Their Belts

The Tongans Tighten

By a Staff Writer

The Kingdom of Tonga has embarked on a period of belt tightening, made necessary by a gloomy financial situation.

Exchange controls have just been introduced, making it virtually impossible to import a wide range of goods including cigarettes and tobacco, tinned meats, biscuits, flour and electrical equipment.

TONGA’S man-in-the-street is going to feel it badly, for the restric tions are aimed at him. He is to be made to work for his food—to grow it rather than buy it in a tin from the local store.

Unfortunately, while he is the man who is going to feel the real pinch, he is not the man who has brought the situation to its present crisis— that must be laid at the door of the Government.

The import restrictions have be come necessary because the Kingdom has been spending money on various schemes without as yet getting much back.

And it is probably no coincidence that the announcement of the con trols followed closely on the first visit to Tonga in late January of Mr. Trafford Smith, principal adviser to the British Colonial Office on

South Pacific affairs. Mr. Smith made a return visit in March, Although Tonga is independent— and Tongans are proud of that fact— it still has close ties with Britain through a Treaty of Friendship, and there is a British consul in Tonga.

There has recently been talk of ap pointment of a Tongan representative in London.

The South Pacific Office in Suva also keeps a general eye on how things are progressing in Tonga and uses its influence where it can, for Britain has no wish to lose face itself by allowing Tonga to drift into serious difficulties. Obviously it already has lost some face because of the present crisis.

From a practical point of view Britain would be glad enough to cut adrift completely if somebody else would taken the responsibility —such as the United Nations or the United States. Tonga itself has lately been showing interest in the US in various business matters.

Export Fall

One of Tonga’s difficulties in main taining true independence is its lack of natural resources. Copra is its main export, and while much good work has been done to improve its quality (it has risen from being one of the Pacific’s lowest grades to one of the highest), there has been an alarming fall in the export figures in the last 12 months.

Several reasons can be traced for this fall in production. Possibly the most important is that the last census taken on coconut plantations proved that a large percentage of trees are too old—are, in fact, past bearing age—and there is desperate need of replanting.

The 1963 drought and hurricanes took a further toll of Tonga’s coconuts.

Price incentive is possibly another important reason for the fall in pro duction, as the price offered the grower through the Tonga Copra

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Board is based on the minimum market price.

Many productive acres are lost through the system of leaving land to lie fallow for three to five years, whereas with more agricultural knowledge and the use of fertilisers this land could be kept in produc tion.

The Copra Board has had con siderable success in experimenting with coconut by-products, and has supplied many products for the local market, but shortage of money to enlarge machinery has prevented an export trade from building up.

Tonga holds a major interest, with an American group, in the Pacific Coconut Processing Corpora tion, formed to process coconuts in Pago Pago, American Samoa, and to export the results to the US, but this project has been haunted by delays.

No Action Yet After three years there is still no action, and it has not been an nounced just what the processing will involve anyhow. Meanwhile Tonga has bought another ship, to service the factory with fresh coconuts.

The same American promoters have recently taken an interest in developing the island of Palmyra south of Hawaii (see p. 41), of which they have taken a long lease from the private owners, Americans.

It was to have been developed as a tourist resort, with construction of a huge hotel, offices and convention hall, and Tonga’s Premier, Prince Tungi, hoped that the Government owned Tonga Construction Company would win the contract for the erection of the buildings. This, ap parently, was to be Tonga’s part in the plan.

Fishing Plan

But the plan has been changed and the promoters have suggested a holiday resort combined with a plantation and fishing industry.

Tongans would work the plantation and Japanese would operate the fishing industry.

What will now happen to this plan remains to be seen, although there appears to be little hope of a lucrative planting industry there, and probably less hope of a tourist resort. Efforts were made two or three years ago by another American group to

promote Palmyra as a luxury resort but the scheme never got off the ground.

Latest report is that the harbour at Palmyra is to be dredged.

But there has been no work there yet for the Construction Company.

Tonga has probably put no money into Palmyra, but it has been spending money lately on a tourist scheme of its own, right at home in Nukualofa. After many years of dithering with the problem it has now decided to go all-out for the tourists and it is building a luxury hotel on the waterfront and a new overseas wharf. Again, however, money is going out without any coming in, and much more will have to be spent if a healthy tourist trade is to be built up.

Already there have been searches for suitable surfing beaches that could be developed, yet no action has been taken to improve the roads to existing attractions—and these are in desperate need of attention.

The Blow Holes on Tongatapu are an attraction, but during the wet season the road to them is often impassable—axle deep in mud.

In creating import restrictions to conserve exchange, it remains to be seen whether Tonga will gain to any great extent—for there must be an accompanying drop in import duties collected.

Stores Feel Finch The big stores will feel the pinch by the drop in sales —although the smaller stores will feel it first, for they, generally, rely on the European stores for their supplies.

In some ways the restrictions will do Tonga’s man-in-the-street good.

He has for years been content to plod along, putting only as much effort into living as it seemed to require, and putting nothing aside for a rainy day. Now he will have to work harder to get what he needs, and this will require more attention to agriculture and more attention to the various trades and businesses.

Better training in business manage ment and in agriculture might well follow, and better production figures.

Tongans have been as proud of being free of a national debt as they have been of being independent, and it seems that now they are going to learn that both situations require energy and sacrifice to maintain.