Tonga Young Leslie, Heather E
The Contemporary Pacific, Volume 19, Number 1, Spring 2007, pp. 262-276 (Article)
Published by University of Hawai'i Press DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/cp.2007.0021
For additional information about this article https://muse.jhu.edu/article/208839
[ Access provided at 20 Apr 2021 05:32 GMT from The University of Alberta ] 262 the contemporary pacific • 19:1 (2007)
Making Sessions of the General Fono. generation, provided the impetus for Manuscript. the first major march of what became ———. 2006. Decisions. Manuscript. a season of marches. Piveni Piukala, a Kalolo, Kelihiano. 2000. Tokelau. Poly- former computer systems manager at nesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July Shoreline, alleged financial misman- 1998–30 June 1999. The Contemporary agement, falsification of audits, and Pacific 12:246–249. exorbitant salaries of approximately Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1980. Toke- us$400,000 each for the three main lau: ana faiga faka-te-malo ma na kui- executives, Sosefo Ramanlal, Soane kuiga fakaofiha (Tokelau: Its System of Ramanlal, and Crown Prince Tupou- Government and Administration). Wel- to‘a. Piukala warned that the prob- lington, nz: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. lems at Shoreline would cause the ocogt, Office of the Council of the people to feel disloyal toward the Ongoing Government of Tokelau. 2005. royal family and especially toward the Tokelau: Self-Determination Package. crown prince. In early May, the Peo- Manuscript. ple’s Representatives filed writs in the Supreme Court against Shoreline and the Tonga Electric Power Board. At Tonga the same time, the Tongan Human Rights and Democracy Movement The last decade has seen an escalation (thrdm) began organizing a petition of social, political, and economic and conferring with the People’s changes in Tonga, but the events of Democracy Party and other “Demos” the past year have been extraordinary: —democracy movement supporters— Thousands of people participated in about a protest. The petition listed numerous protest marches, climaxing objections to the way the national in a general strike that held the gov- electricity provision had been priva- ernment hostage for six weeks; royal tized, to the fact that Shoreline held a family insiders spoke publicly against monopoly, and to the fact that elec- the authority of the king; the first tricity was so expensive while the elected and commoner member of company’s directors received such Parliament was named prime minis- high salaries. After gaining twenty ter; the first woman was appointed to thousand signatures, on 26 May cabinet; and the king gave his assent 2005 a record four thousand people to the National Committee for Politi- marched to present the petition to cal Reform. It has been a dramatic, the palace. It was read aloud by the traumatic, and emancipatory year for thrdm president, the Rev Simote Tonga, and in these respects the con- Vea. As he spoke, Vea also called on sequences of the popular uprisings of the king to surrender power to the 2005–2006 constitute a political, people and to become a ceremonial social, and psychological coup for figurehead like the monarch in Brit- Tongans at home and abroad. ain. (The People’s Representatives In March 2005, whistle-blower later disavowed prior knowledge of revelations about Shoreline, the com- these latter demands.) pany holding a monopoly on power The next day, parliamentarians political reviews • polynesia 263 considered the forthcoming budget tion of the Public Service Association and appropriations for salary revi- (psa), with Finau Tutone as president sions, which had been going through and Maliu Takai as vice president. At committees including the Higher the meeting there were calls for a Salary Review Committee. Amid the national strike and another protest debate, ‘Akilisi Pohiva, the First Peo- march, but the newly formed psa ple’s Representative for Tongatapu, executive managed to convince the was steadfast in moving for a delay on members to begin with a letter of the salary revisions vote. His motions grievance. This was submitted to were defeated, and on 1 July the new Paula Ma‘u, the deputy secretary to salary scales came into effect. Upper- the prime minister, on 15 July, with a echelon civil servants were awarded response requested within three days. raises of up to 57 percent, while some The prime minister was out of the of those in the bottom tiers received country, but on 20 July, with no nothing. response from the prime minister’s The public servants’ strike was office, Clive Edwards (former minister the defining event of 2005. It began, of police but now one of Tongatapu’s unofficially, early in July. Soon after People’s Representatives) gave an the salary revisions were released, interview on television. He spoke of deputy ministers and other mid-level the inequity of the new salary struc- administrators from various sections tures. As Edwards put it, while gov- of the public service began clandes- ernment ministers now earned over tinely discussing the recently released t$100,000 (us$52,532) a year, police- revised salary scales. Their cautious men struggled to survive on t$50 discussions with each other stemmed (us$26.27) a week. The People’s from the unusual way in which Representatives, he affirmed, would salaries and departmental budgets support a strike if the Public Service had been released: Previously, the civil Association called for one. The fol- roll was an open document, and civil lowing evening, 21 July, two thousand employees were able to compare civil servants met at the Queen Sälote budgets and remuneration. But in Hall in the capital of Nuku‘alofa and 2005, this transparency was foregone; voted for an immediate strike. administrators were told that they At the time of the Shoreline pro- only needed to know the information test, a march of four thousand people for their own sections. However, as seemed a huge turnout. But it proved one deputy department head told me, to be a mere rehearsal for the protests “The cabinet’s attempt at secrecy to come. Despite pleas by the psa was defeated in the Tongan way: executive to give the prime minister’s Of course, we all have family in other office more time, and buoyed by the parts of the civil service. After some momentum of the turnout for the phone calls, we knew the whole bud- Shoreline protest, the civil servants get! That’s when we knew that the had had enough. Overnight they pay rises were unfair.” mobilized, and on 22 July an esti- A meeting of a thousand civil ser- mated six thousand people marched vants on 13 July led to the formaliza- through Nuku‘alofa to Parliament. 264 the contemporary pacific • 19:1 (2007)
These numbers reflect roughly 8 per- response to their request. The follow- cent of the residents of the main island ing morning, Finau Tutone issued a of Tongatapu, and 6 percent of the call for the civil servants to begin national population. The turnout for meeting at Pangai Si‘i until they the march and the rapidity with received the government’s response. which the civil action was mobilized Public schools throughout the country astonished even the organizers. Their were forced to close, as 1,466 (out of demand was simple: change the salary 1,600) teachers walked off the job. scales. The psa letter proposed increases of The first response came from Act- 80 percent to salaries for the lowest- ing Prime Minister Cecil Cocker. He level employees, 70 percent for those advised the striking workers that the at the mid-level, and 60 percent for cabinet could not accommodate them; those in the upper ranks. They esti- they had to follow procedure and mated the raises would cost t$20 seek a resolution to their salary dis- million (us$10,506,409) and could putes from their heads of departments be covered without increasing taxes. and the Public Service Commission. This has come to be referred to as the He also warned that if people did not “60, 70, 80 Letter.” return to work, they would be dealt In Parliament, the Tu‘ipelehake, with under the public service regula- nephew of the king and a Nobles’ tions—a clear threat. The next day, Representative, made a motion in 23 July, downtown Nuku‘alofa was support of the psa letter. With cabinet like a ghost town. Strikers had not members abstaining, Nobles’ and Peo- returned to their desks. The offices of ple’s Representatives voted to refer the Ministries of Marine and Ports, the letter to the cabinet. Meanwhile, Fisheries, Lands, Labor, Works, the a labor negotiator and a retired judge Post Office, the Civil Service Com- arrived from New Zealand, at the mission, and the Treasury were essen- request of the Tongan government, tially closed. A lack of ports person- to act as mediators. Acting Prime nel required one ship to bypass its Minister Cecil Cocker demanded that scheduled stop in Tonga. But the gov- the strikers return to work while the ernment remained steadfast: there negotiations took place. The Public would be no changes to the salary Service Association responded that scales. they would, if granted an immediate Undaunted, the Public Service 60 percent pay increase. When gov- Association held a rally on 25 July, ernment refused, the association again at Queen Sälote Hall, where refused to meet with the mediators. they voted to ask Parliament to sup- When they returned to New Zealand, port their cause. Following the rally, the labor negotiator called on the some two thousand people marched trade unions there to support the to Pangai Si‘i, a park located in cen- Tongan strikers. tral Nuku‘alofa between Parliament, By 28 July, with imports and Treasury, and the Prime Minister’s exports stymied, the business com- Offices. They declared their intention munity became involved. Sione Kioa, to wait there for the government’s president of the Tonga Chamber of political reviews • polynesia 265
Commerce, brokered a deal between such as health and police, or those the PSA executive and most govern- who could not afford to go on strike. ment ministers that seemed to provide On 29 July, the cabinet offered a a means for people to return to work unilateral raise of 12.5 percent, while negotiations continued. The funded mostly by cabinet ministers deal called for a return to the old agreeing to relinquish the raises allo- salary structure (the one that had cated to them by the Higher Salary been in place prior to 1 July 2005), Review Committee. The cabinet but with an increase of 10–15 percent argued that this was all the country for all civil servants below heads of could afford. The minister of finance, departments and ministers, and an Siosiua ‘Utoikamanu, said that the agreement to plan for further pay psa proposal would cost t$36.8 mil- increases as they could be afforded. lion, and would require raising more The deal also called for reforming taxes, contrary to what the Public the membership of the Higher Salary Service Association had determined. Review Committee so that it included Later, the finance minister admitted to actual civil servants. The final point an error in his estimation. His error was to suspend and defer the imple- was a source of both amusement and mentation of the salary system that derision within the ranks of the strik- had been devised by the Higher Salary ing civil servants. As one striker told Review Committee. All that was me: “I used to look up to them, they required for civil servants to return to were the ministers, but now, I saw, work was some sort of official confir- they don’t know what they are doing! mation from the prime minister, who I am the one with the degree in eco- had recently returned from overseas. nomics, we are the ones who have the The prime minister, Prince ‘Ulukalala education, and they make decisions Lavaka ‘Ata, thanked the business- but they even don’t know how. They people for their interest but advised are incompetent and we cannot let them that government would follow them ruin Tonga any more.” The 12.5 its own process. percent offer was rejected and was The prime minister’s rejection of later followed with other cabinet pro- the deal was perceived by many civil posals—20 percent, then 30 percent— servants as a strong-arm tactic, but the strikers’ resolve was solid. rumored to be on the advice of the “We know the money is there,” many crown prince. They saw it as intended people said, in response to the argu- to break their solidarity and play on ment that pay raises over 30 percent their poverty. Whether these motives would bankrupt the country. were true or not, the strikers began to By now, the gatherings at Pangai show increased resolve: Pangai Si‘i Si‘i were larger and more elaborate. became the daily staging ground for Marquees, tables, and benches were the striking workers to hear speeches, set up, and a portable loudspeaker sing songs, and drink kava. This system allowed the growing crowds to attracted supporters beyond those hear and voice their opinions. Food working in the civil service, as well as was donated by local businesses, and those working in essential branches, a local television station aired live 266 the contemporary pacific • 19:1 (2007) broadcasts of the speeches. Sympathy joined by students and parents from for the striking workers was expand- the Nuku‘alofa Primary School, the ing across the country and overseas. Catholic Women’s League, and the The interest of foreign media organi- Tonga Institute of Higher Education. zations was acknowledged with pro- The civil servants’ strike was becom- test signs written in English. ing a general strike. On 3 August, the head prefect of Soon thereafter, the cabinet issued Tonga College led one hundred sing- an order to close Pangai Si‘i. This led ing and clapping students to Pangai to the first confrontation between Si‘i, where they declared their support strikers and police. Early in the morn- for their teachers and expressed con- ing on Monday, 8 August, police cor- cern for their education. In response, doned off the park entrances. When the minister of education, the Rev- the initial group of strikers arrived erend Dr Tevita Palefau, announced a they were told to go home. Instead, a salary offer for teachers amounting to crowd gathered at the perimeter of t$2 million, with raises ranging from the park. The mood was defiant. The 60 percent to 125 percent. Two days potentially volatile situation was dif- later, on 5 August, in the largest polit- fused when the Reverend ‘Aisea Kava ical gathering in Tongan history, began to pray: as the police officers teachers and other striking workers joined in the prayer, the crowd of met at the Teufaiva Stadium to dis- about two hundred spontaneously cuss the offer. They voted resound- surged into the park with cries of ingly to reject the offer, seeing it as “Don’t fear!” One woman described “too late” and as a blatant attempt to it to me afterward as “a wonderful split psa solidarity. The Tu‘ipelehake moment. It was like God was there spoke in support of the strikers’ goals with us.” Police admonished the and acquired the nickname, “the crowd for disobeying the cabinet People’s Prince.” The cheering and order but did not force them to vacate clapping crowd of ten thousand, with (privately, several police officers told the Tu‘ipelehake among them, then me they supported the strikers’ goals marched from the stadium to Parlia- and only refrained from joining the ment to deliver their unified response: strike out of duty to keep the peace). the only acceptable offer was “60, 70, psa president Finau Tutone drafted an 80, for all public servants.” immediate letter to the Privy Council, 5 August was a busy day in Nuku- requesting reversion of the cabinet ‘alofa. While actively supporting the order, while People’s Representative strikers in their off-hours, most physi- Clive Edwards requested a court cians, dentists, nurses had remained injunction. On the same day, the king on the job. But this day, some six tried to appease the strikers by prom- hundred health professionals, led by ising an independent audit of the Drs ‘Aivi Puloka and ‘Ana ‘Akau‘ola, salary scales. The psa executive and marched to Pangai Si‘i, leaving behind strikers responded that they would a skeleton crew to handle obstetric continue to wait at Pangai Si‘i for the and emergency cases at Vaiola Hospi- results. The next day, Chief Justice tal. Striking health workers were Robin Webber delivered his judgment political reviews • polynesia 267 that the cabinet had no right to close the school compound. Police arrested Pangai Si‘i. two hundred students and detained On Sunday, 14 August, Teufaiva another one hundred until their par- Stadium was again the site for a huge ents came to retrieve them. Later that gathering—this time a church service day at Pangai Si‘i, a protestor read a in which an estimated five thousand letter threatening more violence if the people came to pray with the king government did not settle in favor of for a solution to the strike. But His the strikers. In the early hours of 18 Majesty was upstaged by his democ- August, four cars parked in the Inland racy-supporting nephew, the Tu‘ipele- Revenue Service lot were torched and hake, who received applause and exploded. The following night, Sosefo cheers when he stood to read a Bible Ramanlal’s house was attacked with passage. On Monday, the Public Molotov cocktails. Damage was mini- Service Association offered cabinet mal. But on 23 August, Uoleva, a a twelve-point proposal for how to historic house in the village of Tata- resume negotiations. It included the kamotonga (on Tongatapu) that need for two arbiters—one for the belonged to the royal family, was government and one for the associa- destroyed by fire. On the northern tion—plus a mutually agreed island of Vava‘u, computers at the “umpire.” As the association waited government high school were found for the cabinet’s response, the royal smashed and classrooms ransacked. family traveled to Auckland to cele- The damage was done in the early brate the engagement of Princess Pilo- hours of 24 August, and police sus- levu’s daughter, Fanetupou Vava‘u, pected students. Meanwhile, the king to the grandson of the Samoan para- was still in Auckland, and his resi- mount chief, Malietau Malietoa. The dence there was the focus of unprece- irony of civil servants struggling to dented protests, which were also pay bills while the royal family funded tinged with violence. a lavish celebration did not go unno- A surprise visit to Pangai Si‘i by ticed, and led to the first real strike- Princess Pilolevu, recently returned related violence within Tonga. from New Zealand, and acting as On 17 August, students at Tonga regent in her father’s absence, may College were informed that their have helped stem the violence, which principal, Tu‘amelie Faaitu‘a, and was shocking to Tongans on both head tutor, Lopaki Fifita, were being sides of the debate. On 25 August, removed to the main education office the princess wept as she spoke to the in Nuku‘alofa. Both had been sup- strikers and referred to the personal- porting the civil service strike. Frus- ized attacks on her father. In response trated and angry, boys of the senior to her request that people return to class began to smash computers in the work, Fotu Fisi‘iahi, psa secretary, school offices, then stormed outside asked her politely to give the and attacked the cars of the new act- requested raises of 60 percent, 70 ing principal, Kakala Unu, and an percent, and 80 percent, so that they administrator from the Ministry of could resume working (such boldness Education. Then they marched off was unthinkable just a few months 268 the contemporary pacific • 19:1 (2007) before). While people were impressed longer-term workers received little or that the princess would make such a nothing became a platform for advo- gesture, and hopeful that she would cates of democratic reform. Strikers implement some positive action, they and democracy proponents coalesced continued to occupy the park. Later into a natural and politically savvy that same day, two hundred support- alliance. While they had been touched ers arrived from the island of ‘Eua. by the princess’s tears, the strikers They marched from the wharf to Pan- were more profoundly affected by gai Si‘i, followed by trucks laden with their own solidarity and success. produce for the cash-strapped strik- In the end, the strikers got every- ers. People had been without payment thing they asked for. As supporters for five weeks. continued to arrive from the outer Meanwhile, in New Zealand, Dr islands, bringing food and textiles as ‘Ana ‘Akau‘ola, the kingdom’s only gifts to their Tongatapu confederates, radiographer and a member of the on 1 September the Public Service psa executive, was participating in Association delivered its most startling a hastily arranged speaking circuit, demand: that the cabinet resign and explaining why she supported the put in place a democratically elected strike. She and Sione Fifita, a cleaner Parliament. The People’s Democratic in the Ministry of Works, spoke to Party, led by long-time People’s Rep- several groups about the strike, the resentative Teisina Fuko, had deliv- pay demands, and how they could be ered a letter to the palace earlier in funded. Their audiences were drawn the strike (11 August), asking the from trade unions and social justice king for a more democratic system in activists, Green Party members, Tonga, in which the people of Tonga elected members of the New Zealand would take part in running the coun- Parliament, and members of the try by having the right to elect the broader Pacific community. While they members of cabinet, including prime were in Tonga, Thomas Goddard, a minister and government ministers. retired New Zealand judge who spe- This small petition was reiterated as a cialized in employment law, was in demand, one that the princess regent Tonga, attempting to negotiate an end and her younger brother, the prime to the strike. Even though he had been minister, must have taken seriously, invited by both the government and given the recent violence and the the Public Service Association, by 27 overseas support for an end to the August he admitted defeat, saying he monarchy. On 1 September the Privy had not even been able to get the Council met, after which time the parties to agree on a process. Part princess regent led her brother and of the civil servants’ intransigence most of the Privy Council members resulted from their growing realiza- across to Pangai Si‘i to deliver their tion that the best solution for Tonga offer directly to the striking civil ser- was democratic reform. Thus, what vants: If the strikers would return to started as a protest against the work that day, they would pay the inequities of higher-paid civil servants 60-70-80 percent increases on an getting raises while lower-paid and interim basis while negotiating a long- political reviews • polynesia 269 term agreement. They would also set proviso that the 60 percent increases up a negotiating committee made up would be immediate, while the rest of the respected noble Fielakepa (who would begin in the next fiscal year. holds a graduate degree in law), Min- Strikers were to be paid for the time ister of Foreign Affairs (and former they had been on strike, and the stu- diplomat) Tu‘a Taumoepeau, and dents who supported them (including Minister of Labour, Commerce, and the vandals) would not be disciplined. Industries Feleti Sevele, a former Peo- The memorandum also included pro- ple’s Representative who had been visions against government down- made a cabinet minister. The final, sizing, especially at the expense of and most important inclusion in the those who had participated in the committee’s makeup was Dr Sitiveni strike. Another important aspect of Halapua, director of the Pacific the memorandum stipulated that the Islands Development Program at the cabinet team members would raise East-West Center in Honolulu and the demand for a fully elected gov- expert facilitator with success in the ernment with the rest of the cabinet. aftermath of the latest Fiji coup. On 5 September, after forty-four days The psa response to the Princess of striking, the civil servants returned Regent and Privy Council came a few to work. hours later. They rejected the offer Ostensibly, the protest began over but were willing to enter into negotia- objections to the salary revisions. In tions with the new team. Having put reality the roots of the civil action in the demand for an elected cabinet, were laid several years before. For and after weeks of domestic and over- decades, Tonga has been described as seas support for democratic reforms, having a mirab economy (based on there was a feeling among some mem- Migration, Remittances, Aid and bers of the psa executive that they had Bureaucracy). As the main employer, an opportunity to effect real change. the Tongan civil service has become Plans were already in the works for a bloated, cost-inefficient, and bifur- pro-democracy march, set for 6 Sep- cated: While some employees’ job tember. During negotiations, ironically categories and skills were outmoded enough, it was long-time democracy (typists, drivers, filing assistants), activist ‘Akilisi Pohiva who counseled others required years of specialized the psa executive to accept the offer overseas education (economists, and carry on to fight for democratic statisticians, environmental scientists, reforms. On 3 September, all parties health professionals). Tonga’s long- signed a memorandum of understand- term commitment to higher education ing by which the civil servants would has enabled a brain drain that benefits return to work. The Public Servants the nation and individual households Association, established in the early in terms of remittances, but has done days of the strike, and with little train- far less for internal productivity or ing as labor negotiators, ended up efficiency. with a resounding win for the civil Tonga’s King Täufa‘ähau has servants. The pay raises were imple- consistently thought of himself as a mented as 60-70-80, but with the modernizer, and under his reign the 270 the contemporary pacific • 19:1 (2007) government has sustained long-term investment; poor access to services and generally positive relationships and opportunities; poor quality of with foreign advisers, aid donors, and service delivery; lack of employment lenders, including Australia, Britain, or other income-generating and tech- Canada, China, the European Union, nical-training opportunities; ruptures Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, the in the traditional Tongan kainga United States, the International Mon- (extended family) safety net; eco- etary Fund, and the Asian Develop- nomic hardship in a small but signifi- ment Bank (adb). Most recently, cant percentage of households; and Tonga has been planning for member- increasing income maldistribution. ship in the United Nations and World The report specifically recognized Trade Organization. Tupou IV’s reign that measures to alleviate the hard- has ushered in an increasingly import ship required concurrent micro- and and cash-based economy, and a grow- macro-level responses, with emphases ing diaspora of the well-educated, on health, social, and educational with a local economy that has for a service delivery to the more remote long time sustained an ideology of villages, opportunities for vocational security and well-being through fam- training, improved governmental ily, church, tradition, and household- standards, private sector investment, based subsistence production. and fiscal discipline. However, recent reports have The assessment, conducted in indicated household subsistence is November 2003, came midway in the no longer a source of security, and government’s implementation of its Tongans are experiencing real hard- Economic and Public Sector Reform ship. An adb-funded team (in con- Programs (underway since 2001), junction with local researchers) intended to ensure equitable prosper- conducted an assessment of Tonga’s ity for the nation in the future, and progress towards the UN Millennium based on the overseas and internal Development Goals for Poverty economic advisers’ arguments that Reduction. The report, entitled with household income highly depen- “Priorities of the People: Hardship dent on remittances, reduced numbers in Tonga,” drew on comprehensive of households producing their own qualitative and quantitative research food, and limited avenues for improv- conducted in communities from ‘Eua ing the foreign trade balances, Tonga and Tongatapu in the south to Tafahi was headed for financial collapse. in the north. It flagged problems Aiming to reduce their costs, the gov- relating to the increased monetization ernment planned to downsize the civil of the Tongan economy because of service and encourage private sector high remittance rates; the urbaniza- and entrepreneurial businesses while tion and out-migration from rural preventing a brain drain. Privatization and island areas, which created extra and corporatization of public enter- burdens for remaining rural residents; prises would create the jobs to absorb low growth rates in private economic the public servants who would be sectors; perceived inadequacy of gov- made redundant. Essentially, the adb ernance standards; weak private report confirmed the importance of political reviews • polynesia 271 the Tongan government’s reform preneurialism to stimulate jobs are directions and strategies. mantras that are by now familiar in The civil service salary scales were all globalization scenarios. There is no part of this neoliberal strategy to question that some Tongan business- modernize the Tongan economy. They men have succeeded in these sectors, were intended to align remuneration both in Tonga and overseas. But for with job skills, responsibilities, and many Tongans, the model of corpora- level of education, and thereby reduce tization of public enterprises is best the incentive for high-skilled, priori- exemplified by the actions of the tized labor to emigrate, but also to princess royal (who controls Friendly provide disincentives for redundant Islands Satellite Communications workers to remain on government [Tongasat], including the income payrolls. What seems to have taken from Tonga’s highly lucrative geosta- the cabinet and royal family by sur- tionary satellite slots) and the crown prise was the degree to which ordi- prince (who, as minister of Foreign nary Tongans would object to this Affairs and chairman of the Tonga strategy of remunerative inequity. Electricity and Power Board, con- While the new civil service pay scales vinced the cabinet to give him a mimicked principles of remuneration twenty-year lease to manage the board common in the nations to which Ton- as his own company). The geostation- gans have been migrating, they were ary satellite slots were supposed to radically different from past practices provide Tonga with the equivalent in which seniority, personal history of of Iraq’s oil and keep the country service, job title (rather than skills), wealthy, but the nation receives very and (unfortunately) gender factored little income from Tongasat. Tupou- into individuals’ promotion and to‘a promised to make the business remuneration. Rather than posing more efficient, thereby reducing elec- the question as “How can we make tricity rates and improving services for Tonga’s economy more productive Tongans. Shoreline did buy new gen- and competitive?” the strikers asked, erators, but they also reduced their “Why should those who are already staff from 120 to 20, borrowed heav- paid so much more get raises?” and ily, and paid the three owner/chief “What kind of government allows executive officers huge annual salaries. some Tongans to be so much poorer As high-profile models for how the than others?” Those questions merged private sector will create jobs for the economic agendas with moral ones. forthcoming civil service redundancies While such language was rarely and meet the government’s goals of a used in Tonga, the protests of 2005 higher standard of living for all Ton- represented resistance to aspects of gans, both Shoreline and Tongasat the neoliberal models of economic have failed to impress. reform. Reducing government The Tongan government’s goals— expenses through privatization, attaining a higher standard of living improving efficiency and fiscal conser- for all Tongans and creating more vancy through corporatization, and efficient and effective public sector depending on private sector entre- services—were, and remain, laudable. 272 the contemporary pacific • 19:1 (2007)
However, by 2005, as world prices ial activities and private wealth. At and local inflation rose, as the value the same time, various economic and of remittances waned, and as the policy mistakes over the past several changes introduced under the Eco- years have all come to a head. This nomic and Public Sector Reform was the context for the general strike. Programs began to be felt, the reality Following the signing of the memo- of the experience for ordinary Ton- randum of understanding, democracy gans was akin to that of East Berlin- activism did not abate. On 6 Septem- ers after 1989. Inflation hit double ber, as planned before the memoran- digits, some 23 percent of the popula- dum was signed, Tongans delivered a tion was experiencing incomes below petition asking the king to implement the poverty line (t$28/us$14 per major constitutional change within week), and many were having to twelve months. On 12 September, make tough choices between food, thousands of people again marched school fees, and personal debt pay- to the palace to present the king with ments. Others, confronted with the a petition demanding reforms to his novel experience of performance indi- absolute monarchy, dismissal of the cators, felt unfairly targeted by the prime minister and all fourteen cabi- shift in the culture of the workplace. net ministers, establishment of an Attempts to set the example for the advisory committee that would neoliberalization of the economy and include all of the People’s Representa- instill an ethic of efficiency in govern- tives to discuss how political power ment ministries, coupled with the pri- should be returned to the government, vatization of state resources, a history and, finally, the withdrawal of Shore- of poor fiscal decisions, and recogni- line’s development license. News tion that success in the changing reports referred to the 12 September economic environment depended on event as Tonga’s largest political skills and financial backing not gener- march ever. Local businesses sup- ally available to those civil servants ported the march with taxis, trucks, that the government hoped to make concrete mixers, and other heavy redundant, all helped make the public equipment. Even the immigrant Chi- manager of the reforms, Prime Minis- nese, who are normally regarded with ter Prince ‘Ulukalala Lavaka ‘Ata, suspicion, participated in the march. personally unpopular. It also led to At the time, people viewed the protest more vocal resentment of his elder as a fitting finale to the civil servants’ siblings, the princess royal and crown strike and the remarkable political prince, both of whom do have the turn that events had taken. In Decem- wherewithal to engage in the kinds ber, more pressure was exerted on of private sector investment, entrepre- the king, his cabinet, and the royal neurial activities, and privatization of family, with proposals being pre- public services promoted by the eco- sented for parliamentary reforms. In nomic reform plan. While the two are general, people have come to express seen as competitors, they have both support for a monarchy, which, like capitalized on their privileged status Britain’s, is far removed from day-to- as royals to enable their entrepreneur- day governance. political reviews • polynesia 273
These are difficult issues in Tonga: as prime minister. Long assumed to be the monarchy is an important icon of suffering under the conflicting models national identity, and people remem- for leadership exercised by his elder ber that Täufa‘ähau Tupou IV estab- brother and sister, and certainly lished the first education scholarships. unpopular for having tried to imple- Loyalists opine that he foresaw this ment the economic reforms that led to result and will therefore enable the the civil servants’ strike, he resigned move to democracy. Thus, even as and removed himself from all cabinet political reform models are discussed, committees on 11 February 2006. some resentment of the activists (espe- This was hailed as a victory by the cially ‘Akilisi Pohiva) continues to Public Service Association. When surface among those who support the crown prince, acting as regent, some form of engaged monarchy. appointed Minister of Labour, Com- One of the results of the psa strike is merce, and Industries Feleti Sevele as an increase in issues-based dialogue acting prime minister (a position that among Tongans; the sense that their was confirmed on 30 March 2006), opinions matter is perhaps greater the international media focused on than ever before. Soon after the the fact that Sevele was Tonga’s first memorandum of understanding was elected, commoner prime minister. It signed, two committees were estab- was interpreted as a sign that democ- lished to discuss options and desires racy was coming to Tonga. among the domestic and diasporic The facts that Sevele has a graduate Tongan communities, especially those degree in economics, was a successful in New Zealand, Australia, and the Tongan businessman long before he United States. Malakai Koloamatangi, was a parliamentarian, was a close ‘Akilisi Pohiva, Sitiveni Halapua, and friend of Tupouto‘a, and had been the Tu‘ipelehake have helped spear- speaking about how much Tongans head these various consultations. At and Tonga’s economy were going to the same time, advocates of political have to become “leaner and meaner” reform have been concerned by the seemed not to cause alarm. Prince king’s failing health. Privately, they ‘Ulukalala Lavaka Ata had seemed worry about the crown prince’s ten- incompetent partly because even dency to be heavy handed, impatient, while trying to instill better business and sometimes disdainful toward practices in government, he was sensi- “ordinary” Tongans; his involvement tive to Tongan sensibilities, including with Shoreline and concern with self- the requirement to take the advice of enrichment add pressure to have the his elder siblings. But Sevele (like the democratic reforms resolved before crown prince) has a history of reject- Tupou V takes the throne. (In fact, ing Tongan traditions if they conflict as this issue went to press, Tupou IV with his financial interests. He has had just passed away in an Auckland certainly initiated a number of actions hospital, after a long illness.) to reform government and the civil Amid the very public critiques service. aimed at him, Prince ‘Ulukalala Soon after the strike ended, Sevele Lavaka ‘Ata tendered his resignation introduced the need for an Employ- 274 the contemporary pacific • 19:1 (2007) ment Relations Bill, and, despite its Tonga, privatizing Airport services, being against the spirit of the memo- and reselling Shoreline (a New Zea- randum of understanding, supported land company has expressed interest the need for downsizing of the civil in buying it). The civil servants’ redun- service through a redundancy pack- dancy package has been negotiated, age. The cabinet hoped to let a and a total of 817 accepted early thousand civil servants go. At the retirement from the civil service on 30 same time, comparing Tonga’s civil June 2006. The early projections of a servants to Fiji’s, Sevele pointed out thousand redundancies were not met, the inequity: Annually, Tongans enjoy but even with the gap, the Ministries 36 days vacation, up to 42 days of of Education and Works were both sick leave, and a bereavement leave considering hiring interim workers to of 7 days. In Fiji, civil servants receive help cover the immediate shortfall in 10 days holiday, 12 days sick leave, labor. It seems that Tongans now and 3 days for bereavement. He made have a prime minister who is much this point as part of a general state- better equipped to be the architect of ment that Tongans have to adopt the very neoliberal reforms that were more “modern” work ethics. causing them discontent. It remains Since taking office, Sevele has to be seen whether these reforms will restructured the public service depart- lead to the generalized prosperity that ments, reshuffled his cabinet, and is one of the goals of the Eighth appointed the first woman cabinet Tongan Development Plan. minister, ‘Alisi Taumoepeau. Sevele On the democracy front, the most has also negotiated a t$60 million recent news is tragic: On 6 July 2006, loan from China. The loan is sup- while in California to conduct consul- posed to help balance Tonga’s budget tations for the National Committee and provide the funds to buy back for Political Reform, the “People’s Shoreline, as well as fund develop- Prince,” the Tu‘ipelehake, his wife, ment projects such as wharfs, schools, the former diplomat Princess Kai- roads, and airport renovations, and mana, and a friend, Vinisia Hefa, pay for vehicles and renovations initi- were killed in an automobile accident. ated for the meeting of the Pacific The sudden loss of highly placed Islands Forum originally scheduled to members of the royal family, elites be held in Tonga later this year. (In who were thought of as sympathetic return for the loan, Tonga will sup- to the people’s needs, came as a shock port the One-China policy when to the democracy movement. Sitiveni necessary at the United Nations.) Halapua has taken over the Tu‘ipele- Yet even as Tonga is preparing to buy hake’s role and will complete the back its power generation company, report on Tongans’ ideas on political Sevele is looking into an expanded reform to be submitted to the king. and accelerated privatization agenda, Tongans have expressed vehement including selling houses owned by disapproval of their government’s government for the use of ministers decisions in the past, most notably in and senior public servants and its 40 1899 when King Tupou II’s choice of percent share of the Westpac Bank of wife and queen almost sparked a civil political reviews • polynesia 275 war, and with more frequency since only on kinship ties; and Tongans 2002, when government tried to stifle around the world have been mobi- a critical media. That action also trig- lized to discuss exactly what type of gered petitions, legal challenges, and political structure they want for their marches. But nothing within living homeland and nation. This has been a memory approaches the events of peaceable coup, and once again Ton- 2005–2006 for drama, mass partici- gans have demonstrated their remark- pation, and long-term ramifications. able tendency to appear to be follow- What began as a protest against neo- ing external trends and influences liberal reforms of civil service payrolls while persisting in doing things in became a catalyst for changes that their own way. have already led to serious political, heather e young leslie economic, and, perhaps most signifi- cantly, psychological ramifications for the Tongan people: The monarchy is Thanks to ‘Aivi Puloka, ‘Akilisi not overthrown, but the sacrosanct Pohiva, ‘Ana Akau‘ola, Caroline Fusi- status once enjoyed by the Tupou malohi, ‘Eseta Finau, Kahungunu dynasty and traditional nobles is Barron-Afeaki, Katea Ulakai, Lopeti gone; their modern “tapu” has been Senituli, Malakai Koloamatangi, Mapa broken. Puloka, Mele Vea, Tavake Fusimalohi, Nevertheless, though democracy and others too numerous to mention. advocates can legitimately claim a moral victory and point to the prom- References ise of real changes in governance, and while it is likely that reforms will Asian Development Bank. 2004a. Priori- move Tonga toward a more democra- ties of the People: Hardship in Tonga. tic polity, the tangible responsibilities Manila: Asian Development Bank. of the royal and noble elites to the ———. 2004b. Annual Report (Tonga). nation will have been reduced, while Manila: Asian Development Bank. their economic and symbolic privi- Beechey, Bronwen. 2005. Solidarity Grows leges remain unchanged. At the same for Tongan Workers. Green Left Weekly, time, the restructuring agenda that Australia’s Socialist Newspaper [Weekly. stimulated the general strike has actu- Sydney.] 7 September.
Government of Tonga Reform Informa- Taimi ‘o Tonga. Tonga Times. Biweekly. tion Office Web site