NZ Aid package NZ$5.6 million for Tonga [1]
Friday, August 30, 2002 - 10:00. Updated on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 15:18.
From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 2, August 2002.
New Zealand signed its annual multi-million dollar bilateral aid agreement with Tonga in July, a package worth NZ$5.6 million, the same amount allocated the previous year.
The program expenditure actually reached NZ$5.72 million last year as a result of additional funding provided for rehabilitation of schools and emergency relief after Cyclone Waka.
The bilateral programme is in line with a five-year joint strategy adopted last year, focusing on education and training, outer islands, public sector reform, community development, private sector, and health.
Deputy New Zealand High Commissioner, Garreth Smith, said education and training were the largest part of the program, including scholarships, and vocational, and info-tech training. This year $2.23 million or almost 40 per cent of aid monies is allocated for education. Last year a majority of funding went towards a teacher’s training project.
Key priorities in this year’s package included the completion of an education study funded by the New Zealand government to see how best to coordinate investment in different areas of education and training in Tonga. This study, said Garreth, would also be a guide to other donors who may want to fund areas in education for Tonga. Other priorities included the establishment of the community development fund, and support for public sector reform initiatives.
Outer Islands
For the outer islands, long standing issues surrounding the ‘Eua water supply would move forward this year with an initial allocation of $400,000, to be followed by $1.2 million next year, and $200,000 the year after. The money will go towards laying down the pipeline in ‘Eua and building the infrastructure for water collection.
The community development fund, of $200,000, will be directed at easier access of small non-government groups to apply for cash grants.
Garreth said that the idea in principle was that an eight-man committee was set-up to examine the applications submitted by small NGO’s, and would subsequently approve or reject applications on their recommendations. The committee would be made up of members from the Central Planning Department, Rural Development, and Development Coordinating Committees, chaired by the New Zealand High Commission who also acts as the Secretariat.
One concern over the distribution of funds to the NGO’s, Garreth said, was that the larger groups who were more established, received favourable consideration under the current scheme. Under the small project fund, currently in place, the applications forms were elaborate, and quite difficult to fill out.
Currently, when proposals are submitted to Central Planning, they are forwarded to the relevant line Ministries. The application is then sent back to Central Planning, and on to the Rural Development Committee. From here, it goes to the Development Coordinating Committee, and Cabinet, then back to Central Planning. The final stage is the submission to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who formally request that release of the funds from the New Zealand High Commission.
Over-bureaucratic
Garreth said there was some concern with the over-bureaucratic structure, the current application forms, and the lack of publicity and information, which was inhibiting smaller groups gaining access to these types of funding. Under the community development scheme, the forms would be much easier to fill-out and it would only be put forward to the committee to determine the outcome. He said there would also be more publicity for community groups, so that they may be made aware of the funding available to them.
In principal there had been an agreement to move forward on this, although the High Commission was waiting on the Tonga government to endorse discussions. Garreth said that one success story was the pilot in-country scholarship scheme, which started last year and would continue this year.
This year’s bilateral aid agreement was signed at the Official residence of the New Zealand High Commissioner by Tonga’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Fekita ‘Utoikamanu, and the leader of the New Zealand delegation, Rachel Fry.