Tonga Cabinet

The appointment was made effective on Friday, 27 January.

Ma’u has signed his contract for four-years following his appointment by the Public Service Commission.

He started with the Government of Tonga as Head of the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance in 1993, before taking the Deputy Secretary post at the Prime Minister’s Office in 1996, a post he held for 16-years.

He was appointed as the first Secretary for the Ministry of Information and Communication in 2010.

Ma'u takes over from Edgar Cocker whose term ended late 2022.

Beginning in 2015 under Cabinet decision, the Government initiated the Oceans 7 Technical Committee to formalize and implement the pathway for marine spatial planning to develop and implement 30% marine protected areas within the EEZ area which aligns with the Strategic Development Framework, Convention on Biological Diversity, and Sustainable Development Goal #14 (Life below Water).

The aim of the ocean plan is the “ecologically sustainable, social and economic development of Tonga’s ocean for the benefit of all Tongans.”

There are two women, three nobles, three independents and five former members of the late 'Akilisi Pohiva's party.

Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa was voted in as prime minister on Friday, after he and three other members of the Democratic Party had crossed the floor.

In his campaign speech to the Legislature he said his aim was to end political divisions in Tonga.

Of the two women named, one is from outside of the Legislature.

She is Dr 'Amelia Tu'ipulotu, who heads nurse training at Vaiola Hospital and becomes the new Minister of Health.

The “Fanga’uta Stewardship Plan – A Healthy Lagoon Reflects a Healthy Land and People” is to be published in the Government Gazette.

A statement said this marks another milestone for the Tonga Ridge To Reef Project, since the project’s inception here in Tonga in 2015.

The Director of Environment Lupe Matoto said Cabinet’s endorsement is a plus for the R2R Project and the overall management of Fanga’uta.

“This will become the document which we will use as the guide to help us better manage Fanga’uta,” she said.