Tonga’s Energy Road Map agency remains outside of national budget [1]
Saturday, August 24, 2013 - 19:30. Updated on Monday, September 9, 2013 - 18:40.
By Pesi Fonua
The Tonga Energy Road Map (TERM), an agency that was established by the Tongan Cabinet in 2011 to implement Tonga's ten-year multi-million renewable energy planning, has not come under the government's budget for 2013-14.
Because the agency’s operating finances are not in the government’s annual budget, its books are out of reach of the Auditor General and TERM’s financial position is not transparent.
There are plans within government to create a similar agency for climate change resilience.
Model document
Tonga Energy Road Map document, meanwhile, has been hailed internationally, as a model for how small island nations could capitalize on aid funding to achieve a national objective.
'Inoke Vala , the Director of TERM, said that the agency at the moment has a staff of five, including himself as the director, and 'Akau'ola as an Energy Adviser to a board that is made up of government Ministers and CEOs.
The board, chaired by the Prime Minister, Lord Tu'ivakano includes members: Hon Lisiate 'Akolo, the Minister of Finance; Lord Ma'afu, the Minister of Land, and seven CEOs from government ministries.
'Inoke said that the agency has an annual budget of about a million pa'anga. "It does not get an annual allocation from government, but it gets its funding from agencies such as the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the work it does to implement projects by donor agencies."
TERM also has a Patron, HRH Princess Pilolevu.
Civil servants
Natalia Latu, from the Aid Management Division of the Ministry of Finance said that board members or committee members of TERM are not paid "they provide their service under their role as government servants."
She said that TERM gets its funding straight from the World Bank, and its operation was not budgeted for by government, "not at the moment but eventually they should come under government."
Natalia said that aid donors appeared to be more comfortable working with an entity such as TERM. "There is a road map where government clearly articulates their priorities and depending on different development partners, they all have their own comparative advantage, with their own priority, agenda and strategy. In line with their own priority, they can pick what is within the road map that they will be able to do."
Climate Resilience
Natalia said that currently government is working on establishing other entities similar to TERM, and that a document has been drafted for funding in what will become a Strategic Program for Climate Resilience.
A pilot program that will come under the World Bank's Climate investment Fund, and Tonga is one of three Pacific Island nations that has been selected for it.
Concern
Meanwhile, the fact that TERM's financial accounts are not accounted for in the government's annual budget and are out of reach of the Auditor General is a matter of great concern for the Auditor General, Pohiva Tui'onetoa. The Auditor General is responsible for auditing all government accounts, and can approve private audits of ministries.
TERM, from its humble beginnings as a document, has changed the mindset on how development projects are implemented in developing countries. According to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat PIFS, under TERM "where traditionally aid donors drove development coordination in country, developing states are now taking charge."
The concept of an Energy Road Map for Tonga was put into writing in early 2009 and was presented at a meeting of members of the Tongan Government, and delegates from the World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Commission (EC), European Investment Bank (EIB) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in April 2009.
The parties agreed to assist the Government of Tonga to produce a “Tonga Energy Road Map 2010-20: Ten Year Road Map to reduce Tonga’s vulnerability to oil price shocks and achieve an Increase in quality access to modern energy services in an environmentally sustainable manner”.
Pacific leaders
This document that has became commonly known as “TERM” has captured the interest of Pacific Leaders and funding agencies.
At the Pacific Leaders' Energy Summit in Nuku'alofa in March this year, the Pacific Forum Secretary General, Tuiloma Neroni Slade announced that the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat PIFS would carry out a case study of TERM "for regional and global learning and replication."
Following the completion of Tonga's Peer Review by PIFS at the end of August, it announced that "The Tonga Energy Roadmap – takes a bold step in turning the development paradigm on its head."
Mr Garry Wiseman, the manager of the United Nations Development Program UNDP Pacific Centre in Fiji, a member of the Peer Review team, told PIFS, that TERM, "is an excellent and significant advancement for Tonga, and an opportunity for the region to learn from this example of best practice in development coordination."
Unclear
The Tonga Energy Road Map, however, at this point appears to be a road map that is not clear where it is leading to, because the price of electricity and diesel fuel continues to rise, and so far the contribution of renewable energy to Tonga’s national grid is not noticeable.