Pohiva defends paid interview

Tonga’s leader happy with Forbes magazine article worth $150,000.

‘ The interview is intended to attract and to advertise Tonga among the circle of the rich people.’

NUKU‘ALOFA – Tonga’s Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva has defended the cost of an article in Forbes magazine which cost the government more than a quarter of its tourism budget.

Questions have been raised over spending public money on the two page article for which Tonga paid US$150,000 dollars.

Pohiva said he was approached first by Forbes’ editors who were interested in interviewing him.

“They came to Tonga earlier this year and they discussed it with the acting secretary of the government at the time. And he accepted for Forbes to interview me. That’s what happened.

“I learned later on, after the interview, that Forbes was one of the well known magazines of the world and it is the magazine for the rich people. I didn’t know that but I learned when we talked that Forbes magazine is a very popular magazine, but it is only for the rich people.

“The reason why, they had been looking for people to interview and they thought of me as a prime minister elected by the people – they thought it significant.”

Radio New Zealand asked Pohiva in a telephone interview if the government had to pay for the publication of that article.

“Oh yes,” he said. “The amount I know was $150,000.”

Pohiva was asked if he thought the expense was justifiable.

He responded: “Yeah, I think, to some extent. Talking to people who are familiar with the purpose of this magazine, it is a magazine circulated to hundreds of thousands of rich people in the world, and they thought that it is worth it. Anyway the future will tell the impact.”

He agreed, given that Forbes readership is a wealthy demographic, that the government was hoping that it might attract foreign investors.

“I think so. That has been the purpose of the interview. The interview is intended to attract and to advertise Tonga among the circle of the rich people.

“I think it will attract, in one way or the other, investors to come in here and invest in Tonga.

“I have talked to some friends overseas – they know me – my struggle here in Tonga. I am aware that as a prime minister, most people in the Pacific and throughout the Commonwealth countries, they have been following what I have been doing, for years, and to them I have been playing a very significant role in the democratisation process that has been going on – not only in Tonga but throughout the Commonwealth countries.”

The interview was conducted in Tonga by two representatives of Forbes magazine on February 11 who spent two weeks in the islands.

The article has been published online at Forbes Custom and is in the form of a two page article on Tonga in general titled Tonga: The Beginning of Excellence and includes a brief interview with Pohiva in a two-thirds of a page side bar.