OPINION | Breaking the Chains of Dependency: A Call for Honest Leadership and Economic Sovereignty
In the Pacific and across many small island states, the call for aid has become a yearly ritual—foreign assistance arrives, budgets are balanced, and yet the lives of ordinary citizens remain unchanged. The problem is no longer just the lack of resources, but the presence of something far more corrosive: dependency.
Dependency creates complacency. It gives governments an excuse not to work hard for their people. It nurtures the dangerous illusion that survival—rather than prosperity—is enough. In many ways, foreign aid has become like welfare for states: easy come, easy go. It dulls ambition and replaces national planning with donor management.
But a new movement is emerging—one that demands better from our leaders and greater sovereignty for our people. At its core is a belief that honest leadership, economic self-reliance, and national dignity are not abstract ideals, but urgent necessities.
The Limits of Capitalism
Many of the problems faced by small nations are symptoms of a deeper structural illness: a global economic model that rewards greed and leaves no built-in mechanism for fairness. Under modern capitalism, the pursuit of profit is unchecked by moral restraint or social obligation. Wealth is hoarded by a few while public services wither, and corruption becomes the cost of doing business.
This system is not failing—it is working exactly as designed. And it is a system that too many small nations have been pushed into, often at the insistence of those who provide aid.
A Model That Works on Its Own Terms
There is growing interest in how China has approached economic development. While some argue it has abandoned socialism, others—like economist Elias Jabbour—suggest China is proving that a planned economy with state-directed capitalism can deliver growth without sacrificing national control.
China’s success is not accidental. It is the product of a state that uses markets as tools—not masters—and ensures that strategic industries, financial institutions, and long-term investments serve the people and the nation, not a class of billionaires.
This is not about copying China’s model wholesale, but about learning the lesson: real development requires strong institutions, long-term planning, and leadership that puts national interest above personal gain.
Towards a New Political Platform
In Tonga and across the Pacific, the path forward begins with a new political contract: one that rejects corruption, confronts aid dependency, and invests in the talents of our people.
It calls for transparent, corruption-free governance; a gradual shift away from budgetary dependence on aid; the empowerment of local entrepreneurs, farmers, and youth; greater engagement with the diaspora for investment and innovation; and education reforms aimed at building a civic-minded, self-reliant citizenry.
Foreign aid should not be abolished—but it must be reimagined. It should be temporary, transparent, and tied to outcomes that empower local leadership, not foreign contractors. Most importantly, it should never replace the will or capacity of a nation to provide for its own.
Real Independence
True independence is not only about waving a flag. It is about writing your own budget. It is about choosing your own direction. And it is about leaders who serve their people—not themselves, and not foreign interests.
This is a call for a new era of leadership in small nations. One defined not by donor reports and dependency, but by dignity, self-reliance, and pride in our capacity to build our own future.
We do not reject global partnerships—but we insist that partnerships must never come at the cost of sovereignty. We do not reject capitalism—but we reject a version of it that enriches the few and enslaves the many. And we do not reject aid—but we reject any system that teaches us to survive on handouts rather than to thrive on our own two feet.
It’s time to believe in ourselves again.
Tu’ifua Vailena
