And get Tonga back on track

Ken Brown

Tonga's constitutional monarchy has incurred international criticism for clinging to what critics have labelled as an antiquated system which favours those who rule.

Dr. Fred Sevele

For years the government rejected various reform proposals from the country's movement for democracy for a parliament of 30 elected members from which King Taufa'ahau Tupou would appoint a cabinet.

However, government's attitude changed on March 21 when, after the election, prime minister, Prince 'Ulukalala Lavaka Ata, said the cabinet would be enlarged to have two pro-democracy MPs and two elected nobles as ministers.

Reactions to the move in Tonga had been mixed and government motives debated publicly.

One of the two pro-democracy MPs to join the Tongan cabinet is Fred Sevele. He is one of the country's best known businessmen and an outspoken advocate of a full democratic parliament.

Soon after his appointment as minister of labour, commerce and industries, he was appointed acting prime minister while Prince 'Ulukalala was out of the country.

His attitude is that the door to political reform has been opened and that an opportunity has arrived to bridge the gap between the community and government that has festered for too long.

As a third-term elected MP, Sevele enjoys support from both sides of the parliamentary floor and from the business community which he says is “pleased to have a businessman who can speak the same language, and who is now in a direct decision-making position.”

Foremost among his new challenges, he says, is to lift the economy from its current depressed state.

“My role is to do the right thing for the people who elected me, investors and businesses; in essence, for everybody.

“My experience in government shows me that the essence of cabinet and Privy Council actions is to do the right thing for the king and country, within the constitution and social mores of the Tongan community.”

To those who accuse him of joining the government side by resigning from his elected position, he explains that his resignation to accept a cabinet position was to avoid the necessity to amend the constitution.

He wants Tongans to rise above the “them and us” atmosphere.

His sole motive, he says, is to further the interests of Tongans.

“There will always be differences to be sorted,” he says. It has to be a give and take, a compromise. Ultimately, the aim is to serve the public.

“I'm not deserting the peoples' cause. In fact, I feel privileged to be involved more directly in the decision-making role.”

The ministerial job has cost Sevele a lot of personal freedom. Some of his business ventures will suffer because he does not have time for them, he says.

As to his plans for improving the economy, he's busy meeting industry and business groups to identify what policies are needed to improve growth and the development of the nation.

“I want to see industry groups driving policies instead of individuals, and at the same time communicating each side's difficulties to promote a better understanding of how to work together to develop Tonga's potential, he says.

Sevele is also planning a national economic summit for July or August in which ideas and policies for boosting agriculture, fishing and tourism will be discussed.

He says there's a need for a “closer examination of existing resources and to develop strategies that adequately suit our strengths.”

Needs include vocational and technical skills for youth for the local and international market, in place of unskilled labour, and more output for local consumption.

The stimulation of cottage industries as an alternative to heavy industry will increase productivity in the private sector and government, he says.

“Tonga was a leader in the region with seafaring warriors. We were independent, educated and self-sufficient, but we have slipped, “ he says.

“Now it is time to regroup, retrieve our past standing by working together, capitalise our on local resources, and stop relying for help from overseas remittances and government assistance programmes.”