NUKU ‘ALOFA – Tonga’s new Prime Minister Samuela ‘Akilisi Pohiva has promised to slash costs – pinpointing areas like spending on government vehicles and overseas travel as key areas where money could be saved.

“It must be done with sympathy, it must be started from our taputa (using the only thing we can afford) and it has to start right from us,” the Prime Minister said.

Pohiva said costs must be strictly monitored as they contributed hugely to the amount of tax payers’ money the government spent.

He said department heads and senior officials used government vehicles on important tasks, but some civil servants also used them for private matters and they would have to pay for such use.

Overseas travel by government ministers would only be allowed for urgent business, the Prime Minister said.

His statement on budget cuts comes after years of campaigning in opposition for wise management of the kingdom’s finances. He said if Tonga’s budget was managed properly, the economy could become stable. This would lead to vigorous economic growth and mean less reliance on overseas donors.

The veteran democratic politician became the first commoner to be elected Prime Minister when he assumed the title on December 29.

He had earlier announced that if he was elected he would cut all unnecessary costs and make big reductions in expenses. He said those leading the country must be ready to make sacrifices to ensure the policy succeeded.

Pohiva, whose Kele’a newspaper has regularly reported that he pays back part of his parliamentary salary, said he would lead the country by example and would commit to performing his duty as prime minister with great personal sacrifice.

He did not say exactly what his personal commitment would be, but said he and his cabinet ministers have already set the tone.

When he was appointed by the King on December 31, Pohiva arrived at the Royal Palace in Nuku‘alofa in his own private car and not the luxurious prime ministerial vehicle he was entitled to use.

Deputy Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni and MP Semisi Fakahau were spotted walking to the cabinet house without using their ministerial vehicles.

In the past Kele’a regularly published pictures of government vehicles spotted driven by the wives or relatives of ministers or heads of departments after normal government working hours and said such behaviour must be stopped.

In 2010, after Tonga’s first democratic elections, Pohiva told the New Zealand Herald: “Misuse of government vehicles is common. Travelling overseas on trivial things is another. Travelling on first class is terrible.”

Former government members argued that ministers and department heads were entitled to use the government vehicles whenever they wanted, but Pohiva always insisted this was not right as the vehicles and all related expenses were being paid by the Tongan taxpayers.

There have been a number of reports of government officials claiming their overseas travelling costs – which often included a first class air ticket – and then downgrading it to economy and keeping the balance.

Pohiva said former government policies had allowed abuses of expenses by government officials to occur. Such policies would come to an end during his four years in office, he vowed.

In January 2013 a report published by Transparency International stated: “Corruption is still a major problem in Tonga but the government has taken significant steps forward in recent years to fight corruption and improve the country’s governance, making it move up the ladder of “clean” countries”.

“Political corruption and nepotism are prominent issues in Tonga which are rooted in the country’s political and demographic structure, strong sense of kinship, and late democratic awakening,” said the report.