The development objectives of the Cylcone Ian Reconstruction and Climate Resilience Project for Tonga are to: (i) restore housing, community facilities, and basic services to the affected population of Ha’apai; and, (ii) strengthen the country’s resilience to natural disasters.
... See More + The restructuring will bring the following changes: (i) to revise the project development objective (PDO) to accurately capture the intention of facilitating various forms of cyclone recovery, rather than providing rights to housing and land that did not exist prior to Cyclone Ian, and to amend the results framework accordingly; (ii) to more clearly identify and document a sub-set of households (unforeseen in the original description of project beneficiaries as set out in the project appraisal document, (PAD)) and thus reflect the actual diversity within informal occupancy arrangements on the cyclone affected islands of Ha’apai; and (iii) to amend section I.B.4 of schedule 2 to the financing agreement to require that those beneficiaries under informal arrangements (who are screened as meeting the damage criteria) to whom housing is provided under parts 1(a) and 1(b) of the project, are provided with security of occupancy for a reasonable period that is long enough to enable them to recover from the impacts of the cyclone, for a period detailed in the updated resettlement policy framework (RPF).
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Ratings for the Economic Reform Support Development Policy Operation Project for Tonga were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was significant, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: flexibility in design that enables modification of indicative triggers in choosing prior actions for the subsequent operations help in adapting to unforeseen gaps in both knowledge and capacity. Specifically, identification of a series of potential reforms in the joint budget support matrix facilitates the choice of actions to use in adjusting the program. However, these changes should not be made to undermine the logical link between actions and targeted results. Care should be taken to ensure changes in prior actions and triggers still follow a logical sequence which can be attributed to achieved outcomes. Donor coordination has been critical to the coordination of much needed TA support to the government (particularly given the limited WBG budget resources). It has also helped with monitoring and supervision of the operation. Finally, joint missions have helped alleviate some of the burden on government capacity. Going forward, it will be important to engage the sector ministries more to support greater coordination among Government agencies and help build their capacity. It will also be important to rejuvenate the operation of the BSMC given that there has recently been less emphasis on joint reviews and coordination of TA provision. Strong Government commitment and ownership to reforms ensure that there continues to be progress with reforms in a low capacity context, characterized by frequent staff turnover. This also highlights the importance of civil service reform to help mitigate the risks arising from frequent staff turnover, which could be an area for WBG support. The Inclusive Growth series contains measures to strengthen pay and remuneration of the civil service, which could facilitate staff retention. But, more direct and targeted civil service technical assistance and reform may be needed. It will also be important to consult and engage the key service sectors related to health, education, agriculture and infrastructure to ensure service delivery is not compromised in the process.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR4159 JUN 12, 2017
The objectives of the Cyclone Ian Reconstruction and Climate Resilience Project for Tonga are to: (a) strengthen the climate resilience of housing and selected community facilities for the affected population of Ha’apai; and (b) strengthen the recipient’s preparedness to recover from future natural disasters.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: involuntary resettlement should be avoided where feasible, or minimized, exploring all viable alternative project designs; all displaced persons are provided prompt and effective compensation at full replacement cost for losses of assets (example, land, trees, etc) attributable directly to the project; displaced persons without a recognizable legal claim or right to the land they are occupying are provided with compensation for loss of assets other land and resettlement assistance (example, cash, employment, etc); displaced persons should be provided prompt and effective compensation at full replacement cost (including without depreciation or deduction for tax arrears, licensing or registration fees, or for any other purpose); and when cultivated land is acquired, the borrower should seek to arrange land-for-land replacement if that is the preference of the displaced person.
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Ratings for the Energy Roadmap Institutional and Regulatory Framework Project for Tonga were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, implementation was moderately unsatisfactory, and risk to sustainability was moderate.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: close coordination and engagement with other development partners in the identification of policy priorities is useful in sectors where the Bank has limited previously knowledge and engagement. The continued and consistent presence of a lead coordinator in the sector can provide vital support to the Government of Tonga (GoT) to coordinate multiple donor and key stakeholders in the sector and ensure the ongoing implementation of Tonga energy road map (TERM). Multiple stakeholders came together to discuss the environmental and social issues and impacts in the energy sector, and to agree on a set of guidelines that will satisfy the industry and the government regulators. The preparation of the draft energy sector bill by an international expert law firm, which included a local lawyer as part of the consultancy team, helped to ensure that the approach and legal drafting was appropriate for the local context. The project experienced substantial delays despite the appraisal concluding that the criteria for readiness had been met, in particular implementing agencies were still building up some of the fundamental implementation and management capabilities, and budget support and sustainable fiduciary support within TERM - implementation unit (IU) was not yet in place. Early proactive action on behalf of the Bank to support the implementing agencies with project management, financial management, and procurement was required. Due to delays during the initial implementation period, the key technical assistance needs within the sector moved beyond what the project had originally set out to address, for example it was identified that beyond a petroleum risk management framework broader unifying legislative reform was required.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report 115279 MAY 26, 2017
The development objectives of Second Inclusive Growth Development Policy Operation Project for Tongo are to: i) Support fiscal resilience by means of strengthened revenue mobilization and strategic fiscal and debt policies; ii) support improved government accountability and private sector regulation by improving compliance with public procurement regulations, improving budgetary classifications, improving the adequacy of responses to external audit, and introducing new regulatory frameworks into selected sectors; and iii) support a more dynamic and inclusive economy by adopting investor‐friendly foreign investment legislation, extending coverage of the credit bureau, improving oversight and private participation in public enterprises, and introducing regulation to private sector labor markets.
... See More + This program supports policy reforms under three pillars: i) Supporting fiscal resilience; ii) supporting improved government accountability and private sector regulation; and iii) supporting a more dynamic and inclusive economy. Under these three pillars, the government’s commitment to the implementation of the reform program is reflected in the completion of the prior actions set out. To support fiscal resilience, policy actions include the adoption of a new rule‐based fiscal strategy; strengthening of revenue collection through further excise tax increases; and the implementation of a new remuneration framework. To support government accountability and private sector regulation, this operation supports policy actions that introduce a new procurement monitoring system; and legislation to establish a multi sector energy regulator. To support a more dynamic and inclusive economy, the operation supports submission of a revised Foreign Investment Bill to the Legislative Assembly (LA); and the commercialization of two public enterprises (PEs).
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