The Tongan government said it has found no record to show an official decision was made to allow bakeries to operate on Sunday and sell bread to the public.
The revelation was made this week after a meeting in Nuku’alofa on March 7 to discuss a letter submitted to government by church leaders in July 2015.
The church leaders were concerned that selling bread on Sunday breached the law of the nation.
The Tongan constitution says: “The Sabbath Day shall be kept holy in Tonga and no person shall practise his trade or profession or conduct any commercial undertaking on the Sabbath Day except according to law; and any agreement made or witnessed on that day shall be null and void and of no legal effect.”
Tonga’s Police Minister, Hon. Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa, said the government was talking to the church leaders and the public and would hold a meeting with the bakery operators this week before making a decision.
He said the government ran programmes on local television and radio after the meeting to inform the public about the law. The programmes stressed that doing business on Sunday was prohibited in Tonga unless authorised by the Minister of Police.
Hon. Tu’i’onetoa said the government had not found any evidence to show who made the decision to allow bakeries to operate on Sunday, or when it was made.
He said former Police Minister Sifa Tu’utafaiva had looked for evidence a decision on the issue had been made, but could not find it.
“It was likely the decision was made 34 years ago in 1982 after Tropical Cyclone Isaac hit the kingdom,” Hon. Tu’i’onetoa said.
He said it could be that the then Police Minister made the decision under the Order in Public Places Act (CAP 37 as amended).
As part of its inquiries to find if a record of the decision exists, the government has appealed to any member of the public who might have a copy to hand it in.
Hon. Tu’i’onetoa told Kaniva News in a previous interview that as Minister of Police he had the authority to allow a person to do business on Sunday if that person has reasonable reasons to do so.
He said taxi drivers, for example, could apply for a permit to operate on Sunday, but they must give strong reasons to support their application.
In March 2015 Kaniva News reported that residents at Kolonga were working on Sunday on a dead whale that washed up on shore.
Police said at the time the residents did not breach the Sunday law because a bad smell began emanating from the carcass and it needed to be removed.
The main points
- The Tongan government says it has found no record to show an official decision was made to allow bakeries to operate on Sunday and sell bread to the public.
- The revelation was made this week after a meeting in Nuku’alofa on March 7 to discuss a letter submitted to government by church leaders in July 2015.
- The church leaders were concerned that selling bread on Sunday breached the constitution.
- The government has appealed to any member of the public who might have a copy of the decision to hand it in.
