Background - The Ministry of Information and Communications

On 1 May 2009, the Ministry of Information and Communications was established following the appointment by His Majesty' Government of its first ever Minister for Information and Communications, Hon. ‘Eseta Fusitu'a, on 30 April 2009.

Its two departments, Information and Communications, then both formerly under the administration of the Prime Minister's Office prior to 2000, in response to the Government's reform
policy in the Communications sector and promoting transparency in Government, resulted in the creations of a Department of Communications (2000) and a Ministry of Information in 2007.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES - A History

Like other new portfolios set up by Government of Tonga (GOT) to boost transparency and accountability as part and parcel of the Reform programs and to further the GOT's century-old endeavors to educate and inform it's population a short outline of Government's incentive for transparency and good governance is shown below:

1870s - The first ever newspaper, Po'opo'i was published by the government to inform the populace
1945 -   A weekly News-sheet (A4 size) letter was distributed from the Prime Minister's Office containing mostly world news
1961 - The Tonga Broadcasting Commission (Radio Tonga) first came into operation on 4 July 1961, after 4-months on-air trials were successful
1964 -  The Tonga Chronicle first went into print weekly and later evolved as a bi-lingual tabloid newspaper
1990 - Information Unit - This was set up as part of the Prime Minister's Office for the sole purpose of disseminating of Government news and information

2000 - Department of Communications enacted the Communications Act to regulate all communication services in Tonga
2007 - A ministerial portfolio for Information was created for new Minister, Hon. Afu'alo Matoto which evolved from the PMO Information Unit
2009 - The Department of Communications of the Prime Minister's Office and the Information Department previously combined with the Ministry of Public Enterprises merged into the new Ministry of Information and Communications, following the appointment of first minister for MIC, Hon. 'Eseta Fusitu'a.

2010 - Appointment of Prime Minister Lord Tu'ivakano and Minister for Information and Communication

2012 - Ministry of Information and Communications drafted Freedom of Information Policy for Tonga

The Ministry of Information and Communications is responsible for:

• Development of an efficient, reliable information and communication systems to help transform Tonga to a better informed of Government's iniatives and strategic plans
• To inform the public about the economic and social activities of the country and promote promoting transparency
  
• To make the information and communications sector active so as to preserve the various aspects of national identity and significance, as well as to secure peoples participation, international cooperation and goodwill in the process of allround development of the nation by creating public awareness.
• Promotion of ICT in the country as an enabler of national development;
• Development of an effective platform for information dissemination and regulating all communications services meets the national needs and international standards.

The current Minister for Information and Communications is the Lord Tu'ivakano, the Prime Minister of Tonga.

• Profile
• Minister's Appointment
• Ministerial Role for Information and Communications
• Minister's Statements: Lord Tu'ivakano
• Minister's Interviews: Lord Tu'ivakano
  
• History: Information and Communications Ministers

Objectives & Values

The Ministry of Information and Communications takes pride in its responsibility as key leader in Government information provider and disseminator but also as the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga's regulator and monitoring all communicating services activities in Tonga.

INFORMATION

• Provide accurate, timely, balanced and fair information from Government to the media for dissemination to the public.
• Develop media and information policy for the Government.
• Coordinating information in Government and its agencies for release to the media and the public.
• To observe the restrictions on availability of information for security, confidentiality, legislative and legal requirements.
• To consolidate/integrate Government's Information services so that Government communicates with the public in a more proactive, coherent and consistent manner
• Clarify laws that govern media operations in Tonga and develop media and information policy for the Government
• Widen the audience reached by Government and cater to the information needs of key community constituents, through communicating information through media publications and TV/radio programs as well as the website
• Design a system of communication flow and responses so that Government takes the initiative in the public discussion of issues, respond to media reports in a more timely and effective manner

COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT

The key objectives of Communications is to;

• Advise the Minister on all matters concerning the national communications sector policy objectives;
• Supervise & monitor communications sector activities;
• Oversee & supervise the Government's orbital satellite slot interests;
• Ensure observation and enforcement of international communications conventions & practices;
• Liaise with foreign governments on communications sector and other related matters;
• Impose, collect and pay into the public fund such license fees as are applicable under the provisions of this Act, the Radio communication Act and other applicable laws;
• Design and develop Information policies for the Government incorporated into the National ICT Policy and Strategic Plan

Core Values

Passion
We enjoy our work and our passion drives us to give our best.

Professionalism
We serve with integrity and strive to be knowledgeable, forward-looking and excellent in our work.

Creativity
We are constantly seeking new ideas and challenging the bounds of convention to break new grounds.

Connectedness
We are one in purpose, collaborating and leveraging on our diverse strengths to achieve a common vision.

Information - The Government Information Disclosure Policy will guide officials, as well as the media, civil society and the public, providing a clear framework and process for accessing and disseminating information.

Under the Freedom of Information Policy provides  initial government efforts to implement a strong and sustainable information management system across the public service.

Secrecy has been the norm of government information practice over the centuries, particularly in traditional monarchies. The Kingdom of Tonga is embarking on a new path of more transparent and accountable government. With this in mind the FOI Steering Committee, who guided the development of this Policy, has advised that the policy should be designed to ensure information held by the government is readily available to the public with only few exceptions.

The Ministry of Information and Communications has the following policies and laws.

The Ministry of Information are now combine with the Department of Communications and we are now known as a Ministry of Information & Communications(MIC) started on 01^st May 2009. We are pleased to announce the operation of its new website, www.mic.gov.to are ONLINE NOW . Since minfo.gov.to established in June 2008 and now we upgrade it to http://www.mic.gov.to

The website is established to distribute news and information from the Government and to act as a depository for accessing Government  and public documents and other information resources. The Ministry will be working closely with the information units in other Ministries to gather and publish information about the multitude of activities that Government is undertaking to improve and sustain the welfare of the people.

Each Ministry and Department have designated one of their staff as their Public Relation Officer (PRO) whose task is to liaise with the Ministry of Information on all matters regarding media releases, press conferences and as the contact person for other media enquiries.

The Ministry of Information are now together with the Communication Department known as Ministry of Information and Communication(MIC), hopes that the website will become a useful and timely source of information for the community.

• GOVT. PORTAL: www.mic.gov.to
  
• FACE BOOK: micwebTonga
  
• TWITTER: micwebTonga
• FOI TONGA - www.foi.gov.to
  

© MIC Copyright Observance

The material on this website is subject to the Ministry of Information and Communications copyright protection unless otherwise indicated. All news and information shall be referenced where necessary.

Re-using MIC copyright material

You may re-use the text information on this website provided you identify the source and state that it is mic.gov.to copyright

You may re-use the information on this website free of charge in any format, but you must:

• re-use the information accurately
• acknowledge the source of the information
• not re-use the information in a deliberately misleading way
• not re-use the information for promotion or advertising purposes without prior notice to MIC
  
• not imply endorsement by MIC, another government department or other public sector organisation
• not mimic the style and appearance of the original information, for example by replicating the look of mic.gov.to
  

Images and photography

Images and photographs on this site are subject to mic.gov.to copyright protection unless otherwise indicated. You may re-use the Ministry of Information & Communications copyright images (other than the Royal Cypher and departmental or agency logos without prior request to the Ministry of Information and Communications) subject to the conditions listed above.

Linking to mic.gov.to pages

You can also link to mic.gov.to information pages. You don't have to ask permission to link to the website but www.mic.gov.to  can provide wording and linking graphics.

Re-using third party material

The permission to reproduce mic.gov.to protected material does not extend to any material on this site that is identified as being the copyright of a third party. Permission to use such material must be obtained from the copyright holder concerned.

The Ministry seeks the assistance of all interested parties media and public with the reproduction of all contents and materials, which are for the public's use but please observe the Ministry's Copyright by referencing all photos or materials used unless otherwise. All Government logos and the Royal Cypher and symbols may be requested prior to use. The Ministry reserves the right to inquire into any misuse or reproduction of materials that maybe harmful or incorrect with any alterations or amendments made to the content and will not be responsible for any amendments or incorrect information reproduced from what has been published in the website.

Further information

For further information on the Ministry of Information and Communications copyright policy and licensing arrangements, please contact (676) 8-170 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .