Differing accounts of passport processing disruptions in Tonga have raised questions about His Majesty’s Diplomatic Services, with applicants complaining of exhausting journeys from distant districts only to be told that processing equipment had broken down, while the department attributes the delays to a surge in applications.
The complaints come in the wake of heated public debate over the recent controversial restructuring of Tonga’s foreign affairs administration, when Parliament urgently passed legislation placing His Majesty’s Diplomatic Services under the authority of the King and Privy Council rather than the elected Cabinet, a move critics condemned as a significant reversal of Tonga’s democratic reforms introduced in 2010.
The department, operating under the authority of King Tupou VI, with his son, Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala, serving as the responsible minister, has also faced community questions over its handling of US warnings and subsequent travel restrictions affecting Tongan nationals.
Official Notice Acknowledges Delays
In a public notice issued last week, His Majesty’s Diplomatic Services offered an explanation for the passport processing delays that differed from accounts shared by complainants on social media, attributing the disruptions to an increased volume of applications.
“His Majesty’s Diplomatic Services advises the Public that passport processing and printing are currently experiencing delays due to an increased volume of passport applications received,” the notice said.
The department apologised for the inconvenience and thanked the public for its patience and understanding, but provided no timetable for restoring normal services.
The notice made no reference to equipment failures or whether technical problems had contributed to the delays.
Applicants Criticise Poor Communication
In contrast to the department’s official explanation, complaints shared on the Tonga Felafoaki Facebook group, which has more than 160,000 followers, attributed the disruptions to reported technical failures involving passport processing equipment.
Social media users reported that people had travelled considerable distances from eastern and western districts to obtain passports, only to be told by staff that the processing equipment had broken down.
The complaints were highlighted in a post questioning why the department had failed to notify the public about the reported technical problems before applicants made their journeys.
“If your passport processing machine is broken, why don’t you issue a public notice to inform people so they don’t have to make exhausting journeys from the eastern and western districts, only to receive the same answer that the machine is still broken?” the post said in Tongan.
Commenters Condemn Poor Communication
Several commenters supported the complaint, with some describing the problem as longstanding and criticising what they regarded as inadequate public communication and unprofessional responses from counter staff.
One commenter said informing the public about service disruptions should be a basic responsibility of the department.
“That is part of their job, to let people know what is happening,” the commenter wrote, adding that poor service delivery was nothing new in Tonga.
Another commenter called for the refund of urgent passport processing fees paid by applicants affected by the delays.
The commenter said applicants should have been told about the problem before making payments, allowing them to decide whether to proceed.