Year 2021: Chief Executive's Report

Despite the interruption of the COVID 19 restrictions and the new measures in place, we have managed to pull through and made good progress although there were many hurtles to go through and the year was a quiet one at most. I must mention first and foremost our people’s response to COVID 19. The Authority, the shipping agents and the Government of Tonga have been working together to ensure Tonga’s essential freight continued to be delivered but most importantly, to keep each other safe. There are truly exemplary response and I would like to sincerely thank everyone involved.

New Structure
At the start of the year, the Authority took the opportunity to carry out its internal restructure and revision of its policies. The review of the organization structure as approved in 2019, was to ensure the transparency of the employee’s career path within the organization.  New roles were added to the structure to include line managers and supervisors and Job Descriptions were updated and the performance management system was also reviewed. This allowed managers to play a more strategic role in the organization, make decisions, set goals and oversee team success.

The Year in Review
In alignment with Cabinet Decision No.975, Board subcommittees were established to review and improve
the Public Enterprise’s internal policies. The Authority’s Human Resources Policy was reviewed to ensure it was efficient and effective and was up to date with the changes in the work environment as well as new laws, regulations and to be consistent with the industry’s best practices.

New policies were developed in addition to the existing policies to guide the Authority in its day to day operation, give guidance for decision making and streamline internal processes. The new policies include the Whistleblower Policy, Code of Ethics Policy, Record Retention Policy as well as the Sponsorship and Donation Policy. In addition, sub-committee charters were also developed to help the Board meet its legal and regulatory commitments.

The Authority had implemented strategic measures to help minimize the impacts of COVID 19 to provide and generate additional income in response to the impacts of COVID 19 on the Authority’s financial performance as multi cargo, cruise and container volumes were significantly affected, which had an adverse impact on the Authority’s revenue.

A new plan was put forward for the Vuna Wharf Market Project. The project aims at benefiting local entrepreneurs and businesses and to promote domestic trade. The objective of the project is also to enhance economic efficiency through the improved mobility and accessibility to businesses in a central location at the heart of Nuku’alofa. The project will also generate added revenue for the Authority in the wake of outsourcing the stevedoring services and as an alternative income
source while the cruise ships are not permitted to enter Tonga due to the restrictions of COVID 19.

Although some of the major CAPEX for the year was deferred due to COVID 19 and the financial performance of the organization, PAT continued to work towards developing a sound Port Master Plan to guide PAT’s future developments while enhancing coordinated efforts within PAT and with other stakeholders. Further, PAT continued to develop strategies to support the implementation of the Port Master Plan in prioritization order according to customer needs and safety.
At the same time, there are projects that have been year marked for the coming years, which included the relocation of fishing wharf from Faua to Sopu area, as well as waterfront development projects. PAT will engage qualified engineers and architects to provide a proper estimate for this project and set the timeline for these projects and most importantly looking for funding.

Operational Update
In order to improve the cargo operation efficiency at Queen Salote Wharf, a proposal was put forward to the Government of Tonga to seek funding assistance for a two phased project consisting of two warehouse facilities. Phase 1 consists of a new cargo inspection facility and Phase 2 for the upgrading of the existing custom warehouse.

This is part of the Authority’s obligation under the Ports Authority Act to facilitate trade by providing sufficient port facilities. The project will help promote an increase international trade to and from Tonga and enhance the current operation at the existing warehouse in the future. Investing in this project may not yield the desired financial return for the Authority, however it will provide a modern, secure and dependable custom warehouse services for importers and exporters which aligns with the Ports Authority Act.

During the year, the tender for privatizing the stevedoring services at the Port of Nuku’alofa was issued and the tender evaluation took place. The stevedoring concession contract will grant the contractor the exclusive right to exploit and commercially manage full stevedoring services at the container terminal at Queen Salote International Wharf for a period of ten years. The public private partnership (PPP) is being sought with an experienced firm to provide a fully exclusive stevedoring service at the Port of Nuku’alofa with the aim to improve international cargo handling efficiency.

To increase operational efficiency in our domestic wharves and enhance the services to our customers, all domestic vessels are now operating at Taufa’ahau Tupou IV Domestic Wharf. Passengers can now enjoy the comfort of the terminal and operate safety at the new domestic facility. In June of this year, the MV ‘Otuanga’ofa entered Taufa’ahau Wharf safely and her operation continued to date at Taufa’ahau.

Challenges

During the year the Remuneration Authority (RA) conducted a comprehensive remuneration review of all CEO positions and a review of the PEs internal policies governing remunerations and other benefits of all employees. All recruitment processes of all Public Enterprises positions were placed on hold during this review. This was a major challenge for the Authority’s operation as it delayed the recruitment of key personnel to fill the vacant positions which in turn affected Ports Authority’s plans. Today, some of the executive roles have yet to be filled pending on the final exercise to be completed. In addition, the delay of implementing the major projects due to the impacts of COVID 19 have also posed major challenges as PAT had to focus on priority projects and defer some of the CAPEX that were already listed in the Authority’s plan. At the same time, PAT is accommodating the Prime Minister’s Small Islands Wharves Development Projects while also delivering its key projects which means that resources and expertise had to be shared to ensure the projects are delivered according to their set timeframes.

Looking Forward

Looking ahead, PAT has included in its plan for this financial year to engage a consultant or a consultancy company to assist the Authority to complete its transition to be certified under ISO-9001. PAT is committed to complete this project in this current financial year. In the completion of this project, PAT will be the only Government agency to be QMS certified in Tonga. This means PAT is providing quality services to its customers. Part of PAT’s work plan for the upcoming months is to register PAT as a company under the Tonga Company’s Act. This will include reviewing our business structure to register as a company for more investment opportunities

The Authority will continue to closely monitor the impacts of COVID 19 in its operation by managing our expenses, ensure that our people’s safety is prioritized and the working procedures at the Port of Nuku’alofa comply with both the international standards and procedures as well as complying with the measures that are issued from Government and the Ministry of Health.

Acknowledgement

After a challenging year, I’d like to thank everyone who works at Ports Authority Tonga for their efforts. It has been tough, but we are making progress on the work we need to do to turn things around. There will continue to be challenges, not least because the pandemic is still having a significant impact worldwide, but I believe we have turned a corner. I look forward to working with you all over the coming year

Mr. 'Alo-ki-hakau Maileseni, Acting Chief Executive

(Source: 2021 Ports Authority Tonga Annual Report)