Siosiua ʻUtoikamanu

Siosiua Tuitalukua Tupou ʻUtoikamanu is a Tongan politician and former Cabinet Minister. He was Tonga's Minister of Finance from 2001 to 2008.

Siosiua ʻUtoikamanu
Minister of Finance
In office
January 2001 – 25 February 2008
Prime MinisterʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho
Feleti Sevele
Preceded byTutoatasi Fakafanua
Succeeded byFeleti Sevele

ʻUtoikamanu is a former governor of the National Reserve Bank of Tonga.[1] He was appointed as Minister of Finance in a cabinet reshuffle in January 2001.[2] Shortly after being appointed he faced an impeachment motion in parliament over the loss of money from the Tonga Trust Fund.[3] In his role as head of customs, he was responsible for the Tongan government's efforts to ban the independent newspaper the Times of Tonga.[4]

As Finance Minister he pursued a program of economic reform, including the introduction of a goods and services tax.[5] In 2005 efforts to reform the public service by introducing new pay scales with increases only for senior public servants led to a six week long strike which shut down and threatened to topple the government.[6] The strike resulted in 60 to 80 percent pay increases for most public servants.[7] ʻUtoikamanu responded to the resulting budget pressures by proposing further privatisations[8] and public service cuts.[9] Following the 2006 Nukuʻalofa riots he negotiated a loan from China to rebuild the city's CBD.[10] The loan later led to significant controversy, with a parliamentary committee finding it was illegal and that the funds had been misappropriated.[11][12] He was forced to resign as a Minister in February 2008 after refusing to cooperate with other members of the Cabinet.[1][13]

After leaving politics ʻUtoikamanu served as director of the Pacific Islands Centre for Public Administration at the University of the South Pacific.[14] In July 2016 he was elected to the Legal and Technical Commission of the International Seabed Authority.[15]

References
  1. "Tongan finance minister forced to resign". RNZ. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  2. "Tonga's PM announces cabinet changes". Saipan Tribune. 29 January 2001. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  3. "The Tongan Kingdom's misplaced millions". New Zealand Herald. 26 September 2001. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  4. "Taimi O Tonga hearing over ban to start Friday". RNZ. 18 March 2003. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  5. "Tonga looking at sweeping tax changes". RNZ. 9 May 2003. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  6. Heather E. Young Leslie (2007). "Tonga" (PDF). The Contemporary Pacific. 19 (1): 262–276. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  7. "Tongans agree to end strike". New Zealand Herald. 4 September 2005. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  8. "Tonga considers selling Westpac stake to balance budget". RNZ. 20 June 2006. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  9. "Tonga public servants cut by a third". RNZ. 18 July 2006. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  10. "Tonga and China formalise post-riot loan agreement". RNZ. 20 November 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  11. "Tonga report claims loan for riot rebuild was illegal". RNZ. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  12. "Chinese Loan To Rebuild Nukuʻalofa Illegal: Committee". Pacific Islands Report. 3 September 2012. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021.
  13. "TONGA MINISTER NO LONGER ANSWERS ONLY TO KING". Pacific Islands Report. 4 March 2008. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021.
  14. "PICPA facilitates PFM Reform Roadmap of Tonga". University of the South Pacific. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  15. "Former Tongan Minister of Finance, Siosiua ʻUtoikamanu elected as member of the Legal and Technical Commission of the International Seabed Authority". Tonga Broadcasting Commission. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
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