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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: Identifying cost-effective interventions to improve early literacy is vital to developing countries, given the importance of early literacy for an individual's future education outcomes and subsequent human capital formation.
... See More + This paper presents the impact on early grade reading outcomes of two low-cost randomized interventions in Tonga: a reading instruction intervention and a community play-based activity intervention. The first intervention aims to improve early grade reading outcomes specifically; estimated impacts are approximately 0.3 standard deviation, although in some reading domains impacts are substantial, ranging from 0.6 to 0.7 standard deviation. The second intervention aims to improve school readiness and subsequently early grade reading outcomes, by providing communities with support to establish a community play-based activity. Using an instrumental variables approach, the play-based activity demonstrates positive impacts of around 0.2 standard deviation in many but not all reading domains. For the domains where a statistically significant impact is measured, the community play-based activity intervention is as at least as cost effective as the reading instruction intervention. The play-based activity intervention is shown to improve test scores by 0.21 to 0.47 standard deviation per US$100, depending on the reading test domain. The reading instruction intervention improves test scores by 0.08 to 0.34 standard deviation per US$100. These findings contribute further evidence on the effectiveness of reading instruction interventions, and possibly the first estimates of the impact of play group–type interventions on primary school reading outcomes.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS7944 JAN 18, 2017
