Results for Press Release

First term school fees for 3849 secondary school students throughout Tonga are being paid under the World Bank's SET Project. A total of $962,250 pa'anga was disbursed from the World Bank's SET Project on 23 May, to pay the Term 1 fees for eligible secondary students of disadvantaged families.

Paying to the shareholder a combined total tax of $1.9 million during the financial year 2018/19 – the Transport Sector Public Enterprises reports a return to the shareholder and the people of Tonga, a total dividend and tax of $5.5 million for their performance during the financial year 2018/19, an increase of 57% from the financial year 2017/18. The Transport Sector Public Enterprises consists of the Ports Authority Tonga, Tonga Airports Limited, and the Friendly Island Shipping Agency.

Tonga at COP23 last week in Bonn, Germany, called for the establishment of Climate Change as a core security issue and stressed the need for Small Island Developing States such as Tonga, to build resilience, warning that inaction "will ultimately result in our disappearance as a people and a culture".

The Asian Development Bank has approved a $2.75 million loan and a $2.25 million grant to help Tonga strengthen it’s long-term economic growth prospects, while supporting and developing its capacity to respond to external economic shocks.

A $35 million pa’anga Youth Employment Project financed by the World Bank to be handled by the Government of Tonga starting in July 2017, will see funds disbursed over four-years to address youth unemployment in Tonga where the problems of idle youth are enormous and related to youth related anti-social behaviour and criminal activity.

The 26th Council of Ministers of Tourism Meeting encouraged members to continue partnership in the spirit of regionalism and pursue the sustainable development of the tourism sector as it is an important source of employment and economic development for the region.

The Prime Minister Hon ‘Akilisi Pohiva received a Certificate of Honour as Honorary International Consultant of Peace from the President of the Federation of World Peace and Love, Dr Hong Tao-Tze on 22 September at a United Nations side event

Fifteen participants completed a five-day Management Accounting for NGOs (MANGO) Training for non-finance managers and finance officers on Friday, 26 August in Nuku’alofa.

The Tonga Government has today reaffirmed its confidence in the investment agreement made recently with the Ngati Tahu Ngati Whaoa Trust from New Zealand. The government stated that a recent judgment made by the New Zealand High Court against the current Chairman of the Trust "was a private matter which does not...affect the Agreement that exists between the Trust and the Tongan Government."