TNEWS TALANOA

Justice Shuster and Tonga's Ruling System - Something fishy!

The Court of Appeal hit a record this year claiming one of the highest

cases to be appealed. The latest figure were totaled up to 19 cases.

Five of those were presided either by Chief Justice Ford or Justice

Andrew. The remaining 14 were of Justice Shuster. The court of

appeal overruled 13 of the 14 cases under his ruling.

Government approved a raised that claimed $300,000 from people's

tax to fund Shuster's salary. It is disappointing that this judge

recently appeared to be amateurish and inexperience. It is obvious

from the conclusion made by the 3 judges in the court of appeal

that he's lack of expertise and competency. The court of

appeal declared last week in the processing of these appeals that “We

are satisfied that a substantial miscarriage of justice has occurred

against Shuster’s ruling."

Is it true that Justice Shuster is frequently invited to join dinner and

cocktails with the rabble-rouser, Prime Minister Sevele and his ring

leaders? No wonder!

mauifusifonua Wrote:Justice Shuster and Tonga's Ruling System - Something fishy!

The Court of Appeal hit a record this year claiming one of the highest

cases to be appealed. The latest figure were totaled up to 19 cases.

Five of those were presided either by Chief Justice Ford or Justice

Andrew. The remaining 14 were of Justice Shuster. The court of

appeal overruled 13 of the 14 cases under his ruling.

Government approved a raised that claimed $300,000 from people's

tax to fund Shuster's salary. It is disappointing that this judge

recently appeared to be amateurish and inexperience. It is obvious

from the conclusion made by the 3 judges in the court of appeal

that he's lack of expertise and competency. The court of

appeal declared last week in the processing of these appeals that “We

are satisfied that a substantial miscarriage of justice has occurred

against Shuster’s ruling."

Is it true that Justice Shuster is frequently invited to join dinner and

cocktails with the rabble-rouser, Prime Minister Sevele and his ring

leaders? No wonder!

Maui kou tui kapau e ai hoo foi matau o hukai he vahaavae o Shustae fakataha pee mo SIOPULUU moene kau Minisitae kotoa pea fusi mai moe lohotangai koena ko G5 o tautau fulihi nautolu ke nau hangee ha fanga peka o alu ae tungaiku ki olunga kae tuulu honau ulu ki lalo koe uhii ke hau e mea kovii honau ngutu ke nau namui koe mea oku nau fai oku namu tatau pee moe mea oku hau honau ngutu,oku namu kuu.....namu kuu koaa he oku nau pehee atu oku kovi enau mea oku fai,pehee pee enautolu koe sai taha peeia......fekau kia Shustae ke alu o fakamaaui ae moua 7miliona ae kautaha hina a SIOPULUU pe koe kaihaa paanga a FINEASS pea ka ikai pea hau ki heni o fakamaaaui ae lahi hono kaihaasi oe pepa toileti he falemaloloo koeni i maketi talamahu...................!

Again,this is one of many classic examples of how similar Tonga's justice system to the other two brances of government.They all reak with corruptions and like Holo said,'oku namu da'efa'elu kotoa 'ae 'uu va'a 'oe pule'angaa koe 'uhii koe ngaue 'ero pee 'ae fo'i falemalolo ponu pee 'e taha.....FELETI-kaieureoetoke-SEVELE.
'E lava 'a fee ke mahino kihe ki'i fo'i tokosi'i ko'ena 'i Tonga ke nau mahino'i koe liliuu tene lava ke 'omai ha falemalolo fo'ou ke tau ziko ai he kuo fuoloa e fonu e poo 'o seve mo t5 pea kuo a'u kihe 'uangahia mo mongomonga'ia e loto poo.Tau tanu aa mu'a e toileti ko'enii ka tau hiki kiha me'a fo'ou mo ma'a angee.Taxpayers do not deserve this zhithole any longer.They deserve better, afterall it's their money.
Taa 'e 'osi pee ki'i tola 'ae fonua ia he totongi fakamaau sikotata ko'ena moe kau minisita'ee.When Justice fail,Human Right does not exist.I quess Tonga's style of christianity does not promote these ideals.'Ae ki'i fonua na'e tuku ki feeeee??????.

As I said, Sevali and Co. should "F" off and allow educated loving and sensible people to come and run the govt. This makes me sick to the core!

I don't know how the Minister of Justice would handle this matter but she/he should be alarmed and make swift and appropriate action. Perhaps, recommend to the King a quite removal of this Judge. Whenever and wherever the justice system is at question national security is at stake and bound to crash. Government should not sacrifice national interest just for the sake of this single man and a small like-minded bunch. Kapau 'e faka'ilo faka-Fale Alea he taimi ni ke fakahifo, 'e hikinima'i hake pe ia 'e he kau Minisitaa mo e kau Nopele 'a G5 'o li kitu'a 'a e ki'i faka'ilo. Oh Lord! please hear our prayers; your people are suffering from government's brutal unjust performance. The sooner a remedy the best for Your people. Amen

'Oku ikai ko aa lava ha taha 'i Tonga 'o fai mo fakangata e fakaaoao ko 'ena 'a e pule'anga mo e angaanga tila 'enau founga. ne 'i ai e tangata e taha nene fana'i e fefine 'i kolofoou he ta'u kuo'osi pea ne toe fana'i pe 'e ia ia. kai ke ne too atu ha toko ua he kau fakaaoao ke nau o ai leva.

Everyone has a right to his/her opinion being expressed.

There are three things that I could not understand as why current governance structure needed dissolution!!!

1. Present, governance established Court of Appeal for the benefit of a doubt in any ruling incurred in any High Court in Tonga.

==> How come the "new Gov't" could do better? Fire every Judge who make an incorrect Judgment and incompetent judges? etc ....

Surely the problem is NOT the Government Structure! Is it the Contract terms & conditions specifically state Key Performance Areas? In the next Reformed Govt, the public analyze how our leaders do their jobs based on public info & gossips. Are the voters & reformed Govt to do a better any better ? Not more than 21 cases for any Court of Appeal in any one year? No other High Court judge decision would be reserved 13 out of 14 or more?

Most of these answers could not confirmed now, however, time will tell and hope that we are there as witnesses of our claims, eh?

2. When justice does not work in favour of Pro-Demon/s & others, it is a distortion of the truth to blame solely the Govt for they oversee appointment of Judges, endorse Judges' contract, attendance of judges at social gathering with Government Official as indicators of being bias!

Are we going to issue law to define code of conduct for the benefit of a doubt by the public that judges are independent?

Why not ask the Civil Society for their opinion?

3. Pro-Demon(s) & others take advantage of loop holes, technical deficiency in Ministry of Justice officers, deficiencies in evidences being able to present in court and so forth are contributing factors in winning cases in Court.


Can we rely of better law documented for a better Tonga?

Malo.

mauifusifonua - Could kindly share with us the source to justify that 14 cases were being judged by Justice Shuster?

Respectfully,
Kumete.

mauifusifonua Wrote:Justice Shuster and Tonga's Ruling System - Something fishy!

The Court of Appeal hit a record this year claiming one of the highest

cases to be appealed. The latest figure were totaled up to 19 cases.

Five of those were presided either by Chief Justice Ford or Justice

Andrew. The remaining 14 were of Justice Shuster. The court of

appeal overruled 13 of the 14 cases under his ruling.

Kumete Wrote:Everyone has a right to his/her opinion being expressed.

There are three things that I could not understand as why current governance structure needed dissolution!!!

1. Present, governance established Court of Appeal for the benefit of a doubt in any ruling incurred in any High Court in Tonga.

It’s pretty damn shocking to feel you are telling us that Feleti Sevele

and his ring leaders were the ones initiating and formulating our current

justice system. Our constitution, which has laid the foundations that

established how our justice system operated and structured was a

result of a close consultation of three democratic governments with

Shirley Baker in 1870s. That is New Zealand which they rephrased

Baker’s draft, Hawaii and Australia - Sydney’s premier and Hawaii Consul

- General at the time which Baker approached for their advice.

I wish that people like you could now stop misleading the public by

gratifying the dictatorship with institutions and ideas that initiated by

their former colleagues which was mostly borrowed from democratic

countries.

In considering Judge Shuster’s deportment in relation to the court of

appeals verdicts, Shuster cannot be individually singled out without the

attachment of the government of Sevele. In my opinion, the two have

completely lack professionalism and leadership. And this is a matter of

asking who is responsible for employing Shuster not the damn system.

If you have some time to go over the court gazette regarding the

Appeal Judges verdict on Shuster’s ruling in these 13 cases you could

be astonished to grasp the three judges conclusion after reassessing

Saia Kami’s case that “We are satisfied that a substantial miscarriage

of justice has occurred.”

This is followed by additional comments saying that “ Not only does

that statement offend against section 21 of the Evidence Act (Cap 15)

which provides that a confession is not admissible in evidence unless it

is given voluntary, but it presupposes that the voluntary statement in

question above was, in fact, a confession


Even Police constables and newly recruiters to police academy know it

by heart that they have no lawful right at all to force anybody who is

in custody to confess as it will against the Evidence Act and no court

of justice would accept such statement as evidence of fact. 13/14

cases which is of cause 99% is not a mistake in my view. It is an utter

indication of a complete asinine of Judge Shuster’s work.



Leadership is flawed here I am afraid. Shuster has just recently

credited by the government of Sevele for a rise in his salary with

$300,000 from the poor of Tonga’s tax monies What is the justification

here for our leaders to do such an inappropriate move? Is the

government going to earnestly milk such lump sum of our tax to

commend this judge’s sloppy performance and lack of adeptness? This

is not tolerated in any democracy.

Kumete Wrote:==> How come the "new Gov't" could do better? Fire every Judge who make an incorrect Judgment and incompetent judges? etc ....

No reformation in this worldly world is once and perfect. However, there

are elements of democracy that would guarantee corruption and poor

performance of government officials shall be brought to justice as

soon as they are established and attested. That is transparency,

accountability and good governance. These three principles of

democracy are firmly secured by majority vote. Political leaders

consequently focus on making policies that are of certain appealings to

their voters. Note that it is philosophical and logical that if you are

accountable to somebody, you will mostly turn everything into his

advantages.

Kumete Wrote:Surely the problem is NOT the Government Structure! Is it the Contract terms & conditions specifically state Key Performance Areas?

So who is officially documenting and setting up the terms and

conditions state in governmental contracts? It's people who are

officiated to do the duty of running the autocratic government of Tonga

in their day to day operation. They are people who are not care less at all

to what taxpayers or laauvale might think of any mistake they do in their

obligation as political and civil leaders

Kumete Wrote:In the next Reformed Govt, the public analyze how our leaders do their jobs based on public info & gossips. Are the voters & reformed Govt to do a better any better ? Not more than 21 cases for any Court of Appeal in any one year? No other High Court judge decision would be reserved 13 out of 14 or more?

Most of these answers could not confirmed now, however, time will tell and hope that we are there as witnesses of our claims, eh?

I could now assure you that our newly elected government would be

far far better than this heathen and barbaric system of ruling. In

practice, the principles of democracy have been proved more secure

and safer in governing than any other system of government

whatsoever in modern times. Just look at our neighbouring country of

Samoa. Why are they better off? Democratic Samoa is historically said

to obtain much of its civilisation and culture from Tonga. Today we are

found to be far way back behind them.

Kumete Wrote:2. When justice does not work in favour of Pro-Demon/s & others, it is a distortion of the truth to blame solely the Govt for they oversee appointment of Judges, endorse Judges' contract, attendance of judges at social gathering with Government Official as indicators of being bias!

Your reasoning here in my view is obviously based on a premise that we

criticise the government at this stage in terms of our political stance

alluding that the victims under Shuster’s miscarriage of justice are

democrats. That is incorrect and uncalled for. About 11 of these cases

appealed due to discomfort towards Shuster’s ruling were of common

people who they are not publicly known of their political views and who

are not acquaintance of us. You will find them in the court gazette like

Saia Kami and Samiu Lolohea who they are now acquitted by the court

of appeal after being sentenced by Shuster for about a year now.

Saia Kami was sentenced to serve 2 and half years and was told to pay

$24,929.17 or serve another year. My goodness!

Kumete Wrote:Are we going to issue law to define code of conduct for the benefit of a doubt by the public that judges are independent?

Why not ask the Civil Society for their opinion?

In democracy, the checks and balances mechanism plays an important

role in ensuring that separation of powers should not be in any time

viewed to be in cooperation on any issues that are outside the

purviews of their authority. When we see two powers mingling together

in the event of entertainment especially in a system existed without

transparency, we human being are naturally tends to be suspicious.


I feel that your deduction here is based primarily on Tonga’s political

culture. But please Don't tar everyone with the same brush!

Well we are going to ask now - who has gifted Judge Shuster

with the $300,000. It's not our fault but this is the result of living in a

system of government that lack or even without accountability and

good governance. Taxpayers would have no other option to

comprehend what their leaders are undertaking but just to draw their

own conclusion from whatever facts available for them.

Kumete Wrote:3. Pro-Demon(s) & others take advantage of loop holes, technical deficiency in Ministry of Justice officers, deficiencies in evidences being able to present in court and so forth are contributing factors in winning cases in Court.

I think you are contradicting yourself here. You are now telling us that

there is loop hole in the current justice system. And why are you

supporting it? By the way, are we going to blame the people for the

consequences of the justice system? How about if the defendants are

acquitted because they were innocence? I have a feeling

now that you have a strong sense of hatred against the Pro

Democrats.

Kumete Wrote:Can we rely of better law documented for a better Tonga?
Malo.

Rest assured my friend as I am telling you now that when democracy

arrives in Tonga by next year you will start to experience its sumptuous

surroundings that instantly embellished Tonga with honesty, justice,

fairness, truth, integrity, sensation, love and all such godly morality

and goodness. From there ,trust, confidence, self reliance, and faith

in our political leaders will start to emerge where all good fortune will

plummet Tongan communities and society with good leadership and

direction. We will eventually walk tall and be proud of our new

constitution that would reflects transparency, accountability and good

governance for the first time in the history of Tonga.

Ka ke po'uli a!

Koe fehui'i mahuinga ange, pe koe ha nae moua ai ae kelea ihe l..ho koena ko judge si'usita, kae overturn ehe fkmaau tangi ae tutuuni a l..ho ko si'usita?

elava pe koe taha eni oe ngaahi uhinga? koe uhi koe kaisi pe taha, kau loea tatau, fkmaau si'usita tatau pe, evidence tatau, tohi lao tatau pe......e lava pe ke pehe koe kau fkmaau mei muli he appeal, oku ikai totongi ia meihe PM sevele, ka ko l..aho ko si'usita, naane osi fepotalanoaki ia mo pm fa'ele (sorry sevele) ke hiki ene vahe 'a si'usita aki ae tolu kilu nima mano.

tau tesi'i ae foi fkkaukau;
1. case a sevele koe ita he kelea koe tala ene elo
2. loea a sevele nae ikai totongi, kae totongi aki nautolu ihono fkkau he u komisoni oku totongi $1,800.00 a day
3. talanoa a si'usita moe sevele ke hiki ene vahe aki ae $350,000, fakataha moene vaha lolotonga $500,000.....hummm tatau ae benefit a si'usita meihe PM moe silini okune award ka PM....malie pea lesoni
4. tuutuuni ae l..ho ko si'usita ke moua ae kelea $500,000
5. ha'u ae kau fkmaau ikai totongi ehe palemia, mei muli (federal judges) o talange kihe lah... ko si'usita nae elo ene tuutuuni, and where the f..ck did he come up with such decision
6. toe talaange ehe kau federal judges kia sevele; koe $500,000 nae ai kene toho meihe kelea, ke alu toho mei 'us... o si'usita, koe mea pe tena mau meihe kelea koe foi te'ep...lo koe "SORRY FOR MY WRONG"

TOTOATU AE FOI KAISI............TONGA MAKE HISTORY IN JUSTICE...MALIE PM, LOEA AFEAKI, MO JUDGE SI'UUUSITA......TA MOUTOLU 'E 'AKILISI 'O PIHI HOMOU NIMA KILU.

FEE KAU TAMA HOO MOU SIO KIHE FOI LINI, NGALINGALI TONU, PE TONU AUPITO, PE TONU PASIKA

MOONI LAU AE JUSTICE, THE BITCH IS BLIND, UNTIL SHE IS PAID OFF

Spot on Tupou 5! Haleluiah!

I am amuse how mauifusifonua could be very timely response with such detaiis! Caption of quotes then I realized that it is you fakamaau!!! Good day to you and lets get down to it eh?

I am delighted for the response and the time taken to address my quest for an understand of opinions expressed here in response to our Court System and current Govt Structure!

I propose that we try to understand each other first, ok?

fakamaau Wrote:It’s pretty damn shocking to feel you are telling us that Feleti Sevele

and his ring leaders were the ones initiating and formulating our current

justice system. Our constitution, which has laid the foundations that

established how our justice system operated and structured was a

result of a close consultation of three democratic governments with

Shirley Baker in 1870s. That is New Zealand which they rephrased

Baker’s draft, Hawaii and Australia - Sydney’s premier and Hawaii Consul

- General at the time which Baker approached for their advice.

I wish that people like you could now stop misleading the public by

gratifying the dictatorship with institutions and ideas that initiated by

their former colleagues which was mostly borrowed from democratic

countries.

My Response :

You have a point here. Current leaders did not put it there in the first place. I should have used maintained in place of established.

However, I was under the impression Pro-Demons & others would come up with a better Justice System!

Kumete Wrote:Everyone has a right to his/her opinion being expressed.

There are three things that I could not understand as why current governance structure needed dissolution!!!

1. Present, governance established Court of Appeal for the benefit of a doubt in any ruling incurred in any High Court in Tonga.

fakamaau Wrote:In considering Judge Shuster’s deportment in relation to the court of

appeals verdicts, Shuster cannot be individually singled out without the

attachment of the government of Sevele.

Appointment is approved by Government, however, terms of reference are specified in Judge Shuster's contract, right?

Sevele could be solely responsible if he has the fianl say in the job evaluation of the judge.

fakamaau Wrote:In my opinion, the two have completely lack professionalism and leadership. And this is a matter of asking who is responsible for employing Shuster not the damn system.

Your opinion is noted but we cannot used it to terminate neither the service of the Judge nor the PM, yes?

Shouldn't there be an evaluation or review of contract after "X" number of years by the employer? Otherwise what is the protocol to relive Judge Shuster from his office or even the PM?

Surely, written submissions to the Constitutional & Electoral Commission should address this matter if this was noted for the reform. Otherwise, government will deal with it in years to come.

fakamaau Wrote:If you have some time to go over the court gazette regarding the

Appeal Judges verdict on Shuster’s ruling in these 13 cases you could

be astonished to grasp the three judges conclusion after reassessing

Saia Kami’s case that “We are satisfied that a substantial miscarriage

of justice has occurred.”

This is followed by additional comments saying that “ Not only does

that statement offend against section 21 of the Evidence Act (Cap 15)

which provides that a confession is not admissible in evidence unless it

is given voluntary, but it presupposes that the voluntary statement in

question above was, in fact, a confession


Even Police constables and newly recruiters to police academy know it

by heart that they have no lawful right at all to force anybody who is

in custody to confess as it will against the Evidence Act and no court

of justice would accept such statement as evidence of fact. 13/14

cases which is of cause 99% is not a mistake in my view. It is an utter

indication of a complete asinine of Judge Shuster’s work.

I will read the transcripts, when I have time but for now, our discussion is based on these matters on the table.

fakamaau Wrote:Leadership is flawed here I am afraid. Shuster has just recently

credited by the government of Sevele for a rise in his salary with

$300,000 from the poor of Tonga’s tax monies What is the justification

here for our leaders to do such an inappropriate move?

I am aware that some the High Court Judges are co-funded by donor agencies. After 16/11, Court cases increased substantially and it is unrealistic to rely only on two High Court Judges, right? Estimates for damages incurred on 16/11 was around US$300 millions to US$400 millions. Is it rightful for Government to hire an extra High Court Judge to gather for abnormalities event being done by the people?

What is the salary scale for High Court Judges in Tonga? What about High Court Judges in the Pacific similar to Tonga size, GDP, Real GDP per Capita, etc...?

fakamaau Wrote:Is the government going to earnestly milk such lump sum of our tax to

commend this judge’s sloppy performance and lack of adeptness? This

is not tolerated in any democracy.

Job evaluation should address this issue. Kindly bear in mind how many cases being handled by this judge. We tend to focus on 13/14 but how about 14/"X number" of cases served by the Judge.

tau toki hoko atu ee....uuuuuummmmmmaaaaa!!!!

Dear Kumete,

Why don't we cut the technical bullsh...t, and get down to the core of our disagreement....and that is, you believe in the current tongan system (dictatorship) and we believe in tonga democracy.

so what is your point, that dictatorship of tonga k5 and his blood suckers should rule/decide on what to do with the "people's money" for their own good; and argue that those who's money finance the government should not have any say in what to do with their money......what planet are you from?

the net result on tonga dictatorship is illustrated in all cases. lets take one as a sample, and you choose one of your liking to be diagnosed to prove your case.

case and point: shoreline....the electrical infrastructure that distribute electricity that cost 10s of millions to build, was "TAKEN forcefully by the faked g5 and his ring leaders" to use to milk for his personal use......

and then, he wanted to sell it back to the people (that he forcefully took from) for 60 million......what a loving leader.

let see, the head of state g5, take millions of the people's money to build the infrastructure to distribute electricity so the people can have lighting
2. after the money is spent the infrastructure is up and running well, g5 become the chairman of the board with his ring leaders that he choose and fire as he wishes, put forth a motion.........i suggest as chairman g5 to GIVE the power distribution to "ME, because i am special.....all in favor raise you hands
3. all members of the board lay on the floor and rail all five of their legs (two hands, two legs, and the smaller hand)
4. nov/16 happends, people are feed up with the bullshi...
5. g5 says to the world, because i am the king, i will do the kingly thing and "SELL" you animals back your power distribution system that you built with your money, and that I took for decades and gained over a 200 million, for a very low price of 60 million............

that is dictatorship of tonga in a nutshell contextualize in only one case.

now, kumete lets hear your horror story of tonga's democracy or the benefit of dictatorship explain in a real case.

There you are people.... Sevi and g double 5 .... suck it! 'Oua toe fai'angaua ia kihe Kele'aa eee!

Dear tupou5,

So great of you to participate in matters which you believe to be so simple and skim through without complications.

First of all, who is forcing you to shut up in here?

Surely, your user name had lifted your ego and express your will as to freedom of writing!

Your claim that the current tongan system (dictatorship) could be correct in some plain aspects of governance which has been maintained law & order for about 130 years.

For your information, I am urging and support the current regime for incremental reform rather than broad call without details for democracy as for many in here.

The reform as stated by The King in the opening address of Parliament and method for a democratically electoral system are sufficient as road map to democracy commencing 2010!


Anyway, let's look at your case stated :

TEPB to Shoreline Power -- was a proposal from People Rep to be privatize and it was leased by Shoreline.

-- return of Shoreline Power to Govt -- again was the call from the People Rep ..... Is this the kind of democracy you are seeking? Took a step forward and take five steps backward after testing of your thoughts?

-- bear in mind there was out of Court settlement by Shoreline & some of People Rep on behalf of Electricity Consumers. Did the consumers received any financial benefits from this settlement/s?

-- Govt act as a guarantor of the Shoreline loan to development power generation. Do you understand being a Guarantor? Did Govt paid directly any money for the loan before the handover with Tonga Power?

-- you gotta be joking using 16/11 as an act of feed up with the People Rep eh? Do you really know who is really fooling you? Perhaps, we should leave it as it is for now.

Was the settlement between Shoreline and Tonga Power unlawful?

There was a negotiation, an independent evaluator and a final price of about US$17 millions agreed as settlement.

The only dictator that I could see for now is the People Rep in the Shoreline case for they demand everything to be done at $0.00. Perhaps, People Rep seems to be acting as GOD, their words would evolve in miracles and transform everything to their like, eh?

Kumete Wrote:Dear tupou5,

So great of you to participate in matters which you believe to be so simple and skim through without complications.

First of all, who is forcing you to shut up in here?
YOU.

Surely, your user name had lifted your ego and express your will as to freedom of writing!
NOT AT ALL...IT IS DEMEANING MY REAL NAME!


Your claim that the current tongan system (dictatorship) could be correct in some plain aspects of governance which has been maintained law & order for about 130 years.
THAT IS WHY THE WHOLE ASPECTS OF THE COUNTRY IS FU*KING DISASTER. EVERYTHING IS HITTING THE ALL TIME LOW! 130 YRS OF EMOTIONAL ABUSE! AND THE ROYALS HAS BECOME A POLITICAL LIABILITY NOT AN ASSET.

For your information, I am urging and support the current regime for incremental reform rather than broad call without details for democracy as for many in here.
YOY ARE ACTUALLY SUPPORTING THE CORRUPTION AND ABUSE TO FLOURISH IN OUR TINY KINGDOM.

The reform as stated by The King in the opening address of Parliament and method for a democratically electoral system are sufficient as road map to democracy commencing 2010!
THANK GOD TO 'AKILISI AND PEOPLES' REPS FOR PUSHING AND PUSHING AND PUSHING AND FINALLY T5 AGREED! GREAT AND THANK U T5 FOR GIVING US OUR FREEDOM.

Anyway, let's look at your case stated :

TEPB to Shoreline Power -- was a proposal from People Rep to be privatize and it was leased by Shoreline.
CRAP CRAP , LIES AND MORE LIES.....PARLIAMENT AGREED FOR A PRIVATIZATION TO BE DONE! IT WAS NOT A LEASE IT WAS OWNED BY T5. THE PROCESS OF TENDER WAS ALSO A MOCKERY! SHORELINE WON THE TENDER FOR SO MANY MILLION DOLLARS. THE GOVERNMENT SIGNED IT OFF HOWEVER, THE QUESTION THAT YOU SHOULD ASK IS THAT .... DID SHORELINE ACTUALLY GAVE THE GOVERNMENT THE MONEY FOR THE TENDER? NO! SO, FOR ALL THESE YEARS, THEY ARE MAKING MONEY FROM OUR POWER BUT THEY DID NOT GIVE THE COUNTRY THE MONETARY VALUE OF THE TENDER

-- return of Shoreline Power to Govt -- again was the call from the People Rep ..... Is this the kind of democracy you are seeking? Took a step forward and take five steps backward after testing of your thoughts? THAT WAS THE VERY REASON WHY THE PR WANTED TO TAKE THE POWER BACK FROM SHORELINE. THANK GOODNESS WE HAVE SMART PEOPLE REPS YEH!

RIGHT NOW, YOU NEED TO KISS YOUR arxe!

Kehekehe -- you can login as tupou5 too or just coz u booth support Pro-Demon(s) as ideology?

Kumete Wrote:Kehekehe -- you can login as tupou5 too or just coz u booth support Pro-Demon(s) as ideology?

Kume, 'oua 'e fo'i pe pea palafu takai holo. Kapau 'oku ke fie argue, get your facts right. 'Oua 'e fa'a fanongo talanoa 'ia K mo 'Ese mo Seve pea ke feinga ke ke ha'u 'o palafu...Tonga is a very tiny kingdom. When you fart from one corner of the island, I can assure you it will not long before everyone heard it and also smell it...

Kumete Wrote:Kehekehe -- you can login as tupou5 too or just coz u booth support Pro-Demon(s) as ideology?

lol when you misuse the word "ideology". Na'a ke fanongo he fo'ilea koiaa 'i fe? Kataki pe Kume 'oku 'ikai fa'a ngaue'aki 'ae lea ia koiaa 'ihe context ko'ena 'oku ke kovaho mai ai. Let me educate you a little bit:

Ideology is a system of ideas. That system of ideas forms the basis of economic, social and political theory. Democracy on the other hand is also a certain set of ideas that form up a specific type of system to run an elected government.

I have never heard of such a word "Pro-Demon(s)". Ideology and Demons do not go hand in hand! Sorry mate! Ka 'o kapau koho'o 'uhinga 'ae Pro-Demons kia K mo 'Ese mo T5 mo Sevi oh, you're dam right! lol lol lol.....

Kumete Wrote:Anyway, let's look at your case stated :

TEPB to Shoreline Power -- was a proposal from People Rep to be privatize and it was leased by Shoreline.

No, that is not correct.
The government was advised my the ADB to privatise as many of the government owned entities as possible, including the TEPB since it was making a loss of around 3 million dollars.

The ADB recommended that the government introduce competition as a part of the privatisation.

Contrary to the ADB's recommendation, the (now) king advised parliament that he would be the only contender for the power, so therefore there would not be any competition. And whats even more disturbing is that the king leased the assets for free, never paid any commissions on those government owned assets, the government kept the debt and people received higher energy prices.

Kumete Wrote:-- return of Shoreline Power to Govt -- again was the call from the People Rep ..... Is this the kind of democracy you are seeking? Took a step forward and take five steps backward after testing of your thoughts?.

Yes you are correct. The peoples reps along with many others advocated for the return of the power to the hands of the government. If you read the comments I made above, it will come abundantly clear to you why this had to happen. Shoreline was ripping the people off. There was no transparency, and shoreline was making a killing out of the deal.

Kumete Wrote:-- bear in mind there was out of Court settlement by Shoreline & some of People Rep on behalf of Electricity Consumers. Did the consumers received any financial benefits from this settlement/s?

The court case was between the peoples reps and Shoreline. I have not seen anything that states that this action was done on behalf of the people. As far as I was aware, it was the peoples reps that funded thier own court case, not the people.

Now, if the people did not receive any benefits out of this, then you need to contact Shoreline for this info since the out of court settlement sought by Shoreline prevented the peoples reps from releasing any details.

Kumete Wrote:-- Govt act as a guarantor of the Shoreline loan to development power generation. Do you understand being a Guarantor? Did Govt paid directly any money for the loan before the handover with Tonga Power?

The Tongan government exposed its own people to a huge risk by acting a guarantor to a private company (shoreline). This risk resulted in the government having to buy its own assets back at a huge cost increase and without any commissions paid on the use of those assets. Moreover, Shoreline had not even maintained the assets that it leased. it returned them in a poorer condition despite making millions of dollars from their use.

Anyway, the guarantor issue was a bad mistake. This allowed a private company (shoreline) to have access to bank loans, of which it was not responsible for. Yes, if shoreline defaulted on its loan, then the people (by way of the gov't) would have to pay for this.

When the government went guarantor, it allowed Shoreline to take a (Risk free) $30 million dollar loan to build Tonfon and the Tonfon TV network...it was not used to improve or benefit the peoples power assets at all.

The end result was the King held the government to ransom. If he failed to pay back his 30 million, the bank would take it from the people by means of thier taxes off the government. Shoreline would still be debt free.

So that then raises the issue of why the government had to pay a ridiculous high price for the power assets that it already owned. It had no choice but to pay out the Shoreline loan since it (the government) was the guarantor of that loan. It was a trap and the government fell face first into it and the people paid the price.

Kumete Wrote:Was the settlement between Shoreline and Tonga Power unlawful?

That’s like asking Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe if his election is lawfull. Of course it is!! He made the law and he passed the law! Now he has the right to continue to plunder his own people....lawfully!

Ask Bainimarama of Fiji if his coup is lawful. He will answer you OF course! It has been passed buy the current government! Now Bainimarama can sack the judges, the PM and devalue his own currency...legally.

Ask China is their occupation of Tibet and the innocent killing of Tibetans is lawful. Of course its lawfull! This has been sanctioned by the Chinese government!

Kumete Wrote:There was a negotiation, an independent evaluator and a final price of about US$17 millions agreed as settlement.?

No you are wrong.
There was no "Independent" evaluation conducted. The government contracted Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) to review documentation itself provided to PWC. that documentation together with the Terms of Reference (TOR) given to PWC ensured that the "valuation" based on the information provided would result in a figure of USD$17 million.

But that does not mean the power assets that Shoreline had leased (and did not own) were in fact worth USD 17 million. No!

it means the documentation and instructions provided to PWC would result in a valuation of USD $17 million. BIG DIFFERENCE!

If the government was honest, it would have engaged a power engineering consultant to properly come up with a transparent valuation of what the assets are worth. Not an accountant.

What Sevele did was like having a car and asking the farmer to provide him with a formal valuation of it!

PWC are not engineers, they are accountants and are not qualified to make an assessment of the value of existing power assets. And they NEVER DID! They are however qualified to make an accounting assessment based on what ever information is given to them (in terms of receipts, expenses, initial costs etc).

If you remember the price that North Power wanted to pay for the assets? it was far less than official government valuation. That is because North Power understood and was qualified to make such an assesment. North Power was right! The assets were not worth what the "Official Valuation" stated.

This Shoreline issue has made 3 or 4 people very very rich at the expense of people of Tonga. Tongas paid the highest cost of power in the Pacific. And if you add onto that cost the USD$19 million the people also paid to buy it back....It will show you when Shoreline owed the power, Tonga's electricity is worth more than Gold!

The peoples reps were right to ask for the power to be taken back out the hands of Shoreline. This arrangement was a noose around the neck of the government and its people. The peoples reps need to be congratulated for looking after the peoples interest in this very complicated matter.

Kumete Wrote:Kehekehe -- you can login as tupou5 too or just coz u booth support Pro-Demon(s) as ideology?

Thank you for the quality debates.

Kehekehe Wrote:Kume, 'oua 'e fo'i pe pea palafu takai holo. Kapau 'oku ke fie argue, get your facts right. 'Oua 'e fa'a fanongo talanoa 'ia K mo 'Ese mo Seve pea ke feinga ke ke ha'u 'o palafu...Tonga is a very tiny kingdom. When you fart from one corner of the island, I can assure you it will not long before everyone heard it and also smell it...

Kumete Wrote:Kehekehe -- you can login as tupou5 too or just coz u booth support Pro-Demon(s) as ideology?

Perhaps, you may be better off as Editor of this forum rather than trying so hard to contribute, eh?

Anyway, you have demonstrated something crucial in any public debates in addressing issue and express your thoughts as a grown up person. For that matter I salute you my opponent with respect! Please don't stop there for you have more to offer if maintain and develop more of these kind of analysis.

Respectfully,
Kumete.

Kehekehe Wrote:lol when you misuse the word "ideology". Na'a ke fanongo he fo'ilea koiaa 'i fe? Kataki pe Kume 'oku 'ikai fa'a ngaue'aki 'ae lea ia koiaa 'ihe context ko'ena 'oku ke kovaho mai ai. Let me educate you a little bit:

Ideology is a system of ideas. That system of ideas forms the basis of economic, social and political theory. Democracy on the other hand is also a certain set of ideas that form up a specific type of system to run an elected government.

I have never heard of such a word "Pro-Demon(s)". Ideology and Demons do not go hand in hand! Sorry mate! Ka 'o kapau koho'o 'uhinga 'ae Pro-Demons kia K mo 'Ese mo T5 mo Sevi oh, you're dam right! lol lol lol.....

Hufanga atu he fakatapu kuo aofaki he loki ni pea fakamolemole'i ange au

Pea koe'uhi pe na'a ngali kuo mo'ungaloa 'ia kimoutolu kotoa, ka na'e totonu ke mou fiefia he ko e uhinga totonu pe ena nae fokotu'u ai etau si'i Fakamaau'anga Tangi ke toe siofi 'a e etau totonu.

I say the system is good, it is able to correct itself. The unfortunate missteps of a single person(in this case the honourable Judge) does not drag everyone back to the Lapita Age.

As for allegations of bias and misjudgement due to unnecessary affiliation with a political appointment(which in case the honourable Doctor Sevele), I say it is as unfounded as the fuss of naive and women.

There is a Judicial Services Commission, with the mandate to review performances of Judges and Magistrates. If they err intentionally, they are replaced according to strict judicial standards.

If any of you have got evidence or outstanding allegations that prove any Judges' mishaps, that Commission is the place to go. Let's not politicise a sensitive seat lest we damage its reputation.

Mo e hufaki