NUKUʻALOFA, TONGA — The resignation of investigators from Tonga’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has renewed scrutiny of the Commission’s operations and raised a broader question: did the 2023 amendments to the law governing the ACC achieve their intended purpose?
The departures have drawn public attention to the Commission’s investigative procedures, leadership and ability to fulfil its mandate of investigating alleged corruption.
88.1 FM – Letio ‘a e Kakai Tonga and Kalonikali Tonga, alongside other media, have sought answers following reports of investigators leaving the Commission. Reports initially identified three investigators, while subsequent accounts indicated that four officers, including the Director of Investigations, had departed. The officers had been seconded from Tonga Police and returned to police duties.
The Commission has maintained that the circumstances surrounding the departures must be treated confidentially. However, the lack of a detailed public explanation has left questions about the reasons for the resignations and their implications for the Commission’s work.
Did the 2023 amendments deliver?
Parliament passed amendments to the Anti-Corruption Commissioner Act 2007 in 2023. Assessing whether those changes achieved their intended purpose requires examining the objectives of the legislation, the changes introduced and their practical effect on the Commission’s independence and effectiveness.
Did the amendments establish an effective framework for investigating corruption? Have they provided the necessary safeguards, powers and resources for investigators to carry out their duties? And are further legal or administrative changes needed?
The investigators’ departures do not, by themselves, prove that the amendments failed or caused the resignations. However, they strengthen the case for examining the Commission’s operations against the objectives Parliament sought to achieve through the law.
Questions have also been raised about the involvement of the former Prime Minister, who served from 2022 to 2024, in the amendments to the Anti-Corruption Commissioner Act 2007. Scrutiny has also focused on Lord Fakafanua, who was Speaker of Parliament during the relevant period. Further, leading as to whether they should be held accountable for making ammendments to a law that has only quashed our hopes by failing to deliver.
For taxpayers, the issue extends beyond the departures. Public confidence depends on an anti-corruption institution being able to perform its duties effectively, handle complaints appropriately and demonstrate accountability while protecting information that must lawfully remain confidential.
The central question is whether the 2023 amendments delivered what Parliament intended—or whether the law and the Commission’s operations require further scrutiny to ensure Tonga has an effective and independent anti-corruption watchdog.
