- Advertisement -
Nuku’alofa: Parliament has approved to increase the 2026-2027 Budget to purchase additional vehicles for each Parliament Representative’s constituency, which will make it 2 vehicles per a constituency.
This purchasing transaction is to take place while the following are currently happening:
- Tonga is currently experiencing a 9.5% core inflation, making Tonga the highest in the Pacific.
- The Government of Tonga has loans within the country and also overseas countries that is yet to be settled.
- This is increasing of a budget that is already deficit.
- Tonga is currently relying on aid money from overseas countries to complete the salaries of the civil servants and also the government’s responsibility to the public.
- Ha’apai is experiencing shortage of clean water / their lightbeacons are yet to be completed.
- Outer Islands are awaiting fixing of their wharfs.
- Elderlies are awaiting their $100 per months to be increased to $200 per month to match the skyrocketing of goods and services prices. $100 per month is not sufficient to even begin to cover their basics.
- The power outages are still yet to be fixed and improved.
- The economy is going down and is estimated to go down further.
- There is yet to be any support or empowerment to growers in Tongatapu and the outer islands.
This vehicle purchasing can reach millions in pa’anga and will bring fuel and driver additional expenses, all the while, majority of the public are suffering financially and have dire needs, not forgetting that poverty exists within the Kingdom.
The question is – how are the people’s needs can be forgotten so quickly.
