Of Her Money Troubles

Britain Will Help Tonga Out Of Her Money Troubles

From Dorothy Lavin, in Nukualofa The visit to Tonga of Mr. A.

N. Galsworthy, Deputy Under

secretary of State for the British Colonies, has lifted the gloom which surrounded the Kingdom’s financial situation.

IT’S been announced that the Colonial development and Wel fare Fund is to allocate Tonga £Stg.3 50,000 over the next three years, and that additional loans of £Stg.2oo,ooo are to be made for the new wharf at Nukualofa.

The announcement has brought hopes in Tonga that the recently im posed financial and import restrictions will be lifted in the near future.

There is renewed confidence in the Kingdom.

There are no ties attached to the grant, but obviously Britain is going to want to know where the money will be allocated. This will be done through a development plan yet to be worked out.

It has already been agreed that £50,000 of the grant should be put towards coconut rehabilitation re planting, new plantings and probably

additional expert staff. There ai already nurseries controlled by th Agricultural Department, and plan ing could begin at an early stage.

Although there is not likely to fc any immediate announcement aboi the other allocations, it is not difficu to look around the Kingdom and su; mise where the new funds could t used to greatest advantage.

In need of money is the Nukualoi Hospital, which at the moment con prises a cluster of wooden building with a minimum of equipment. Druj are scarce.

Until just recently the only patien provided with food were in the T and diabetic wards, but now a si; bed ward has been opened to cat( for six ‘paying’ patients with ever thing provided. It is certain that tl new hospital, which has long bee planned, will be high on the list < priorities.

Water conservation has alwa; been an acute problem in Tong the solving of which has been he] up for lack of finance. With the a; of the World Health Organisatio: wells have been sunk in the villa® and the majority of villages now ha) water piped to outside their home and the next project is the foi villages which make up the main tow

Nukualofa. A covered reservoir planned at the highest point of itakieua, four miles from Nuku da, to be fed by water pumped im five wells.

It is hoped this scheme can now accelerated to provide piped ter to the whole of Nukualofa as 11 as the new hotel and the spital.