (sic) a lot of potential here and you can make a better living. "The motto of this country is God and Tonga is our inheritance. Working together with faith, optimism comes in, we can do a great thing."
RNZ News
25-04-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
China defends Tonga loans amid rising debt concerns: A call for fair representation
By PMN The destruction from the 2006 riots, pictured, led Tonga to secure a major Chinese loan to fund reconstruction of the capital. Additional loans were later used for road upgrades and the International Dateline Hotel. Photo: Photo/John Ewen via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5) China's embassy in Tonga has taken to Facebook to defend its loans to the Kingdom, following fresh media coverage and concerns about the country's rising debt. The Facebook post , shared on 24 April, says China gave the loans to help Tonga during a difficult time. "Recently, there were news reports on the loans provided by China to Tonga many years ago," the post says. "China offered concessional loans to Tonga based on the principles of bilateral friendship and equal cooperation. "When Tonga was in trouble and asked for loans to ease economic pressure, China was the only country to lend a helping hand." The embassy says China's Export-Import Bank has provided three concessional loans. One of them has already been paid off for the International Dateline Hotel. The other two, for rebuilding Nukuʻalofa's CBD and upgrading national roads, are still being repaid. The remaining debt is about USD$58 million (about NZD$97 million). China says the loans helped Tonga's economy and were similar to those offered by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The embassy also says China has given Tonga more time to repay through debt rollovers and grace periods, including under the G20 debt relief programme. "We hope an objective and fair position could be observed on this matter without misleading the public with groundless speculation," the Facebook statement concludes. China's response follows recent media reports highlighting concerns about Tonga's debt. ABC Pacific reported on 21 April that Tonga still owes around US$190 million (about NZ$318 million) in external debt, two-thirds of which is to China. Former Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni told ABC Pacific, "We took the loan, benefited from it, so we must pay it back. Otherwise, we are just passing this burden on to our children and their children." Republishing and expanding on the ABC Pacific story, PINA reported on 22 April that the Lowy Institute warned the debt has become "a millstone around Tonga's neck." The original loan was taken out to help Tonga recover after the 2006 riots, which damaged 80 per cent of central Nukuʻalofa. In 2007, Tonga and China signed a concessional loan deal worth about TOP 118 million (about NZD$83 million). The money was disbursed from 2009 to 2012. The loan had an interest rate of two per cent and was meant to be repaid over 21 years. It included a five-year grace period, which was later extended. Management and commitment fees also applied. Most funds were used for government projects; the rest were lent to private businesses. However, many of those businesses struggled to repay the loans. Work included rebuilding buildings like the Tungi Colonnade, fixing streets and drains, and building the Vuna Wharf. Chinese construction firms China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) carried out the project. A joint IMF and World Bank debt sustainability analysis says Tonga is still at high risk of debt distress. The 2024 report shows Tonga's external debt was USD$ 189 million (about NZD$ 316 million), or 38 per cent of GDP. More than half of it is owed to China. Debt repayments jumped to 3.5 per cent of GDP in 2024 and will likely stay high until 2027. The World Bank says Tonga's debt could pass safely by 2034 without more grants or tighter budgets. Both institutions say Tonga needs to manage its debt carefully and work to bring in more financial support. China has already allowed Tonga to delay repayments twice. The grace period was extended to 10 years in 2013 and again to 15 years in 2018. This means Tonga only started repaying the principal in September 2023 and will finish in 2028. While the loans were intended to help rebuild the capital, support businesses, and build infrastructure, some worry they have made Tonga too dependent on outside help. Political commentator and community leader Melino Maka, writing for the Tonga Independent News, defends the former government's decision to forgive 25 per cent of the loans owed by four private companies. He says the buildings were poorly built, and the businesses couldn't repay loans on defective properties. "The Sovaleni government made a pragmatic decision ... In return, the businesses agreed to fix the problems and paid back $5 million (about NZD$8.4 million)," Maka writes. He says the government also worked out a deal to repay the debt to China by 2030. "The reality is simple: the government acted in good faith to protect the public interest... The bigger issue now is not just the loan, but the quality of governance and public discourse in our nation." -This article was first published by PMN .
