Hon. Prime Minister received misleading request for a Press Conference Featured
Hon. 'Akilisi Pohiva
17 April, 2016. The Hon Prime Minister was greatly disappointed to learn that the request for a press conference made by Mrs Viola Ulakai in an email on 2 March 2016 to Mr Claude Tupou , and signed on behalf of the Tonga Media Council was not endorsed by the Council but it was in fact Mrs Ulakai’s own personal request.
The email was addressed to Mr Claude Tupou, the then Acting Chief Executive Office for Education and Training, and was copied to a lot of addresses including the officials at the Office of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, requesting for a press conference regarding issues related to the Ministry of Education and Training.
The Hon Prime Minister is greatly concerned with actions of individual journalists that tend to create unnecessary tensions between the media industry and the Government that seem to portray misleading discernments that the Government is unwilling to discuss with the media. It can possibly create negative perceptions of Government by stakeholders that are assisting Government Ministries in technical areas.
The Hon Prime Minister and the Government is committed to a more accountable and transparent form of administration and it will continue to discuss with the media issues and decisions of mutual benefit to the public.
The Government is in discussion with the Tonga Media Council to establish clear line of communication and point of contact for all future request of this nature. This would assist in reliability of correspondence and to ensure that Government, stakeholders and the public are not misled by the actions of anyone person.
Last year the Hon Prime Minister held three separate conferences with the media to elucidate on several national issues and to respond to questions raised by the media. In fact, it was apparent that the media had misused these opportunities by tossing in unnecessary near-personal trifling questions.
The Prime Minister’s Office wishes to clarify that the Hon Prime Minister is not accountable to Mrs Viola Ulakai, as a person, and he suspects that the issues and questions raised by her are not of her making but rather are those concocted and tailored by Government opponents who have recently retired from the Ministry; all for the purpose of discrediting and running down this Government.
The Hon Prime Minister appeals for the public to trust in this Government and reassures that its activities, policies and programmes continue to focus centrally on the general public interest.
