Full text: Brian Smythe's report on Tonga

The Herald has obtained a report sent to Foreign Minister Phil Goff by a retiring New Zealand High Commissioner to Tonga, Brian Smythe. The full text follows:

New Zealand High Commission

Nuku'alofa

Phil Goff

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

September 2001.

Dear Minister,

The official slogan here is "Tonga: the land where time begins." It might better read "the land where time stands still." There is enormous resistance to change, and when reform is finally embarked upon, the pace is often such as to be virtually imperceptible. The speed at which they drive here says it all - 20 to 30 km per hour! There is no sense of urgency. Over the past 12 months, despite talk of the need for reform of the public sector and the economy, little of substance has been done. Many ministers seem blithely unaware of the economic imperatives. On the political front, as ever, the situation remains frozen pending the passing away of the King. He seems as healthy as ever.

The Monarchy

The royal family are very cultured and intelligent. They know New Zealand well. They are generous, considerate, indeed perfect hosts. It is a pleasure to spend time in their company and partake of their champagne and caviar. I have enjoyed their hospitality several times over the past couple of weeks as they have laid on a warm farewell. And I have had the opportunity to reciprocate with a reception which the Crown Prince, Prime Minister [Prince Lavaka] and Princess Pilolevu attended - along with the leaders of the democracy movement.

The family has held on to absolute power and privilege for far longer than most other royal lines. Unlike monarchies elsewhere there has been no evolution over time. The royals show no inclination to hand over to the people. Democracy is a foul word in this kingdom.

Tongans are extremely proud of their culture and independence. They do not like others telling them how they should change. When we talk of the need for democratisation, they rally in defence of their monarchy. Their system helps define their national identity. The Tongan culture is a great strength but at the same time an impediment to progress. For it to be otherwise would require great statesmanship at the top.

The reverence with which Tongans hold their monarch stems from the position rather than the person. There are pictures of the King standing in front of Jesus and claims he has been chosen by God. The King's obvious failings are quietly overlooked. His ambitious and expensive agricultural projects in Tonga and overseas, which are the subject of his speeches at the openings and closings of the Legislative Assembly and at New Year, are clearly a misdirection of the country's resources. Yet his foibles are disregarded and attempts by 'Akilisi Pohiva to raise them in the Assembly are considered disrespectful.

The System

The sense of hierarchy is deeply ingrained in Tongan society - something strange for New Zealanders with our egalitarian instincts. Any two Tongans know instinctively which is higher up the pecking order and in which contexts. The King, the rest of the royal family and the nobles sit at the pinnacle of this system and understandably want to stay there. The puzzle is why the public let them get away with it - particularly in this day and age, with experience of overseas liberties and with such clear evidence of corruption and mismanagement. I guess it comes down to societal conditioning.

Even New Zealand Tongans who initially impress as being of independent mind fall into the mould on return here. Some whom we have included on audiences with the King have surprised by suddenly reverting to type and grovelling at his feet. It is as if the conditioning is more powerful than their own free will.

From a socialist perspective, the system is anathema. It involves redistribtution from the poor to the rich. The poor are under a heavy obligation to contribute, in particular through the provision of food for frequent feasts, to the nobles of the estates from whom they lease their land and through their noble to the King. The members of the royal family receive much more than they can possibly consume and they redistribute the spoils to others amongst the privileged classes.

The nobles, who own most of the land and lease it to the commoners are meant in theory to represent the interest of their villagers. A few are conscientious but many are unscrupulous and out to milk the system for all they can get.

Crown Prince Tupouto'a

The Crown Prince may change things. He has little respect for the nobles, considering them on the whole a degenerate lot. Privately he has told democracy advocates that he wishes to abolish the nobility. He has not married, preferring to wait until he can amend the constitution so as not to have to marry a noble's daughter.

Tupouto'a claims he still intends to accede to the throne, as the power of that position would make the constraints worth it. His sister also says he will become King and that he will settle down and distance himself from this business interests. Others express doubts; as time drags on his interest could be waning and his radical urge diminishing.

If the Crown Prince does accede, the nobles will seek to defend their privileged position. [The name of a pro-democracy contact] fears they may resort to fomenting violence, even while the current King is still alive, in order to have the democracy movement crushed and their position consolidated. He hopes that in such a situation, New Zealand might come to the assistance of the people.

The Crown Prince is not at heart a true democrat. He wants power and would prefer it undiluted. But he might be prepared to delegate some responsibility to those he considers competent. He would rule with the support of his coterie of largely expatriate business friends. But he mixes too with his compatriots, better than most in the family. Whether all of his actions would be motivated by the welfare of his people - rather than self enrichment - is doubtful, but some of his reforms at least would be good for Tonga.

He may have difficulty retaining respect. His impatience for change, in particular on the economic front, could see him tread on a number of sensitive toes. He is dismissive of the abilities and beliefs of ordinary Tongans (though that is a characteristic shared by all of the royal family). At times the Crown Prince does identify a popular grievance and act decisively on it - such as when, conscious of public dissatisfaction at the Administration's failings, he pushed through the equivalent of an Ombudsman's office reporting directly to Privy Council.

Religion

It is in regard to religion that the Crown Prince is most likely to encounter strife - his views are at total variance of those of most Tongans. He is scathing at the amount of time, money and energy devoted to churches and to funerals. If he is not careful on this front, he might bring about his own overthrow. Even the present King, who is titular head of the Wesleyan Church in Tonga, has been publicly reprimanded recently by church members for his acceptance of gifts from non-Christian religions, seen as giving those religions access to Tonga.

Reactions to possible moves by the Crown Prince, eg the relaxation of the strict Sunday law, could be even more significant. After all it was the joining of forces between royalty and the Wesleyan Church which cemented the current political system in place. The church establishment might prefer a more conservative monarch, such as the Crown Prince's younger brother Prince Lavaka or even Princess Pilolevu, and therefore mount pressure for Tupouto'a's abdication.

Some of the other churches are less supportive of the current system. Catholic priests often talk openly of the need for the constitutional change and support the Human Rights and Democracy Movement. The Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) have an extensive presence in Tonga, with a chapel in virtually every village, built to last. They claim nearly 40 per cent following amongst the Tongan population - their highest percentage in any country in the world. The Free Weslyans and the King are rather concerned at the Mormon's extensive influence. Prince Lavaka is refusing to renew the lease, expiring in 2005, on the site of their temple and secondary school at Liahona on Tongatapu. The LDS is ready to level the buildings, destroying millions of dollars worth of investment, in order to stop Tonga expropriating them for its proposed national university. This religious conflict risks heightening tensions within Tonga.

The Army

The Tonga Defence Services see their primary role as defence of the kingdom (for which read defence of the monarchy). Some soldiers consider the democracy movement as the 'enemy.' This unreconstructed view of the world does not appear to have been diminished by contact with New Zealand forces under the MAP programme [mutual assistance programme]. It is a real dilemma that we in New Zealand effectively set up the TDS [Tonga Defence Service] and remain closely associated with it.

The problem is that getting out would make things even worse. Not only would it harden attitudes but it would give China an opportunity to step in. An expanding economic and political relationship is one thing, miliary another. The growing influence of China in the islands to our north may at some stage come to make us feel uncomfortable, depending on how things evolve in China itself and between it and the United States.

Our forces could be encouraged to try and impart some values as well as technical skills to the Tongan soldiers they encounter. And we should continue to refrain from supply weapons to the TDS, as urged by the democracy movement. [Pro-democracy contact] believes that were to come to the crunch, the TDS rank and file would refuse to obey an order to fire on a crowd. But weapons could easily fall into the hands of a few extremists determined to preserve the nobles' privileged position.

The Democracy Movement

There is uncertainty as to the future of the Human Rights and Democracy Movement. Elections two years ago saw their support wane as voters decided they had been ineffective in bringing about change. Representatives have been very active of late in the Legislative Assembly in bringing to light abuses of power - such as the Minister of Police as chairman of the Tonga Electric Power Board awarding himself and other members huge pension rights; and the Crown Prince expropriating for himself the rights to the '.to' Internet domain. It remains to be seen whether members of the Movement can attract increased support at the elections next March and whether they can build pressure for the idea that all the members of the Assembly should be elected by popular vote.

The Economy

Tonga is a remittance economy, receiving huge inflows from the Tongan diaspora. This is both a benefit and a disadvantage. It makes possible a standard of living far above that which those remaining in Tonga could otherwise hope to enjoy. But it is a disincentive to effort. And it makes Tonga vulnerable to downturns overseas, particularly in the United States which is by far the largest source of remittances (New Zealand is third after Australia). The Government recognises Tonga's need to reduce reliance on these receipts, but has difficulty in establishing an environment that will encourage exports. It is ambivalent about tourism, despite its employment creation benefits because of fear of cultural and possibly political impacts.

Already low effectual foreign reserves, threatened by a balance of payments deficit of over 8 per cent of gdp, call for urgent action if Tonga is not to have to turn to the IMF [International Monetary Fund] for standby assistance accompanied by some harsh economic medicine. Turning the situation around will require a tightening of credit to the private sector and a reduction of the Government's fiscal deficit (of almost 3 per cent) of gdp) through public service reform. The hope is that the ADB [Asia Development Bank] will be able to come through with a programme loan to assist public sector and economic reform in the first half of 2002, thus providing a breathing space in which spending can be cut more gradually and commercial activity encouraged so that Tonga does not have to submit to the pain of an IMF bailout.

Reform

Downsizing of the public service is not the essence of reform. It is being approached simply by no filling non essential positions when they fall vacant. The essence is the encouragement of a more effective service and government and the bringing to bear of commercial disciplines where they are needed. It also involves a pruning of the many perks throughout the system, starting from the top, and the payment instead of a reasonable salary for the work and qualifications demanded. MPs' overtime provisions, civil servants meeting fees, extensive sick leave provisions treated like additional annual leave entitlements all need review.

Tonga has asked New Zealand to help in its reform effort and we have set aside a sum of $300,000 in each of the next three years for this, on top of our on-going assistance in regard to state owned enterprises and training in public sector management. A donor co-ordination meeting, to be held towards the end of this year, will decide on priorities for assistance. The new Minister of Finance is making a sincere effort to steer sensible reforms through a political minefield - a cabinet in which conservatives still occupy half the seats, a Prime Minister who is less than forceful and a King whose own tendency is to sit tight - not to mention other vested interests who enjoy the existing perks. The [Finance] Minister is at a disadvantage in being the most junior in Cabinet and in not being a noble. He is being encouraged by the democracy movement and deserves support. The first request for New Zealand assistance, just received, is for setting up a Public Service Commission.

Your colleague [former associate minister Matt Robson] has expressed concern that NZODA assistance [aid] might be lent to a public sector and economic reform programme which includes privatisation. As noted above, we are indeed involved, and we have been for some time, in a project to help the Tongan Government sort out its state-owned enterprises. The concern is understandable from a philosophical perspective but one needs to bear in mind that the preponderance of the state is much greater in Tonga than in New Zealand. In Tonga the state repairs private motor vehicles, sells radios and television sets, runs hardware stores, buys and exports vegetables, hires out tractors and catches fish. It does this invariably at a loss. The SOEs pose huge risks to Tonga's fiscal balance; something must be done to reduce those risks.

Complications

On one of the rare occasions when I have managed to get the King talking about Tonga - as you know he much prefers to concentrate on overseas history - I tried to convince him of the need to encourage growth of the private sector. His response was firm: in Tonga it is too weak to be of value; the state must continue to expand in order to fill the gaps. The King clearly wishes to keep taking all decisions on major investments, however misguided, rather than let commercial interests take them independently. He decides what new crops should be trialed. He decides what roads or ships are required. Fortunately a number of his ministers now see things differently and humour him rather than take his initiatives too seriously. His son, the Prime Minister managed to get his open skies agreement with Samoa through Privy Council despite predictions the King would continue to protect his national airline, Royal Tongan. So the King is no longer the blockage he once was.

It is the Crown Prince who now poses the greater problem. With Tonga's small economy, spending decisions by a smaller company can throw the economy off balance. There was a sudden drop in foreign reserves in 1998 when the Crown Prince borrowed to get into electricity generation; his venture into telecommunications was the main factor behind the more recent drop in reserves; and he has ambitions in other directions, eg in civil aviation, which could also prove costly. Whereas others would be turned down for large domestic loans, no one can say 'no' to the Crown Prince. His wholesale sacking of the previous Board of the Port Authority has made sure of that. The failing SOE Seastar in which he is chairman and a significant shareholder has got even deeper into debt, because the Government has buckled before demands for further cash injections. The Minister of Fisheries (the PM) cannot say 'no' to his elder brother - nor can the Minister of Finance.

This Tupouto'a factor is worrying, even before he accedes to the throne and faces more directly the conflict between personal and national interests. The ventures of Princess Pilolevu are also a concern in that her duty-free and Tongasat companies are really enjoying revenue streams which more properly should belong to the state. The ADB is intent on tackling such problems of governance in its public sector and economic reform programme. One can but wish them luck.

Foreign policy

Tonga - and in particular the royal family - are still enamoured with their new found friend China. They expect big things from the relationship. Whether the enthusiasm will last when Chinese influence in Tonga becomes more evident - eg when the new Chinese managers effect changes at the Dateline Hotel - remain to be seen. Public resentment at the rapid intrusion of Chinese immigrants into the retail sector seems to have diminished somewhat but could always resurface.

The Government tends to take old friends for granted. It leaves us to make most of the effort. While the Prime Minister and King both did make visits down to Wellington during my tour here, the first was basically a training run and the second was purely to follow up the King's interest in Antarctica grass for use in Mongolia. (He is now planning a trip to Florida to tell Jeb Bush about Australian shark nets). Tonga does not make much of an impact at the regional level. The Nauru Forum [Pacific Islands Forum] was the second where PM Lavaka kept his silence. But there are times when it chooses to stand aside from a regional consensus.

Social

Social problems in Tonga are building - youth unemployment, drugs crime, suicide, traffic accidents, prostitution. We are trying to help through our aid programme in areas such as drug education and family violence, but the only longterm solution is the creation of a society where people have a say in their own future and can work for their own betterment. That is difficult when they are under an obligation to give away their wealth whenever asked and they they have no choice in their leaders. The continuing revelations about high-level corruption can do little to inspire honest hard working behaviour. One area where New Zealand could make a real contribution is in improving the quality of policing. There are reports of beatings and even torture by Tongan police and prison officers. I hope that impediments to creating a Police MAP [mutual assistance programme] can be cleared away soon as it would further mutual interests and help to promote stability in the region.

New Zealand's role

At a time of unrest in Melanesia, the stability in Tonga has had a certain appeal - but it is stability that covers over deep cracks which call for serious remedial measures. The challenge for New Zealand is to be seen as supportive for change but not actually interfering. [Pro-democracy contact] would like us to intervene as he fears domestic forces may not be strong enough to overcome the established vested interests. But Tongans have such strong national pride that to try and force change on Tonga would be counterproductive. It must be seen as coming from within.

Our bilateral aid programme has been comprehensively reviewed in a joint strategy study and over the next year we will be seeking to steer it in a direction of more consultation with community groups and more focus on the disadvantaged. Our education assistance, which is already usefully encouraging more interaction and questioning in the classroom, will broaden out to assist also with technical and vocational training, so as to give hope for gainful employment to young people otherwise condemned to the sidelines.

Until the push for reform - constitutional/political as well as public sector and economic - gather enough steam, there is little outsiders can do to really help. The latter areas may get attention over the coming year, unless the reform effort is yet another false start. New Zealand should help Tonga avoid an economic collapse; the commoners should not be made to pay for Government mismanagement; and we do not need even greater pressure for migration. But real reform must await the passing of an era. Whether my successor will have the privilege of witnessing that or again see time stand still remains to be seen.

Yours sincerely,

Brian Smythe

High Commissioner